Drag Race UK star Bimini emotionally opens up about addiction and mental health struggles: ‘It’s been a battle’

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK favourite Bimini has emotionally opened up about their struggle with substance abuse disorder, depression and anxiety, revealing how they “didn’t cope well” with the “pressure” following their TV stint.

In a moving episode of their podcast The Pieces, the 31-year-old drag star and musician candidly shared their experience of addiction, explaining that they struggled with substance use on and off in their early twenties.

They had managed to get sober for a whole year prior to their appearance on Drag Race UK in 2021, during which they made it all the way to the final, but they were left feeling like they “didn’t deserve” the success that came with it.

“I felt so much pressure, almost like a fraud and I didn’t deserve it. I slipped back into a cycle,” Bimini shared.

“There has been some incredible amazing opportunities and I’ve got to do some things that I can only ever have dreamed of, but over those years I’ve battled with addiction, depression and anxiety and it’s been a continuing cycle.

“I’ve really struggled to accept and admit it and I felt so much shame. At times not known where to go or where to look. I felt weak and I lost myself. But I can’t continue that cycle anymore. I need to break it.”

The performer went on to recount their story of being “chewed up and spat out by powerful men” who put them “through hell” as they “dangled” their career in front of them.

They explained that issues with merchandise being sent to fans made them lose “so much credibility within the Drag Race sphere”.

“I was silenced, and it affected me in such a dark way that I couldn’t cope and I didn’t know what to do anymore because I was still working,” Bimini shared. “People were scammed and I felt so deeply responsible for this. Unfortunately it all caught up on me and then since then it has been a battle for the last three and a half years.”

In addition to imposter syndrome post Drag Race and issues with their merchandise, Bimini explained that their mental health struggles were exacerbated by not knowing what to do with their career, and seeing their “trouble with drugs” gossiped about by friends.

“There was a lot of gossip within the community about what I was going through and my troubles with addiction and my troubles with drugs and they were from friends that I felt really hurt by,” they added.

“Friends that weren’t looking out for me because they would rather talk about what I was going through than directly ask me if I needed help. And do you know what? I’m not saying that they’re to blame. I don’t think I was ready to admit things that at the time anyway.”

While there have been times where they’ve felt “stronger again”, they admitted that progress has not been “linear”.

“The darkness takes over again, and it has been like that since. There’s been times where I didn’t want to be here anymore but I’ve managed to get through and get to this point,” the star said.

The “God Save This Queen” singer divulged that they have since been diagnosed with anxiety and depression after seeking help from a doctor, and have gone back to therapy.

“I need to let go of all of that pain and all of that trauma that I’ve built up over the years and no longer blame myself, no longer blame anyone else,” the drag star said.

“I have a substance abuse disorder and this is something that is ongoing and something that I am trying my hardest to battle with and deal with. I will get there, and I know I will.

“I can’t keep continuing that cycle, and that pattern, and it needs to break. And the only way to do that is to admit that I have a problem. And there’s power there.”

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