Ozzy Osbourne: I Was a 'Bad Father' And 'Abusive Husband'

8 June 2014

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne believes he was a "bad father" and an "abusive husband" when he was battling with addiction.

The 65-year-old rocker, who has a history of substance abuse, regrets the way he treated his wife Sharon Osbourne and their children, Aimee, 30, Kelly, 29, and Jack, 28, during his struggle with drugs and alcohol.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "I was a bad father, an abusive husband and I had an ego the size of India.

"I spent decades of my life being an absolute idiot. I've got so many regrets I can't even remember half of them. But wives and kids are right at the top. It's pointless even saying sorry. I couldn't say it enough times."

However, Ozzy's 32-year marriage to Sharon, 61, was rocked again in 2012 when he relapsed following seven years of sobriety.

He explained: "There was no reason [for the relapse] except that I'm an alcoholic and one day you just look outside, it's a sunny day and you know nothing is going to come between you and a beer, and then you go right down the mud slide and you're crawling around on the floor wishing you didn't have to watch another sunrise.

"But if you take cocaine you can drink forever. Cocaine and booze are the eggs and bacon of the addict's world, the perfect combination. And you just can't stop."

Ozzy - whose real name is John Michael Osbourne - has since been sober for two years and attends daily Alcoholics Anonymous [AA] meetings to help him stay on track.