Mindy McCready Says Bad Relationships Fueled Addictions

Mindy McCready, fresh from a stint on the hit VH-1 series Celebrity Rehab, with recovery guru Dr. Drew Pinsky, is speaking out about her addiction and recovery, including revealing what has been the most painful part of her lengthy struggle.

Addicted to both alcohol and prescription drugs, the singer says the substances were her way to escape. It was "about one bad relationship after another, whether it be a record company relationship or with a man," she explains on The View. "Starting out having a destructive relationship with my parents in my childhood ... when there would be some kind of crisis or some kind of painful thing would happen to me, it was readily available to go and drink too much."

Those painful times include two failed record label deals, a rumored ten-year affair with married Boston Red Sox player Roger Clemens (which allegedly began when Mindy was only 15 years old), an abusive ex-boyfriend, Billy McKnight (who was charged with attempted murder after a particularly violent attack), three suicide attempts and five separate arrests. But it was losing custody of her little boy, Zander, that became the wake-up call the troubled singer needed.

"I left Ft. Myers [Fla.], which is where I'm from, to go to jail, and my son was 15 months old when I left," she reveals. "Spending that first night away from him, it was the first night I had spent away from him, period. You had the 'aha' moment going, 'Here I am, how did I get here? Look who I was, and where's my baby?'"

While her son is now almost four years old and still not living with Mindy, the singer says she is working toward that goal. "My mom is watching him now. He has been in her care ... I think my mom is very good to him, and I do appreciate the fact that my mom and my stepfather have taken good care of him."

While on Celebrity Rehab, Mindy lived with other public figures dealing with substance issues, including Tom Sizemore, Heidi Fleiss and Dennis Rodman. But it was her friendship with actress Mackenzie Phillips that was the most fulfilling. "She was a huge help," Mindy says of the actress.

In addition to working on her recovery, Mindy is restarting her music career. She's releasing a new album, 'I'm Still Here,' next week, the title cut of which is available here.



Download Mindy McCready Songs

Mindy McCready on AOL Music