Phil Collins addresses his former alcohol addiction: 'I came very close to dying'

He explains he was left with a 'void' after he got divorced and his family moved to Miami

Collins has spoken about his struggle with alcohol in the past and said his heavy drinking nearly cost him his life (Getty Images)

Phil Collins has addressed his former alcohol addiction and said he came close to nearly dying due to heavy drinking.

The 65-year-old grammy-award winning singer explained he started drinking more after his third marriage broke up and his family moved away to Miami.

Collins said he was in turn left with an emotional vacuum and began drinking excessively.

“There’s a chapter in it about the drinking, which escalated when my third marriage broke up, and I retired,” he told The New York Times while talking about his new memoir I’m Not Dead Yet.

“I was left with this huge void. I didn’t want to work because I wanted to be with the kids, but the kids weren’t there anymore, because they moved to Miami, and I was still in Switzerland.”

“You start drinking, and then you start drinking too much. Then it physically hurts you. I came very close to dying at that point. I’m being honest about that. The book is honest, it’s self-deprecating. I’m not shirking my responsibilities. I apologise when I need to.”

Collins has spoken about his struggle with alcohol in the past, explaining that heavy drinking nearly cost him his life and he would open a bottle of wine at 11am in the morning at the height of his drinking.

Collins got divorced from his third wife Orianne Cevey, a Swiss national, in 2008. In 2015, he moved to Miami to be closer to his family.