Tom Meighan has called his attack on his wife Vikki Ager "horrific" and insisted it was a "one-off".
Tom Meighan
The former Kasabian singer was let go from the band and sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work in July, after pleading guilty to assaulting his spouse, who was left with bruises and "a reddening around her neck", on April 9.
The ‘Club Foot’ singer has since broken his silence on the charge in a joint interview with his other half, who he has moved to Cornwall with in a bid to put the "drunk squabble" behind them.
Speaking to CornwallLive, Tom said of the incident: “We had too much to drink. I regret everything that happened that night – what I can remember of it. I don’t condone it – it’s horrific. I love my partner to pieces.
“I was at a boiling point in my life – I didn’t know where things were heading. I was drowning myself with drink because of my problems and things going on around me. We had a fight and I took the brunt for it. I was fully responsible for what happened but we love each other and we’re getting over it.”
Vikki claims it was nothing more than a drunken fight that got out of control and insisted it "wasn't domestic violence".
Tom had just been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and had been to rehab to get help with his longstanding alcohol addiction.
And his wife says a lack of support for his mental health condition had a lot to do with his actions.
She said: “He apologises daily. He really does. A lot of people have arguments and ours got taken to an extreme level.
“I gave as good as I got. We were both fighting. We were really drunk and I don’t normally drink. It was more of a squabble, it wasn’t domestic violence.
“Mental health played a massive part in it and a lack of support for mental health. Tom isn’t that person and I don’t think Tom was himself for a long time. He’s not a violent person. He’d never done anything like that before.”
Vikki revealed it was her daughter who phoned the police and insisted she didn't want to “prosecute” the musician.
Asked if it was herself who phoned up to report Tom, she said: “No, my daughter phoned the police because we were having an argument and she didn’t need to hear it. I’ve still got messages on my phone now where I was asking police not to prosecute him. I asked numerous times for them not to take it further. I said, this isn’t Tom, he needs support. They said it had gone to the CPS.
“Tom needed a wake-up call, but that was beyond it and they went to town on him.”
Vikki admitted she feared Tom would end up dead because he felt like "he didn't have anything to live for”, and she believes their altercation "saved him” as it was a huge “wake-up call”.
She added: “And I wouldn’t be with him now if it was. I wouldn’t be sitting here in Cornwall. It was a cry for help and it’s definitely made us stronger.
“It was a squabble, which was made out to be more than it was … it was awful. In some ways, what happened was a good thing as it’s saved him. I really think he could have died, as he felt like he didn’t have anything to live for.”
Tom is now focusing his attention on his debut solo album, which he hopes to release in 2022.
He said: "I’ve written about me and Vix – before this incident and it all kicked off; heartfelt, beautiful, warm songs that are biography based. It’s very different from Kasabian. It will surprise people. It’s been time for me to reflect, get myself together and head upwards and onwards.”
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