Former radio presenter and digital content creator Chebet Ronoh has candidly opened up about her journey through addiction, mental health, and healing, revealing for the first time on the ‘That’s What She Said’ podcast just how deep her struggle with alcoholism ran — and how it nearly destroyed her life.
In the emotional episode, Ronoh disclosed that her addiction became so severe that her family was forced to intervene, checking her into a rehabilitation centre — twice.
Though well-intentioned, Ronoh admitted she felt emotionally isolated, stating her family couldn’t grasp the depth of her internal turmoil.
“My family took me to rehab, although they did not understand it. They were not people I could communicate with or open up to emotionally,” she said.
Ronoh spoke vulnerably about the crippling shame and silence that often surrounds mental health, explaining how she hid behind alcohol in an attempt to escape unresolved emotional pain.
“We ignore mental health for so long. When it gets bad, there’s shame. You want to hide, thinking it’ll just go away — but it never really does,” she said.
Though now in a better place, Ronoh confessed she’s still haunted by the version of herself who chased love and validation at the cost of her peace.
“What’s kicking me now is the things I tolerated. I stayed in situations longer than I should have, ignored my intuition, and made choices that I’m not proud of,” she reflected. “But I’m learning to give myself grace.”
Ronoh’s battle with addiction isn’t new.
In 2023, during an interview with Lynn Ngugi, she first publicly admitted that she used alcohol as a coping mechanism for self-doubt and fear of success.
While many around her believed in her potential, she sabotaged opportunities and withdrew from promising projects.
“I was so scared of success. I’d ignore emails and postpone opportunities because I didn’t feel I deserved them,” she revealed at the time.
What started as “just fun” drinking in her youth spiralled into a full-blown dependency.
Ronoh drank to blackout, not for pleasure, but to numb what she couldn’t express.
Over a period of 18 months, she blew through her earnings on alcohol, watched her relationships crumble, and suffered serious health scares — including liver complications that left doctors issuing stark warnings.
“My doctor looked at me and asked, ‘Is this something you really want to continue?’ That’s when I knew I had to stop,” she said in an emotional Instagram video last year.
The wake-up call sent her back to rehab and finally onto a path of recovery.
Ronoh now uses her platform to destigmatize conversations around mental health and addiction, encouraging others to speak up and seek help.
“Alcohol put me in the hospital, in rehab, and in places I never want to go back to. But I’m still here — and I’m healing,” she said.
