Bimini: ‘I have a substance abuse disorder- it’s time to admit it’
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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Bimini has detailed her ongoing battle with a substance abuse disorder that spiralled after the BBC show. Bimini said she ‘slipped back into a cycle’ after competing on the programme in 2021 as she felt imposter syndrome and did not ‘cope well’ with the pressures of fame.
![[Programme Name: RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 - TX: n/a - Episode: RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 episode 10 (No. 10) - Picture Shows: Tayce, Ellie Diamond, Bimini Bon Boulash, Lawrence Chaney - (C) World of Wonder - Photographer: Guy Levy]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PRI_187098883-2f15.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The 31-year-old, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said she struggled with addiction on and off in her early 20s and prior to Drag Race UK had been sober, including no alcohol, for a year. However, after being thrust into the limelight, Bimini said she struggled: ‘I just didn’t cope well and I felt so much pressure, almost like a fraud and I didn’t deserve it.’.
![[Mandatory Credit: Photo by James Veysey/Shutterstock (13459399ao) Bimini Bon Boulash attends the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2022, powered by Jaguar Attitude Awards, Arrivals, London, UK - 12 Oct 2022]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_129152966-e2b8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
She said that was amplified by powerful men in showbusiness who ‘chewed her up and spat her out’ and a loss of credibility in the Drag Race world due to issues with merchandise. ‘People were scammed and I felt so deeply responsible for this. Unfortunately, it all caught up on me and then since then it has been a battle for the last three and a half years,’ Bimini said in an emotional episode of her podcast The Pieces.
![[Programme Name: RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 - TX: n/a - Episode: RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2 episode 10 (No. 10) - Picture Shows: Bimini Bon Boulash, Ellie Diamond, Lawrence Chaney, Tayce - (C) World of Wonder - Photographer: Guy Levy]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PRI_187098737-346c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. She added: ‘There were times when I didn’t know what I should be doing for myself and sometimes I think that made me look like I felt like I was maybe better than Drag Race, but it’s not the truth. I’m so grateful for Drag Race and everything that I got from Drag Race. I loved it. I watched that show all of the time.
![[LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Bimini Bon Boulash attends the Youth To The People X World Vegan Day event on November 1, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Youth To The People)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_178412338-8793.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
