Frankie Grande has opened up about the darkest chapter of his life.
In an interview with People Magazine, Frankie revealed that the aftermath of the 2017 concert One Love Manchester became a critical turning point in his battle with addiction.
He reflected on how he was in London supporting his sister, pop star Ariana Grande, during a highly emotional period following the Manchester Arena attack.
Frankie admitted that he was privately struggling with severe alcohol and drug dependence at the time.
Speaking with the outlet, he said, “I still look back at the One Love Manchester concert and I just felt so useless and so disconnected from my family at a time where I just wished that I could be connected to them.”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it was a few weeks after One Love Manchester that I checked into rehab, he added.
In his memoir, Supergay! Frankie revealed, “Partying. Drugs. They took my pain away. And so I happily allowed myself to be drawn into the abyss of addiction.”
Despite attempts to get sober, he added, “But my tolerance for it grew. Its effects began to wear off faster and faster, making it so that I was doing bumps around the clock just to keep the feeling alive.”
Shortly after the benefit concert, he returned to the United States and checked himself into rehab in June 2017.
“I used to be able to drink and use drugs in order to escape that feeling,” he said. “At that hotel room in London, there was no amount of drinking or drugs that I could escape that feeling from. There was no way I could run anymore. That shame and that guilt was anywhere I looked and anywhere I turned.”
Frankie Grande admitted that he had only two options: die or get clean. “Those were the only two options because that’s the only way that I was going to escape those feelings of shame and guilt,” he said.
Now, being sober for nearly a decade, Frankie revealed that he has been able to rebuild the relationships his addiction broke.
Expressing his gratitude to Ariana Grande, he said, “It’s just been so indescribable to say how grateful I am to have [Ariana] in my life and to have repaired that relationship to the point where we’re so happy and comfortable with each other again.”
