Ulrika Jonsson says she ‘didn’t want to move on with life’ while battling back pain

The mother of four has gone downhill while battling back pain – she’s taking a pain reliever called codeine. Reflecting on her struggles, Ulrika fears an opioid crisis will soon affect the UK.

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Ulrika Jonsson discusses marriage and divorce on Lorraine

Ulrika Jonssen discussed her history of pain medication – and said she nearly wanted to commit suicide while on prescription medication.

The 54-year-old TV personality is a mother of four – with sons Cameron, 27, and Malcolm, 13, and daughters Bo, 22, and Martha, 17.

For the past 15 years of her life, Ulrika has suffered in silence from a nagging back pain that has become increasingly severe and she has finally had to try several medications and treatments.

The star said an epidural injection – usually given during childbirth – helped her fight the pain, but the effects were temporary.

Write an article about her condition for Sun, Ulrika says she has suffered from intense bouts of stress, anxiety and panic attacks due to her back pain and says painkillers have helped her calm down.

She says she has been given codeine – a drug derived naturally from opium – but fears other medicines will be scrapped by the NHS; Tramadol and fentanyl in particular, could contribute to a possible opioid addiction crisis in the UK.

Discussing her tormenting back pain, Ulrika writes that she scored two lows while battling her condition.

She said: “One was when I couldn’t stay alone with my two-year-old son because if he fell or injured himself I couldn’t lift him or go to his aid.

“He often has to be brought to me in bed so I can spend time with him because sometimes it’s hard for me to move.”

She went on to explain how her thoughts turned completely black; “The second lowest point is when I don’t want to move on with life.

“What saved me was a friend who had a second recurrence of breast cancer. My conscience was tormented by the ingratitude of wanting to end my life at a time when my friend was desperately clinging to her. It was the dark times.”

She added: “There is a need for larger discussions – given the addictive nature of opioids but also because they cost the NHS so much.”

She goes on to argue that she thinks certain opioids have been very helpful in helping NHS patients combat various aches and pains, but she said she worries an opioid epidemic could could soon spill over to the UK as in parts of the US.

Of her four children, former weather presenter Ulrika welcomed her first child when she married first husband, John Turnbull, in 1990 at the age of 23 and Cameron until she was 27.

She divorced John in 1995 and went on to date soccer player Stan Collymore, then had a romance with German hotel manager Marcus Kempen – with whom she shares Bo.

She began a high-profile affair with former England football coach, and fellow Swedish national, Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2002 and that same year fell in love with a contestant named Lance Gerrard-Wright from the dating show Dating Mr Right – whom she married in 2003, divorced in 2006, and shares daughter Martha.

She then married American advertising executive Brian Monet in 2008 but divorced in 2019 and they share son Malcolm.

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