When Vicky White appeared in Closer last year, she was told she’d die within 12 months if she didn’t stop drinking.
Tragically, the mum-of-two – who at the height of her dependence was drinking five bottles of wine and half a litre of vodka a day - couldn’t curb her addiction and passed away earlier this month after her internal organs shut down.
Vicky – who was just 38 when she died – was diagnosed with liver failure in 2011 and was warned one more drink could kill her. But she turned to the bottle again in March last year, with catastrophic effects.
Now her heartbroken partner Steven Hough, 43, is left to raise her eldest son, Jack, 17, and their daughter Mia, seven, alone and wants to warn others of the dangers of alcohol abuse.
Speaking as statistics show binge drinking is now rife amongst mothers, with almost 30 per cent admitting they’ve been drunk in front of their children, Steven, from Liverpool, says: “I’m devastated I’ve lost my wife to alcohol.
"Vicky knew drinking would kill her, but she couldn’t stop. I’d beg her to go to rehab, but she wouldn’t listen. She couldn’t function without alcohol and would lash out if she couldn’t have a drink.
“The kids are struggling to cope without their mum. Mia misses her so much and asks about her all the time. Jack’s become quiet and withdrawn. I’m still in shock, I try and keep busy but some days I break down.
“I want to tell people to get help if their loved ones suffer from alcohol addiction. Vicky was my world, I’m lost without her.”
Read the full story in Closer magazine, on sale today