'It might well in the end have ruined my life...' Ore Oduba celebrating being 'sober' for over a year
Ore Oduba took to Instagram on Tuesday (22.07.25) to share that he has been "sober" for over a year after spending "most of [his] life as an addict".
Ore Oduba is celebrating being "sober" for over a year after he "spent most of [his] life as an addict".
The 39-year-old TV presenter - who hopes to share the details of his addiction publicly one day - lived with it "silently, secretly for decades", and his life may have been "ruined" if he had not been diagnosed or had not sought therapy.
Despite not realising how much "progress" Ore has made in the last year, the star "don't even recognise that version" of himself anymore.
Captioning a photo of him sitting on a train seat with his left hand facing upwards as it covered his mouth and nose on Instagram on Tuesday (22.07.25), the Strictly Come Dancing 2016 cast member candidly shared: "Until recently, I had spent most of my life as an addict. Shame was into woven into my addictive behaviours, they went hand-in-hand.
"Through therapy and finally admitting to myself that I'd suffered from addiction pretty much my entire life I'm so happy to share I've been 'sober' for over a year. If that is indeed how to describe my case.
"Despite living with it silently, secretly for decades.. undiagnosed and untreated it might well in the end have ruined my life.
"Funnily enough I didn't recognise the timing until I started reading this unbelievable book by @annaliehowling 'UNAPOLOGETIC'.
"I devoured it in a day... And while her expertise is on shame, pretty much every word Annalise said resonated so deeply with me that I realised I'd actually forgotten I'd made so much progress in the last 12 months.
"I'm glad I don't even recognise that version of me anymore. (sic)"
Ore has "recently" told friends about his addiction, and he hopes this will make him feel "more compelled" to publicly reveal his past struggles to help others who are trying to become sober.
The TV host - who made it to the final of Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2021 - said: "I've started speaking about my addiction to friends recently and the more I open up about it the more compelled I feel to share it publicly one day.
"There comes a point where once I've dealt with my demons, the most selfish thing I could do is keep it to myself.
"I know it'll have the power to help a lot of people. (sic)"
Ore broke down in tears as he revealed in a six-minute Instagram Reel on July 20 that he felt "ashamed and embarrassed" after he fell for a scam.
The star - who formerly helped people avoid insurance scams as host of BBC One documentary series Claimed and Shamed - was contacted by someone pretending to be podcaster-and-author Mel Robbins after he said on ITV1's Loose Women that the philosophy in her 2024 book The Let Them Theory had "changed his life".
Thinking he was telling Mel "everything" and how she "changed my life", Ore was actually speaking to a con-artist.
After his tell-all video, Ore was bombarded with people praising him for speaking about getting scammed.
Ore added in his lengthy caption about his sobriety: "I can't believe the reaction to the video I posted at the weekend about getting scammed. This is one of the personal pictures I sent to them.
"And actually many of your comments talked about 'shame' and reminding me not to feel it.
"'It's them, not you' sort of thing... totally right, and so kind, thank you.
"I have such a much better relationship with that word now than I used to but it's interesting how it still finds a way to knock at your door.
"I did feel ashamed of myself for being scammed, yes... but I know now how to deal with those moments of doubt and I pop that little bout of negative talk into a bin bag and throw it in the trash. (sic)"
