Inside Fergie's Struggle With Meth Addiction And How She Had Chemically Induced Psychosis
She said she was hallucinating that the FBI was tracking her.
Getty Images Was Fergie addicted to meth at one point? In an interview with iNews, Fergie gave more details about her addiction to meth in the early '00s. With it came drug-induced psychosis, dementia and a dangerous amount of weight loss.
At one point, she weighed only 90 pounds.
“At my lowest point, I was [suffering from] chemically induced psychosis and dementia. I was hallucinating on a daily basis. It took a year after getting off that drug for the chemicals in my brain to settle so that I stopped seeing things. I’d just be sitting there, seeing a random bee or bunny.”
Before she found success with the Black Eyed Peas, she was a part of a girl group called Wild Orchid. It was during that time that she developed her meth addiction. Her hallucinations became so intense that she started to believe that the CIA, FBI and SWAT teams were tracking her every move.
Fergie said she went to a church to seek solace.
“They tried to kick me out, because I was moving down the aisles in this crazy way, as I thought there was an infrared camera in the church trying to check for my body," she said. "I bolted past the altar into a hallway and two people were chasing me."
“I remember thinking: ‘If I walk outside, and the SWAT team’s out there, I was right all along. But if they’re not out there, then it’s the drugs making me see things and I’m going to end up in an institution. And if it really is the drugs, I don’t want to live my life like this anymore, anyway.’ I walked out of the church; obviously, there was no SWAT team, it was just me in a parking lot. It was a freeing moment."
Thankfully, that moment led her to get clean. She found the Black Eyed Peas and eventually gained success as a solo artist. She separated from her husband, Josh Duhamel, in September. They have one son, Axl.
“The drugs thing, it was a hell of a lot of fun… until it wasn’t," she said. "But you know what, I thank the day it happened to me. Because that’s my strength, my faith, my hope for something better.”
Fergie said she's thankful for the success she's found.
“It’s so incredible, I know. I think I must have guardian angels.”
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between.