Trinny Woodall, the celebrated beauty entrepreneur and former What Not To Wear presenter, has courageously opened up about her turbulent past with substance abuse, expressing she feels 'relieved to be alive' after overcoming a severe drug addiction that plagued her early adult years.
The Descent into Addiction and Multiple Rehab Stints
The now 61-year-old mogul traced the origins of her struggle back to her teenage years, explaining that she first turned to alcohol to escape her shyness after leaving boarding school at just 16. This initial dependency soon escalated into drug use, leading to her first rehabilitation centre admission by age 21.
Her first attempt at recovery was tragically cut short when she was expelled from rehab after just one month for pulling an April Fool's Day prank. Despite attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings afterwards, Woodall fell back into substance abuse for another five years before a final two-day binge prompted her decisive return to treatment.
'I had six friends die in my first year of recovery,' she revealed painfully to Women's Health magazine, where she appears as the December issue cover star. Reflecting on this devastating period, she added: 'It's difficult looking back. If I hadn't gone through it, I might not be where I am today. We only learn when we're challenged.'
The Turning Point and Tragic Losses
Woodall identified loneliness as a crucial factor driving her addiction, telling Steven Bartlett on his Diary of a CEO podcast two years ago: 'I missed my old friends, I saw them and then I relapsed and then I went back to meetings and then you're in this horrible little in-between place.'
Her final recovery journey began dramatically when she and three friends made a pact to get sober together. On her way to the treatment facility, Woodall crashed her car while driving under the influence of tranquilisers, highlighting the severity of her situation.
She committed fully to rebuilding her life, spending a year in rehab followed by time in a halfway house and with her parents. Tragically, all three friends from her sobriety pact subsequently died - two from overdoses and one from HIV-related pneumonia, despite having maintained their sobriety.
Building a New Life Beyond Addiction
After achieving lasting sobriety, Woodall's career flourished with her breakthrough role on What Not To Wear alongside Susannah Constantine. She later established herself as a formidable businesswoman with her highly successful skincare and makeup brand, Trinny London.
Her personal life, however, continued to face profound challenges. She married Johnny Elichaoff in 1999, with whom she welcomed daughter Lyla in 2003 before their separation in 2009. Elichaoff tragically took his own life in 2014 after a 20-year struggle with painkiller addiction.
Marking the 11th anniversary of his death on November 12, 2025, Woodall shared family photographs on Instagram with the poignant caption: 'Forever in our hearts ♥️ each year I miss you more.'
She previously discussed the complex grief surrounding suicide on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, noting: 'The regret of somebody who kills himself, it can take you into the darkest hole, but you can also know when somebody who is in that situation switches off, and that is their path, and nobody can get in. I had to learn.'
Woodall later had a decade-long relationship with Charles Saatchi, beginning just six weeks after his divorce from Nigella Lawson when photographs emerged showing him strangling the celebrity chef.
Finding Contentment in Sobriety and Motherhood
Today, the beauty entrepreneur focuses her energy on her life with daughter Lyla, now in her early twenties, who initially 'couldn't quite understand' her father's death but 'loved her dad dearly'.
Woodall told Women's Health she now prioritises 'travelling and having dinner with people who fascinate me' over actively seeking romance. When friends inquire about her dating life, she responds with characteristic wit: 'No, and I don't really give a s**t. By the way, how's your boring husband?'
Her journey from addiction to successful entrepreneurship stands as a powerful testament to the possibility of redemption and rebuilding, offering hope to others facing similar struggles with substance abuse.
