I drank 10 BOTTLES of wine a week

An old friend finally made Claire Owen realise the true cost of her boozy habits

- KARA O'NEILL, LYNSEY HOPE

When you pour yourself a wine at the end of the day, you might tell yourself it’s ‘just the one’ and ‘you deserve it’. But if you’re anything like me, one glass soon becomes two – large ones, at that – and then, well, you might as well finish the bottle.

I didn’t see it as a problem, though. I was running my own property management company, was a mum to two boys who always got to school on time with their homework sheets neatly filled in. So what if I was drinking a bottle of wine a night? Didn’t everyone?

Even knowing I was consuming over 100 units a week – far more than the NHS recommended limit of 14 – wasn’t enough to make me stop and think.

As a teenager, I had a relatively normal relationship with alcohol, drinking alcopops in the park, and when I was old enough, downing shots in nightclubs, like others my age. I enjoyed partying, and equated getting drunk with having fun, and I felt glamorous with a glass of wine in my hand.

If I wasn’t stumbling home and slurring my words, then I hadn’t had a good night.

When I met my husband in November 2008, I loved that he liked a drink, too. Despite him being several stone heavier than me, I’d often try to match him pint for pint, desperate not to miss out on the buzz we were constantly chasing.

But, after the birth of my sons in February 2010 and August 2011, my drinking really ramped up. I bought into the ‘mummy’s wine’ culture, congratulating myself with a glass of wine– or three – for getting through the day looking after the children.