SHAIR 104: "Washed Away" with Nikki DuBose, Battling Food, Sex and Drug Addiction.SHAIR 104: "Washed Away" with Nikki DuBose, Battling Food, Sex and Drug Addiction.
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Nikki DuBose shares how childhood abuse, mental illness and the modelling industry fed into food, sex, drug and alcohol addiction, and how a series of rock bottoms, including her mother’s death, led her towards recovery. Omar Pinto frames the conversation with reflections on hardship, community and the daily choice to stay clean.
1:31:20•7 Feb 2017
From Catwalks to Rock Bottom: Nikki DuBose on Food, Sex, Drugs and Finding Recovery
Episode Overview
- Hardships test recovery far more than the good times, making meetings and connection crucial when life is painful.
- Childhood trauma and abuse can feed into later addictions to food, sex, drugs and alcohol, and often stay hidden for years.
- The modelling industry’s weight demands and body shaming can intensify eating disorders and mental health struggles.
- A clear rock bottom moment, such as Nikki’s yacht incident, can spark a firm decision to stop using substances.
- Mentors, 12-step groups, spiritual practices, journalling and making amends can support long-term healing from complex addictions.
“I said, I'm never touching another drink again. And I actually never touched another drink again.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol, food, sex and drugs all at once? This conversation on The SHAIR Recovery Podcast follows Nikki DuBose, a former model whose story is packed with trauma, chaos and, eventually, hard-earned hope. Host Omar Pinto opens with a reading on hardships and reminds you that recovery is easy when life is smooth, but the real test comes "when hardships present themselves".
He shares how he stayed clean while his father was dying of cirrhosis by going to meetings instead of the bar, setting the tone for a raw, honest chat about staying sober when life hurts the most. Nikki then takes you through years of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and a mother battling bipolar disorder, dissociative identity disorder and alcoholism.
She talks about developing binge eating at eight, bulimia at ten, body dysmorphic disorder, self-harm, psychosis, alcohol and drug addiction, and sex addiction, all while working inside the brutal pressure cooker of the fashion industry. Agencies tell her to lose weight, doctors flirt during exams and a supposed casting turns into rape.
One of the standout moments is her rock-bottom yacht story: "I said, I'm calling my agency and I'm going back to Paris and I said, I'm never touching another drink again. And I actually never touched another drink again." Later, her mother's death after severe alcoholism becomes the turning point that pushes her towards sustained recovery.
You’ll hear how faith, a mentor, 12-step fellowships for food, alcohol and sex, daily spiritual practices and simple tools like journalling and affirmations helped her go from vomiting blood and double-digit weight to eating intuitively and building a sober, fuller life. If you’ve ever wondered whether your mix of addictions and trauma is "too much" to face, this conversation might leave you asking a different question: what could change if you reached out today?
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