Dougie Poynter took "lethal dosages" of Valium to cope with McFly's hiatus.
Dougie Poynter
The 32-year-old bassist - who attempted suicide amid a battle with drugs and alcohol in 2011 - had suggested the group took an indefinite break in 2016 but within two years was struggling to cope without his pals and turned to the prescription drug instead.
Dougie, who admitted the relapse was the closest he ever came to "losing myself", said: "On the one hand I felt inspired because friends in LA would take me to see other bands and stuff.
“On the other hand, I was like, ‘But my band’s broken and it’s all my fault’. Valium was a way of just making all that disappear.”
The 'Please Please' hitmaker's bandmates, Danny Jones, Tom Fletcher and Harry Judd could see there was something wrong.
Danny said: “He went from being quite sketchy to being super chill, like almost dribbling and I was like, ‘There’s something wrong man’.”
Harry added: “I said to him, ‘Don’t freak out mate, but I know you’re taking something. Is everything OK?’
"And he sort of told me what he’d been taking. He was like, at that lethal dosage.”
Dougie was just a teenager when he joined the band so Tom - his closest friend within the group - could understand why he had struggled in the aftermath of them going their separate ways.
Speaking on upcoming documentary 'McFly: All About You', Tom said: "Doug’s parents had split and he moved in with the band at 15.
"We’re all he had to cling on to when there were tough things going on in his life.”
The musician checked into rehab, and Tom was asked to write a letter to him, but was shocked when he came to put pen to paper.
The 35-year-old singer said: "Danny and I could shout at each other and get emotions off our chest, but me and Doug never did that.”
Dougie - who is now dating Maddy Elmer - asked Tom to come to counselling to repair their friendship, with Danny and Harry, both 34, eventually joining the sessions too.
Harry said: "We realised Dougie did nothing wrong. And that’s the biggest lesson from all this.”
And Dougie is delighted the band are now back together.
He said: "It’s all I really know and all I really want to know.”
Tagged in Danny Jones Dougie Poynter Harry Judd