In promotion of her first solo album in 11 years, Fergie has opened up in a new interview about her past drug use.
And the artist has held absolutely nothing back.
“At my lowest point, I was [suffering from] chemically induced psychosis and dementia,” Fergie tells the United Kingdon’s iNews about her use of crystal meth.
This was back in the early 2000s, she says.
“I was hallucinating on a daily basis. It took a year after getting off that drug for the chemicals in my brain to settle so that I stopped seeing things.
“I’d just be sitting there, seeing a random bee or bunny.”
Wow. That’s pretty crazy and intense.
Fergie also says her weight plummeted to around 90 pounds during this time.
The artist’s hallucinations became so serious, Fergie says candidly, that she believed the CIA, FBI and a SWAT team were following her around.
She eventually sought solace in a church, the only place she felt safe and protected.
But then she had a breakthrough that probably saved her life.
“I remember thinking: ‘If I walk outside, and the SWAT team’s out there, I was right all along.
“But if they’re not out there, then it’s the drugs making me see things and I’m going to end up in an institution.
“And if it really is the drugs, I don’t want to live my life like this any more, anyway.’
“I walked out of the church; obviously there was no SWAT team, it was just me in a parking lot. It was a freeing moment.”
Fergie admits the drugs were “a hell of a lot of fun” for a period.
Until, of course, they weren’t.
“It’s so incredible, I know. I think I must have guardian angels,” the singer says of simply being alive.
Prior to this honest spilling of very personal details, Fergie made news in September for her separation from Josh Duhamel.
The stars had been married for eight years when they made this announcement and they share a four-year old son, Axl.
Early on in this interview, Fergie says she’s proud of Duhamel for directing a new movie and says the pair tries to FaceTime with their child as often as possible when on the road.
They are clearly on solid terms.
Says the singer of her estranged husband and their priorities:
“I’ve just released my first solo album in 11 years, and I’m out promoting it. So there’s a lot going on.
“That’s why we wanted to find our footing with our separation before we announced it publicly: to make sure we really got it together for our kid.
“It’s a constant juggling act.”
Considering where she’s been in the past, though, it’s something we have no doubt Fergie can figure out and make work.
Just take a look at how far she’s come.