Advertisement
Home Celebrity Celebrity News

Better Man Robbie reflects on how his wife saved his life

Early success made him Come Undone, now the singer tells how he beat his demons
Robbie Williams with his wife at the Golden Globes
Robbie and Ayda at the Golden Globes

For a self-described introvert, Robbie Williams did a sterling job posing on the Golden Globes red carpet last month. Standing next to his wife Ayda Field, the rock legend shone in his bling-encrusted silver suit.

Advertisement

The Rock DJ hitmaker was at the event because his song Forbidden Road – written for his recently released biopic Better Man – was nominated in the Best Original Song category. He came away without a gong, but it hardly mattered to Robbie.

After years battling alcohol, drugs, depression and anxiety, he’s finally found his own personal nirvana the old-fashioned way – with a wife he’s crazy about and four happy, healthy kids.

The Angels singer is also riding high right now after the release of Better Man – a warts-and-all movie of his life, from becoming a huge star at the age of 16 to his mental breakdown years later, crushed under the weight of his immense fame. Bizarrely, the director portrayed the singer in the movie as a CGI chimp.

Director Michael Gracey came up with the idea after noticing how many times Robbie referred to his past self as a “performing monkey” and Robbie loved the idea, believing being depicted as another species would help audiences see his humanity. Judging by the reaction of both critics and fans, it appears he was right.

Advertisement
Robbie Williams with his wife just after they wed
Robbie and Ayda as newlyweds in 2010.

“I’ve been a cheeky monkey all my life,” he smiles. “There’s no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie.”

It’s been years now since Robbie, 50, became friends once again with his Take That boy band pals, with whom he first shot to fame in 1990. After clashing with fellow singer Gary Barlow, he left the band in a huff in 1995, taking every opportunity to publicly diss Gary.

He’s since shared, “I’m sorry that I treated Gary like that. We’re mates now and I love him, but there will always be a scar.”

Advertisement

Mindful of not reopening old wounds, he sent Gary a copy of the first draft of the Better Man film script.

“He phoned me up,” recalls Robbie. “And he said, ‘Rob, I come off worse than Darth Vader in Star Wars.’ So we made amendments. We have a great relationship now.”

His ex-wide Nicole at an event
Ex Nicole at the European premiere of Better Man.

The movie also addresses one of Robbie’s greatest regrets – the way he treated former girlfriend Nicole Appleton, 50. The pair met in 1997 when she was at the peak of her fame in British girl band All Saints.

Advertisement

They became engaged and were expecting a baby when Nicole buckled under pressure from her record company to end the pregnancy. It was a dark time, and Robbie says he still reproaches himself for the way he treated his former love.

“It wasn’t the abortion – I didn’t make her do that – but I was an awful boyfriend,” he confesses. “Like, really awful. I was in the height of my addiction and alcoholism. She’s a complete angel and there’s still shame attached to who I was then.”

He gained Nicole’s approval before including her part of the story in the biopic. Before the movie reached cinemas, he even gave her a special screening of the final cut.

“As soon as she left the screening, I got straight on the phone with her and FaceTimed her,” he shares. “We both wept. And then we couldn’t stop weeping.”

Advertisement
Robbie Williams with his Take That bandmates
With Take That (clockwise, from top left) Jason Orange, Gary, Howard Donald and Mark Owen.

It’s been 17 years now since Robbie – tormented by numerous addictions and at one point drinking a bottle of vodka a day – became sober.

By then, he’d already met Days of Our Lives star Ayda. Mutual friends set them up on a blind date, but he confesses he was so high and drunk, he clucked like a chicken, then was violently sick and she ended up having to nurse him.

Despite that, they hit it off, but Robbie called it off within a year so he could go to rehab. He needed to get himself on the straight and narrow.

Advertisement

Ayda reflects, “I understood it because I saw he was unwell. I remember thinking, ‘I just want you to get better, whatever you need to do.’ But I was so crestfallen. He was my soulmate and then he was gone.”

Robbie Williams' kids jumping into a pool
“After a tough week, I’m instantly reminded of the joy and love that is right in front of me,” says Robbie of his kids.

After rehab they picked up where they left off, tied the knot in 2010 and went on to welcome two daughters, Teddy, 12, and Coco, six, and two sons, Charlie, 10, and Beau, four.

The pair guard their private life, but Robbie has confessed he owes everything to Ayda, 45.

Advertisement

“She gave me life,” he says. “She absolutely did.”

Better Man is currently out in theatres nationwide.

Help is here
Alcohol and Drug Helpline – 0800 787 797 or online chat at alcoholdrughelp.org.nz.

Advertisement

Related stories


Get NZ Woman’s Weekly home delivered!  

Subscribe and save up to 29% on a magazine subscription.

Advertisement
Advertisement