Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, has revealed that his ex-wife Zoe Ball's threat to leave him was instrumental in his decision to get sober during the height of his alcoholism. Cook, 62, checked into rehab in 2009, a decade into their marriage, and described Ball's quiet confrontation as his pivotal moment.
'That was my wake-up moment,' Cook recalled in an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. 'There had been tons of people shouting at me before, but it was whispered very quietly in the end.' He added that he sought help 'just in time' and described alcoholism as a 'parasite' that protects itself by keeping its host.
Cook admitted that the year before he quit drinking, he was no longer enjoying it and his life began to unravel. He stated that becoming sober was 'probably the hardest thing I've ever done' and that he could not have achieved it without rehab.
Following his treatment, Cook experienced fear when performing. 'For the first five shows, I was so paralysed and rigid with fear, I couldn't dance, and I couldn't enjoy it,' he said. He eventually overcame this anxiety after a positive experience in Japan, realizing his role was to bring joy to the crowd.
Zoe Ball and Norman Cook began their relationship in 1997 after meeting in Ibiza and married two years later. They welcomed their son Woody in 2000. The couple briefly separated in 2003 following reports of an affair by Ball with DJ Dan Peppe, a friend of Cook's. Cook had stated at the time that he still loved Ball and would take her back if she ended contact with Peppe. They reconciled and later welcomed daughter Nelly in 2010, but announced their official separation in September 2016. Ball has previously described the divorce process as 'painful' but ultimately survivable.