Billy Crawford recalls struggle: ‘I was borderline alcoholic’
Billy Crawford has opened up about his past struggle with alcohol—and his path toward sobriety.
In an interview with TV5’s Usapang Real Life with Luchi Cruz-Valdes aired Saturday, Dec. 12, Billy admitted he was once borderline alcoholic.
“I would actually go to work sometimes drunk. I would wake up in the morning, drink a shot of whisky, and do what I got to do,” he said.
At his worst, Billy said he would drink a bottle of whisky a day all by himself. “I was at the point of uncontrollable drinking,” he said.
“(Alcohol) was my kryptonite. I knew it was weighing me down,” Billy also said.
Coleen Garcia, Billy’s wife, admitted that their relationship “went through so many lows” because of his drinking, but she understood that deciding to stay sober isn’t just a matter of “waking up one day and saying, ‘Ah, I think I’m gonna quit’.”
She added: “You sometimes, you really have to fall before you realize that, ‘I think this is messed up. I think this is messing me up and messing my relationships up’.”
“For him, there were a lot of those,” Coleen said.
Billy’s struggles with alcohol—and the consequence of his drinking—were well-documented by the showbiz press.
In 2014, he was detained for malicious mischief at a precinct in Taguig City.
And in 2016, Billy was reportedly detained in Hong Kong after an alleged altercation. He admitted that the altercation in Hong Kong happened, but denied that he was arrested.
Coleen referenced both incidents in their Usapang Real Life interview and said: “In other words, nothing good would come out of him getting drunk.”
Billy said it took those incidents—“those hard falls, it took me being locked up”—to realize that something was wrong. Drinking also affected his mental well-being.
“When I was actually doing it na when I thought I needed it to calm down, I need it to just loosen up, that’s when I knew I had a problem na.”
“I was depressed. But that’s the point, e. I didn’t (think I had) any reason to be depressed,” he said.
“It’s a substance that messes with you,” Coleen added.
Billy has since given up the bottle. In past interviews, he said it was his desire to have a child that pushed and inspired him to a path of sobriety.
Billy is further encouraged to stay healthy by the fact that he is now a father. Coleen gave birth in September to their first son, Amari.
In 2019, Billy posted an Instagram photo celebrating the “first year anniversary” of his sobriety.
He hasn’t had “one lick” of alcohol or cigarette since 2018.
Billy said having a child “makes all the difference.”
“Now that I have a kid, it makes all the difference. I’m gonna have a little baby who will turn to us. We’re not perfect, we’re never going to be perfect. I want him to know that we’re vulnerable, we’re imperfect, we’re flawed human beings at the end of the day,” Coleen added..
