peaches geldof : Most liked Posts

emm said:

it always surprised me that Peaches ended up on heroine, I would have thought she would be more of a cocaine party girl, like many rich people are


I think as a model you probably wouldn't risk track marks? although I may well be wrong

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I was a heroin addict for years. I did get clean when I was 19, but quickly relapsed. Nobody knew until I was 25. Honestly I was injecting and smoking heroin, behind my partners back, still working and still studying. You can be totally functional on it. Anybody you look at can be on it and you not realise. Fat, thin, poor, rich, CEOs, bar tenders, mothers in the playground, health care professionals. There is even a charity dedicated to helping drs go to rehab in secret, signed off for ‘stress’. I met an anaesthetist once and he used to use the ‘magic milk’ used after each operation. If you know how to inject properly, & you learn along the way, & needle exchanges are happy to help you (learn) if you rotate areas nobody will notice. Sometimes you will have bruising or swollen hands. Esp if you’ve been smoking crack and then try to inject you make a right mess of yourself. Peaches didn’t have tell tell signs of heroin addiction. Because we don’t all look the same. People do use heroin without being addicted too. I know many of people that only use on pay day for a treat. They are known as giro junkies. However, anybody can be using at any time. I think smoking it gives it away more because you’ll be off your head and end up with black all over your face by itching your nose or black on your front teeth. Btw I’m 4 years clean now. Was just giving my pearls of wisdom regarding peaches and her H use.

Eirawen said:

I remember people praising Bob when he took Hutchence' s daughter in "what a compassionate man" etc etc He knew full well that he was going to re-enforce his Saint Bob image and that she would have her own living quarters with a nanny, he would hardly ever see her.

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And just imagine how Michael H would have felt about it. He hated Bob so much in the end - he would have turned in his grave knowing that Bob now had Tiger.

This is such a dramatic story:
Bob as the hero, who is admired by the public and then publicly humiliated.
Paula as the evil unfaithful woman, who breaks up her family to be with her lover and causes heartache for Bob, who subsequently fights for the children.
Michael as the seductive and dangerous bad boy who stole Paula's heart and shines over Bob, taking his place in the family.
Tiger Lily, the cherished result of a passionate love affair, daughter of two charismatic and troubled anti-heros.
In the end, both Michael and Paula suffer and die.
Bob remains the sole winner and triumphs over Paula and Michael, who caused hurt and harm. As a symbol of his victory he keeps Tiger Lily, the personification of Paula's and Michael's passion, love and longings.

Sometimes real life writes the best and most tragic stories.

Can anyone recommend a good book about Paula Yates? This thread really is fascinating but so sad.
On a lighter note, I was looking up pictures, and spent a good few minutes confused to see Dean Gaffney hanging out with Paula and Bob at the Brit awards.... it’s actually Roger Daltrey!

Sniffany said:

Silly Q- how do people act on heroin? Is it like train spotting where they pass out or can you function??

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Its not a silly question at all!

So when i was using heroin and crack on a daily basis, i was pretty high functioning; i mean i managed to do my MA degree and get a merit for it! I was then able to work in a high pressured job, paid all my bills, took care of myself in terms of my appearance, socialised with my friends who have never taken drugs, and no one knew i was secretly battling this terrible addiction.

Although there can be some generalisations regarding the behaviour of people on heroin and crack, the truth is everyone is different. For me, i found heroin gave me a little bit of energy, and i thought i was much more productive on it. I would "nod off" only at the end of the day when i was in bed and settled. Crack cocaine made me so confident and i felt like i could take on the world. Combined it felt beautiful, i cant lie. There is a reason why people become addicted- i literally felt like i was being wrapped in cotton wool. It was the perfect combination to help me numb my past trauma and make me feel better about myself.
However, the withdrawals are awful. It is literally the worst pain in the world- its like flu but a million times worse, and i wouldnt wish it on anyone not even my worst enemy. It is a very real thing, and i only understood that when i was going through it; in the past i thought it was just made up and naively thought that it was just an excuse addicts used, but its very real and very horrible. But i never had financial issues, and i had a good relationship with my couple of trusted dealers.

I can only talk about my own experience, and other people may have different experiences to me. I am aware i have never fit the stereotypical image of an "addict"; as i said i never had financial issues, never been in trouble with the police, was able to complete my MA degree, and work in a "proper" career. However, im so glad i am not that person anymore and nowadays i take my 20 ml of methadone each day, i dont even drink alcohol anymore, i live a very boring life; but im clean and no longer living a lie or dicing with death.

Restless Native said:

On the topic of bums I have posted this before but according to that book MH made PY orgasm from massaging her buttocks

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Did those two never just sit and watch Countdown or something?

My heart hurts when I think of that poor baby alone for hours and hours.

I have been going back and forth whether to post this or not, and i apologize if i offend anyone....

Addiction was such a huge part of Peaches life, and 75% of posters were aware and talking about her addictions before anyone shared their own lived experience. I am not sorry at all for posting my own experience of addiction, and i feel honoured that others who have also had direct and indrect experience of addiction felt comfortable sharing their own story. Hell, users-both current and recovering users have spent a large part of their life feeling stigmatised and without a voice, so i think its been amazing listening to other peoples experience.

The way i see it, i saw a lot of comments regarding addiction that people acknowledged they did not know much about addiction, and asking questions, making assumptions. If by myself and others sharing their experiences at least one person felt a little less judged or ashamed, or less lonely. Or if it even gave someone the confidence to reach out and get help. To be honest if it even made someone think about addiction differently then i personally think thats fucking amazing.

To be completely honest if i felt uncomfortable about addiction then i probably wouldnt be on a thread about Peaches anyway, considering its fair to say a lot of the posts would be about her addiction. But thats just me.

As i say, im sorry if anyone is offended by this, that is not the point of this post. And im happy not to talk about it again

Tilly41 said:

London and major cities are absolutely awash with Heroin and have been for such a long time. The thing that surprised me when I first moved to London was the range of people doing Heroin. Its heavily stigmatised but loads of people and I mean loads do it. With Peaches you see its really heavy in the music scene and most people who do Heroin never get off it. They may have short periods where they get clean but its habitual.

Peaches like her mother was a talented writer when they both could be bothered. The lifestyle caught up with her. Glad her boys have been kept out of the limelight. I know he has made so many mistakes but Bon Geldof was tortured by his divorce from Paula who he truly loved. The grief did a real number on him but he still took on Tiger Lily it was all a big mess and he tried to keep his family together the best he could.

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Yes you are correct, heroin is everywhere and its not just the typical trainspotting 'people' doing it. Im a recovering user and yet i havre never been a typical looking addict, and neither were the people i used to associate with. We were mainly all well educated- at least up to MA and Phd, and had professional careers. I have witnessed people who are high up in medical fields, even lawyers, and top business people all use heroin on a regular basis. I managed to hide my addictions for a long long time- i guess i was a functioning addict. Im totally clean now, but this is the first time probably ever ive been properly clean. I was like a binge user, i would use for a peroid of time then might stop for a few months, but i would always somehow fall back into it. Now im properly clean, i havent used since May 2020, ive completely cut off all of my associates from that time (i wont call them friends because they are not friends), i got rid of my phone, and all aspects of my life from that time. Its a horrible drug to be addicted to, but people need to understand that its so much popular than what you think it is. I think people assume heroin addicts are the typical 'smack heads' you see in tv and films, but the reality is so much more complex than that.

When I started this thread I honestly didn’t think anyone would really respond and I was being a bit weird reminiscing about Peaches. Honestly I’ve learnt so much listening to everyone and learning about addiction and your achievements. Thanks so much for your stories and taking the time to chat.

AdoraDelano said:

Could the people discussing drug addictions maybe start a separate topic?

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I don’t think anyone wishes people to be upset by the subject, however drug addiction is a problem which ran through Peaches’ life and the life of her mother and stepfather.

The vast majority of comments have been compassionate and informative about the relentless nature of drug addiction and offered some insight into how hard it must have been for her to cope with ongoing drug addiction and present an acceptable face to the rest of the world.

Drugs were a huge part of her life.
To those triggered, no one meant any upset and I really hope that these posts can offer help or encouragement that it is possible to get through your battles.

To not acknowledge the prevalence and reality of drug addiction, to hide it on a separate thread, rather feels disingenuous given that Peaches tried so hard to pretend she wasn’t still using. She hid it from family and friends and died alone.

I think it would be inappropriate to stop talking about drug addiction in relation to her life and managing addiction, on this thread and hide it on it’s own thread. It was a big part of Peaches life and caused her death. Secrecy and avoidance is a huge part of the problem.

Miss Havisham said:

As for anything to do with the bum - I hate it. I don’t think I am missing out in any way, I just don’t like anything sex related in the bum area.

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Amen to that.

Saw a video on my Tiktok FYP yesterday from a young woman joking that anal hurts. I scrolled the comments hoping to see one saying “Don’t do it girl”. Of all the top comments, every single one was giving her advice how to make it less painful. Others were talking about “bleeding every time”. Not ONE suggestion that if you don’t enjoy something sexually, or if it causes you actual physical harm, you can put a boundary in place and say no. But girls are so conditioned to believe that it’s totally normal. Thanks to porn. So depressing.

This is all getting a bit bizarre.

Does anyone know anything about how Thomas Cohen is, and his beautiful boys?

I think of Peaches often as my mother died of a heroin overdose when I was a child. I am lucky to have found happiness and sobriety, but it has taken so much work and I live with the trauma every day. My heart breaks for Paula and Peaches.

rubyring32 said:

This!! I’m pretty sure I read in one of the articles he said that they both used when the babies slept!? I’m gonna have to go back and find it now

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.I'm pretty sure he means that they both used the spare bedroom, not heroin.

I have a lot of sympathy for Paula, and I think in many ways she had an awesome life, albeit clouded by personal demons.

but I found it a little jarring that the documentary (and the documentary makers) presented her as a forward, pioneering woman ahead of her time.

she latched onto a man who was “good” on paper, at a young age and quickly had children, becoming a mother age 24.

her career took off in 1982 as a presenter for the tube - no doubt achieved because of her partner’s connections in TV and music.

she proceeded to have multiple affairs whilst in the safety of this relationship, with multiple men.

her other well known gig was the Big Breakfast - again, due to Bob’s influence.

she branded herself effectively and had business interests: books, perfume etc. but she got these gigs off the back of her media career. Not through innovation or talent per se.

finally, her later years were defined by MH. Despite cheating on both sides, she only left Bob when she had another man lined up. She seemingly dragged her children around to high profile events (as did Bob. I think it’s telling that Pixie is resolutely private when it comes to her daughter), exposing them to paparazzi and uprooting their lives so she could be with her boyfriend.

when Michael died, Paula was left financially badly off, with a career drying up.

I don’t judge Paula too harshly - she was a woman of her time. But I don’t think she was a trail blazer by any means.

her life was largely defined by men. Her career was based on her partners connections and bolstered by him. Her persona relied upon flirting with male musicians. She was never truly single and independent until the end of her life, and she didn’t exactly thrive in those final years. She still had a boyfriend after Michael.

had she come out of the other side of that; rebuilt her career on her own terms, prioritised her children, achieved independence and happiness outside of a relationship - then she definitely would have been an icon and a trail blazer and someone to aspire to.

but sadly, she never got that chance. To me, Paula is a lesson to be learned, not a woman to aspire to and I wish the documentary (and media in general) stopped telling women we should look up to women who are defined by men. I’d argue it’s pretty toxic and harmful.

Nope, but a surname he is famous for sits in a pear tree...

Allegedly

TW for drug abuse.

I've spent the better part of the day reading through these threads. Like so many other here, I was so heartbroken when Peaches died. I'm not from the UK so I didn't even have that link to her, but the idea of a young mom dying due to her addictions alone with her baby is so disturbing. I actually thought of her and googled her again maybe a week before stumbling upon this thread today. Her little family really looked like a dream! I was also so fascinated by the Geldofs and their crazy names as a kid.

Part of the reason why I was so disturbed is because I can relate a lot to Peaches. My parents were heroin addicts - it was a strange childhood. My father had a pretty good job and we'd oscillate between him having his shit together and us living in nice houses for a year, to him going on heroin binges and not showing up for work, us moving into severely crappy apartments, etc, etc, etc... It was difficult for a child to understand. I was really spoiled materially (my father bought me a present every day after work for years), and I was the first at my school to get an iPhone, etc, so I never quite managed to bridge the idea of having so many nice things and then ending up in rotten apartments every few years.

Anyway. I lost my mom at 15 and my father 11 months later. (My dad suffered brain trauma after 7 heroin overdoses over the course of 6 months however, and became a total monster. Losing him was a blessing.) I don't think I can quite describe that level of emotional pain, and it never really goes away. Missing my mom honestly just gets worse the older I get. I think Peaches had it the same way and I feel deeply for her... I also understand the lure of heroin. I've done a lot of partying in my day, and tried pretty much every drug under the sun apart from heroin.

"Connecting" with my dead mom, to me, has become reading the books she'd read to me when I was little or I'd read when she was still alive or watch the movies we watched together. It has become detective work into her past. I have, however, given a great deal of thought into trying heroin because I want to connect TO HER. I want to know what doing heroin was like and understand that part of her. It's been over 10 years and missing her is still a daily ache.

If I was offered heroin in a clean environment where I could smoke it... I am honest enough with myself to say I'd do it because I want to feel closer to my mom. If told I had 6 months left to live, I'd definitely do heroin. I am not about to go out and buy it from some street dealer though. This is not a decision at the forefront of my mind that I am toying with right now, just to make that clear. It's just something I've accepted that I'll very well do some day simply because I miss my mom so horribly.

If Peaches was clean for a while and posted that picture of her mom and then ODed that night, I can easily see her wanting to connect with her dead mother as well, and it just going terribly wrong. I bet she was feeling really sad. My heart bleeds for her and the whole situation more so than her sons and husband, and I know 100% that that's my bias showing. I just can't fault her for it even if it was 100% her own decision that caused so many people horrible pain. (I also definitely do feel for her sons and husband though, just to make that clear. I so, so wish Peaches was still around.)

On a lighter note, I actually don't think she had a lot of facial plastic surgery. I think she lost a lot of weight, got large veneers and had a buccal fat removal. I also think she had a botox brow lift and lip fillers. Actually not a lot by today's celebrity standard tbh, though I do agree there is a huge difference between "chunky party girl" Peaches and "ethereally beautiful" Peaches.

lalalanded said:

Angie was very young when she had Duncan and she's said in the past David really wanted a child after his father passed away so she had one for him. I'm not sure she ever wanted children to be honest. When they split, Duncan was mostly looked after by a nanny and then sent to boarding school. DB was off his face on drugs for years so it's not like he was a hands on father but he paid someone to look after Duncan. He was never vilified the way Angie was. I'm not defending Angie as a parent at all but the double standards when it comes to parenting is outrageous. An absent father doesn't even get acknowledged, an absent mother is treated worse than a murderer in the press.

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I think this, in a way, is why people are so shocked by Peaches, as a mother of 2, being a heroin addict. Society expects mothers to put their children before themselves every second of every day & throw off any perceived self centred desires.
So people cannot conceive that actually as someone with childhood trauma who clearly struggled with life before children she was going to struggle with motherhood (especially with 2kids in a year) & turn to her old dysfunctional coping mechanisms.
Motherhood can be indescribably amazing but it can be dull, monotonous & so unbelievable exhausting. Realising what society’s expectations of you as a mother are & that they aren’t the same for fathers can be deflating & soul-destroying.
Peaches was clearly struggling with motherhood but instead of being able to freely admit it she felt compelled to tell all & sundry she was a purist parent.
The narrative around motherhood & the vastly lower standard expected of men needs to be changed.

blueberriesarenice said:

I thought this too! Michael sounds like he might actually have struggled with sex addiction. I don’t wanna romanticise that at all.

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Imagine saying “Not tonight darling, I have thrush/a UTI/whatever, and your partner offering to stick his tongue up your arse instead. No thanks love.