Warm and always wearing her heart on her sleeve, Vicky Pattison opens up about her difficult but also special relationship with her alcoholic father – and the important lessons he has taught her
Vicky Pattison, the Geordie reality star turned TV and radio presenter, has opened up movingly in an exclusive chat with OK! about the special bond she has with her father. Speaking candidly about her upbringing in Newcastle, where she was raised by her mother Caroll, the 37-year-old said of her dad,who struggles with alcoholism, “he is not a well man – but he’s a great man and a great dad.”
The former Geordie Shore star, whose father John was the subject of her touching Channel 4 documentary ‘Alcohol, dad And Me’ in 2022, revealed that both of her parents have imparted important life lessons to her – confessing that her father has shown her that showing vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, and they would happily shed a tear together watching movies.
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“He’s 6ft 2, a unit of a Geordie man, who used to do more one-handed press-ups in bars than Rocky. He’d cry with me watching a Disney film. He’ll talk about his illness openly, in the hope it helps others. I understood gender roles could be reversed and it’s made me the woman I am. I’m very proud of both my parents”.
Speaking previously about the importance of her documentary with her father, and growing up as the child of an alcoholic, she admitted, “For years, my family kept my dad’s illness a secret- I learnt from a very young age that we weren’t to talk about what was happening inside our home with anyone else.
” But people are never going to understand this illness if we keep hiding it away… The only way to break down the stigma of addiction and alcoholism is by giving it more sunlight, more candour and less judgement. I spent so many years not understanding my dad’s illness- going through this horrendous cycle of being mad at him, feeling guilty, feeling like I was somehow to blame, feeling devastated that my dad just didn’t love me enough to stop drinking. “
Vickie went on to explain in our exclusive chat that what her mum taught her was to chase her happiness”. Mum taught me strength and resilience, she told me never to compromise in my pursuit of happiness. She kept going. She’s been through a lot. She tried to make her marriage work for a long time, and make him well – until she couldn’t. She still has a great relationship with dad. She went on to lose a partner she adored, but she’s never stopped believing she could be happy. That’s a huge lesson for a young woman to learn. “
And it seems Vicky has found her fairytale ending, with new husband, Ercan Ramadan. She is relishing the security of being 31 year old Ercan’s wife, confessing that it might sound “old-fashioned” to some, but she’s perfectly fine with that. “Everything’s fast and transient these days. Finding a safe space is everything, someone with whom the noise is not so loud… he’s the best. I always wanted to be settled, loved and happy – and I am all those things.”
The Vicky Pattison x Little Mistress collection exclusively for Matalan will be available in store and online from Thursday 3 April
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