'Loose Women's' Nadia Sawalha says she was heading for 'early death' but daughter saved her

Nadia Sawalha with daughters Maddie and Kiki-Bee attend The BFI 63rd London Film Festival, American Express Gala screening of 'Knives Out held at the Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square in London. (Photo by Keith Mayhew / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Nadia Sawalha with her daughters. (Keith Mayhew / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has said she was facing an “early death” due to her lifestyle but that having her daughter saved her life.

The TV star said she was partying hard and in "chaos” but that she reached “a turning point” after she and her husband Mark Adderley welcomed Maddy in 2002.

Speaking on the How To Stay Married (So Far) podcast, Sawalha said it probably wasn’t quite the right time for the couple to start a family together.

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“We were a beautiful disaster, we were two quite broken people when I think about it,” said the 57-year-old.

Nadia Sawalha and husband Mark Adderley attending the opening night of Nina Raine's Consent held at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton Street, London. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
Nadia Sawalha and husband Mark Adderley. (Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

Sawalha said the pair were both “crazy” and were drinking a lot.

“When you think about how much we used to drink, we used to think it was funny to lie in the road and see if we would get run over!" she said on the podcast, which saw her talking to her hubby about their life.

The presenter said the first couple of years of motherhood were tough as it was a big change.

“I was 38 years old and I had lived my life exactly as I wanted to all my life,” she explained.

She went on: “I lived out of a suitcase for years, I was always on the move, I would party hard, I smoked like a maniac.

"I was heading to an early death, I really was.”

Nadia Sawalha has been a regular panellist on 'Loose Women' in 2013. (Credit: ITV)
Nadia Sawalha is known for being on 'Loose Women'. (ITV)

Sawalha, who also has a younger daughter named Kiki, said that after she had Maddy things changed as she reassessed who she was and who she wanted to be as a person and as a friend and parent.

“Maddy saved my life,” she said.

“Because I was just looking at this baby and saying, ‘Right, who am I going to be?’”

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The star said she remembers walking along with Maddy and looking at her and wondering what her daughter was going to see when she looked at her mum

“That was literally my turning point in my life,” said the TV star.

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