Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe is opening up about her difficult past, including an addiction to valium. Prior to making her reality television debut, her life was far from perfect. It included failed relationships and crippling depression, according to E! News .
While still in her early 20s, Bristowe landed her dream job as a dancer for the Canadian Football League. However, she let it all go for the sake of a relationship with a hockey player from Newfoundland. When he was signed to a team in Germany, she moved with him, leaving behind her loved ones and her old life.
It was then that Bristowe’s problems began and she began to spiral. She realized that she was not happy and that her relationship was not meant to be. She was 27 years old when she returned to her parents’ home in Canada and sought treatment for depression. At the time she felt she had nothing left to live for, having lost both her job and the person she thought was the love of her life.
Bristowe told her doctor that she felt she “had nothing and that life was over for me,” as she recalled.
Her doctor prescribed her with valium but she had little idea about what the drug would do to her. Instead of helping her to feel better, she now faced even more problems than she had before. Her mother tried desperately to help her, she related.
“I had become addicted to Valium and I was about 93 lb and that is when somebody had to shake me and say you can’t live like this, this is not you. I’ll never forget my mom coming into the room middle of the night with YouTube videos of hypnotizing people saying, ‘You’re happy, you’re going to be okay,’ and she just played it in my ear as I slept.”
Luckily, Bristowe was able to recover and kick the addiction. She made her reality television debut during Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor and would later be named Bachelorette . From that point on, her opportunities became endless and she was able to finally find the career of her dreams.
Bristowe learned one very important lesson from those dark days.
“You cannot make somebody else responsible for your own happiness,” she said.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Bristowe became engaged to Shawn Booth after her season. However, things did not work out and they called things off. She is currently in a happy relationship with Bachelor alum Jason Tartick.