Former The Only Way Is Essex star James ‘Arg’ Argent has opened up about his cocaine addiction and revealed how he suffered two near-fatal overdoses.
The reality star, 32, told The Sun that he has used the drug heavily over the past seven years and said that girlfriend Gemma Collins, 39, had to alert emergency services twice last year when he locked himself in his house after overdosing.
“I locked myself in my house and took drugs for three days straight on my own in the pitch black,” he told the paper of his first overdose in October.
“I was at rock bottom. My heart was beating out of my chest, my nose was bleeding, I was shaking and my breathing was terrible.”
The ambulance service visited Argent at home, where they had to break down his door. They eventually determined that it was safe for him to recover at his parents’ home.
Argent’s girlfriend Gemma Collins had to alert emergency services (PA)
Argent then revealed that he overdosed again on the night before his birthday, just two months later.
“It was the night before my birthday and I said to myself, ‘Right, I’m not going to do drugs tonight because I want to see my family on my birthday and spend time with Gemma,’” he said.
“But my addiction was so bad I couldn’t stop myself. I started early and was in a terrible place. I locked myself in, phone was off and my parents and friends were banging on the door again.
“Gemma called the ambulance and they broke through the door and did all the checks on me and this time they said, ‘There’s absolutely no way you’re staying here’.
The paramedics then took him to hospital as his drug use had put his heart under serious strain.
“They said, ‘You’ve done so much and your heart is so f****d you could die,’” he said.
“‘You have to come to hospital.’ I’ll never forget being in the ambulance with my poor mum.”
Discussing his addiction, Argent said that while he first started taking cocaine on nights out, he then began to use it alone at home.
“My drug use was always by myself, isolated,” he explained, adding that his cocaine problem also led to a vicious circle of binge-eating.
“One of the main reasons why substance addicts binge, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or food, it’s to escape feelings and get away from it all,” he said.
“I was in so much heartbreak and pain that I just couldn’t bear it, so I started taking drugs, and drinking heavily. I literally waited for any excuse to leave a nightclub early so I could go and do it at home.
“I didn’t do it every single night. I’d do it on a Monday night to the early hours then I’d be f****d for the rest of the day, then I’d binge-eat, then I’d sleep it off.”
Argent said he hit his lowest ebb when he spent Christmas Day alone using drugs, which prompted him to contact close friend and former TOWIE co-star Mark Wright, who suggested that he attend a health retreat in Thailand.
He stayed at the resort for 10 weeks and says he now wants to “own” his recovery in the manner of celebrities like Russell Brand and Davina McCall.
Visit Mind for a list of resources to support those affected by addiction and dependency
