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Linda Robson on rehab, binge-drinking and her marriage breakdown
Linda Robson has had a tough few years by anyone’s standards. In 2018, her declining mental health led to stints in rehab and the star was even put on suicide watch, leading to an extended break from Loose Women.
Then last November, Linda, 66, revealed to Woman that she’d split from her husband of 33 years, Mark Dunford, telling us, ‘Enough is enough.’
From her battle with addiction and depression to the breakdown of her marriage, Linda has now opened up about her darkest times. ‘The last few years have been incredibly tough for me,’ she said, ‘and there were times when I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to carry on. There has been tragedy and heartbreak. I’ve loved and I’ve lost and I’ve cried buckets.’
Relationship woes
Making the decision to end her marriage was undoubtedly one of the hardest things Linda’s had to face. Hinting that things may never have been that easy, she said, ‘I’d never thought of Mark in that way,’ adding, ‘It wasn’t the most romantic of proposals,’ as well as referring to their 1990 nuptials as ‘the wedding that nearly wasn’t’. Revealing the differences they struggled with over the years, Linda explained, ‘He’s never had any interest in being part of showbiz life… I’d be out every night of the week if I could, and love nothing more than a night at the theatre or having drinks with friends. For more than 30 years we made the relationship work, in spite of our many differences.’
The couple almost split up back in the 1990s, with Linda saying, ‘Neither of us wanted to split up but in the mid-90s that was definitely the way it was headed. We were stuck in this permanent rut of having a go at each other. By then, we had two children so there was a big pull to stay together.’ She added, ‘It’s a wonder we stayed together.’ Reflecting on the marriage, Linda said, ‘When a marriage ends, it’s always sad. [There were] lots of happy times but plenty of rocky spells too.’
Maybe what gave Linda the strength to leave her marriage was how far she’s come in terms of her mental health in the past couple of years. Speaking about the height of her battle with alcohol, sleeping pills and depression – which peaked in 2018 – Linda said, ‘In the space of a year I went from being a happy, confident woman who had everything to live for, to a shell of a person on suicide watch in a rehab centre whe
