Alan Carr getting husband ‘the help he needs’ after being forced to deny hitting him
Alan Carr and Paul Drayton pictured in 2018 in London, England. (/Dave J Hogan/Getty)
Alan Carr has confirmed that his husband Paul Drayton is seeking help for alcoholism after he “fell off the wagon and started drinking again”.
The Chatty Man star broke his silence after Drayton, 49, posted a worrying photo of himself with a black eye on his Instagram stories. The photo has now been taken down.
Drayton told a fan he’d got the injury after a “bad row” but didn’t say who he’d fought with, sparking speculation.
Carr quickly put a stop to the rumours, telling The Sun: “While I was away filming on location the past few weeks, Paul fell off the wagon and started drinking again.
“When I arrived back home from Wales, Paul was covered in scratches and bruises from a drinking binge.”
He went on: “We are now working together to get the help he needs to get better which is our number one priority right now.”
Shortly after the photo of the black eye made it to the tabloids Drayton also stepped in to confirm that Carr had not hit him. “Thank you to that follower who sent that picture to the newspaper,” he wrote on social media.
“I’m feeling very fragile at the minute and would like to say that Alan would not and has never hit me. And I’m devastated that he has to deal with this today.”
Alan Carr says alcohol addiction is ‘like watching someone die’
Paul Drayton’s binge-drinking injury came three days after he shared a picture of himself looking dishevelled in a vomit-stained t-shirt.
“This is what alcoholism does to you,” he captioned the photo. “My gorgeous husband took this pic.”
Celebrity friends rallied around, with Carol Vorderman writing: “We love you Paul,” and Tamzin Outhwaite asking: “When was this? Are you OK?”
The couple were married in 2018 at Adele’s Los Angeles mansion, and have now been together for more than 14 years.
Alan Carr previously spoke of his husband’s struggles with drinking in his book Alanatomy, sharing how Drayton began drinking more heavily after injuring his back in 2015.
“It’s horrible when you realise how bad it’s got. You’re watching someone kill themselves,” the star wrote.
“I wanted to leave him. It’s the lies that get you – the, ‘Oh I’ll never drink again’. And then you go out, realise you’ve forgotten your car keys, go back and… [Paul would be drinking.]
“I couldn’t cope, because when I left the house, I didn’t know if he was going to have a fall, or put something on the hob and fall asleep. He was grey and shuffling around. It was like watching someone die.”
Drayton went into rehab in 2018 but last August, Carr revealed lockdown had tempted his teetotal husband to start drinking again.
