Entertainment
Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley opens up on ‘intrusive’ attention surrounding Avril Lavigne divorce: ‘It was overwhelming’-Kim Novak-Entertainment – Metro
The pair split in 2009.
Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley were married from 2006 until 2009 (Picture: Chris Wolf/FilmMagic)
Deryck Whibley has opened up about the ‘intrusion’ into his marriage and divorce from Avril Lavigne following Sum 41’s success.
The musician, 42, was married to Avril, 38, from 2006 until 2009, with their divorce being finalised the following year.
Deryk said that being in the high-profile pop-punk pairing brought more attention than he was prepared for, noting: ‘That felt more intrusive.
‘It became not about the music; it was my private life and gossip. And it was constant. You can imagine it was overwhelming.’
After the pair’s divorce, Deryk found things fell apart, adding to the Independent: ‘Around 2010 and 2011, the band started to implode a little bit. My drinking was bad… Everyone’s drinking was bad. It was drunks getting mad at other drunks for drinking too much.’
He revealed that the band’s use of alcohol had led to ‘resentment and anger’ and arguments between them, and he had become so dependent on it that he ‘couldn’t function’ and would get the shakes without drinking.
Deryck has been sober since collapsing in 2013 (Picture: Christina Radish/Redferns)
His drinking ended up taking its toll and Deryck was rushed to hospital and put into an induced coma in 2013 after collapsing in his kitchen.
The singer woke up three days later when he found out he ‘almost died’ after his liver failed and other organs were headed the same way.
Deryck remained in hospital for a month and didn’t find staying sober difficult as his recovery had put everything he had been through into perspective.
He explained: ‘I had nerve damage in my feet, which felt like I was walking on hot coals or broken glass, or both. It was like that for a year and a half.
‘I was so out of it that I couldn’t form sentences and my motor skills were off. Drinking wasn’t even a thought because it was like, “How are we going to get back to normal?”’
Deryck has been sober ever since and has been married to Ariana Cooper since 2015, with the pair sharing a two-year-old child, Lydon Igby, while Avril is engaged to Mod Sun.
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