Shawn Mendes shares alcoholism and drug addiction fears after addressing sexuality

Shawn Mendes has confessed he came close to being consumed by drugs and alcohol before he pulled himself together.

shocked fans in 2022 when he after just seven dates - revealing he had to take time out of the spotlight for the sake of his mental health. The singer has been in the spotlight since the release of his debut single back in 2014 and had completed four huge headlining tours before his 2022 break.

After taking time out of the spotlight, Shawn is making his return to the charts this year - with a brand new album due for release next month. However, he has admitted he almost gave in to temptation while struggling with his success in the spotlight.

The star realised he was at risk of becoming a showbiz statistic - as another tragic artist who ruined their life with drugs and drink. However, he decided to pull himself away from making the same mistakes "thousands" of other stars had made before him.

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Opening up to the New York Times, Shawn explained that he was left facing rock bottom when he was on his Wonder World tour in 2022. He commented: "The shows I could get through and find beauty in them... But when I would step offstage, I just didn’t recognize myself. I was a shell — like talking to a wall.”

He revealed that he noticed he was drinking and smoking both before and after his shows. He said: “I was like, I’m not going to rewrite the same story that’s been written a thousand times by musicians and artists, where they can’t cope and they’d start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it’s too much. I’m not doing that. I’m just going hard left.”

Shawn cancelled his tour and made an emotional statement to fans in 2022, explaining: “I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic, but the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away.” He wrote online: "After speaking more with my team and working with an incredible group of health professionals, it has become more clear that I need to take the time I've never taken personally to ground myself and come back stronger."

Subsequent reports revealed he entered therapy as he battled his issues. The singer told TMZ: “I’m taking a lot of time just doing therapy, just taking it easy, man. Spending time with family that I haven’t been able to ... it’s just about spending time doing things I haven’t really done over the last few years and just having dinners with friends and stuff.”

This week, Shawn opened up to fans at a concert in the USA where he revealed he was still 'figuring out' his sexuality. He told his audience: “I think it’s kind of silly because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing and its so hard to just put into boxes. And it always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me.”

If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, advice and support can be found at

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