London - Earl Spencer's former wife, Victoria, has spoken publicly for the first time about her addiction to drugs and alcohol and her battle against anorexia.
The former model, whose marriage to the brother of the Princess of Wales ended in a bitter divorce last year, described the life of an addict as one of "fear and loneliness . . . despair and pain". She revealed her torment, and the hurt her addiction caused her family and friends, at the official opening of the Stepping Stones treatment centre in Cape Town, where she lives with her four children.
Lady Spencer (33) said: "Addiction is a disease that knows no bounds, and is not a respecter of age, colour, class or creed. It wears many hats, those most frequently worn being drugs, alcohol and food.