WHEN Charlotte Tipton went to sleep, every night she’d live in fear her phone would suddenly ring – convinced that one day she’d get a call to tell her that her mother, Michelle Long had died from a drug overdose.
Throughout Charlotte’s childhood Michelle, now 47, was addicted to hard drugs, taking heroin around the clock and constantly in trouble with the law as she did anything to desperately feed her habit.
Charlotte was so desperate for her mum to recover that she contacted the Jeremy Kyle show begging for help Credit: Supplied
After appearing on the show, producers sent Michelle, left, pictured with Charlotte, right, for three months of rehab Credit: ITV Press Handout
Earlier this month Michelle bravely shared her story and battle to get clean, and now speaking exclusively to The Jattvibe, daughter Charlotte, 28, who lives in Walsall, is sharing her side.
Thankfully, Michelle has now been clean for eight years and Charlotte was key to her recovery.
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For years she’d tried begging and pleading with her mother to stop the drugs. In desperation, she contacted the now defunct Jeremy Kyle show as a last resort in September 2018.
Charlotte, a mum of six aged between five months and eight, who lives with her partner, in Walsall, says: “I lived in constant fear mum would die. There were times I’d walk in and see her passed out on the sofa and would, for a split second, think she’d gone.
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“I watched the programme, and one day I decided to email them on a whim. I told them mum had been an addict for years and I was so scared of losing her.
“I didn’t expect to hear back, but a few weeks later they called. I was over the moon and I was so relieved when mum agreed to go on the show and then to rehab.”
But while Michelle is now clean and happily married to the love of her life, 42-year-old Christopher, Charlotte still suffers from the scars of her childhood.
She endured everything from bricks being thrown through her window to bullying from her classmates and heartbreakingly not feeling loved by her mother.
She exclusively tells The Jattvibe: “We’re really close now and I’ve always loved her. But other addicts need to hear the effect having an addict as a mother has.
“My mum is clean, but I have borderline personality disorder and anxiety because of childhood trauma, including feeling unloved and witnessing violence.
When Michelle was pregnant with Charlotte, she stopped taking heroin but admits she occasionally had cannabis Credit: Supplied
Ex prostitute Michelle appeared on The Jeremy Kyle show in November 2018 Credit: ITV Press Handout
“At times I find it hard to leave the house and I’m unable to work at the moment.”
In 2009 Charlotte was put into care aged 11 – after Michelle was jailed for burglary and imprisoned for eight months. But before then she’d been through a host of horrific experiences.
Michelle was so hooked on drugs that by the end she was taking a hit of heroin or crack cocaine every hour, day and night.
She also drank a bottle of vodka a day. Even when she was pregnant she’d smoke the occasional joint and once Charlotte was born she went back onto hard drugs.
Charlotte says: “My home life was chaotic. I have some horrendous memories – such as a brick being thrown through the window by another addict, and the kitchen being on fire after mum forgot about a pizza in the oven.
“I was only about eight when these happened, it was terrifying.
“And I was constantly dragged onto the streets to meet dealers, being told to stand by the wall while mum went to their car. I didn’t even realise at the time it wasn’t normal.
“I remember my mum getting dressed up in lingerie and putting a coat on to go and do sex work. I didn’t understand at the time.
“At other times I was spoiled, given toys to play with so I wouldn’t get in the way.
“But then I’d go home and mum had pawned my Nintendo DS to buy drugs.
“I didn’t feel mum loved me, she always wanted me out of the way, telling me to go to my bedroom as ‘mummy needs her medicine’.
“I was often lonely and I was bullied at school, the other children taunted me as they knew mum was a drug addict.
“I’d beg mum to let me stay with my godmother or my nan – I felt happier with them.
The former heroin addict and prostitute has made an incredible transformation since getting help Credit: The Jattvibe
After Michelle gave birth to Charlotte she went back on drugs Credit: Supplied
“Mum managed to mask a lot of it and to the outside world she still looked presentable, and wore nice clothes.”
Despite what was happening behind closed doors, Charlotte was devastated when she was put into care.
“I loved her and wanted to be with her. I took a bottle of her perfume, Far Away by Avon, and would spray it on my pillow so I still felt close to her. I missed her so much,” remembers Charlotte.
Charlotte was put into two different foster families and three care homes. But once she was out of prison, Michelle was allowed contact meetings with her.
“I never wanted her to leave,” says Charlotte, remembering those meetings.
“I was desperate to be with her. But at the same time I was embarrassed by her.
“I didn’t want her to come to my prom as I didn’t want my friends to see what a mess she was.”
When Charlotte was 18, she went to live with Michelle but struggled to cope with the chaos and moved out after six months, to stay with her ex-partner’s family.
When Michelle wed Christopher in April 2022, the day was a celebration not only of their love but of her sobriety Credit: Supplied
Charlotte helping mum Michelle get ready on her wedding day Credit: Supplied
She says: “It was mouldy and there was a constant stream of drug users coming in and out.
“I was the one looking after mum, cooking her meals and helping around the house but it was too much for me.
“But I carried on seeing her and it broke my heart, she was so thin and her skin was grey and bruised.
“I’d buy her food and even lend her money, despite knowing what she’d spent it on.
Michelle counts herself lucky that her daughter didn’t give up on her Credit: Supplied
Michelle says she now has a close relationship with her daughter and grandkids Credit: Supplied
“I constantly got calls to tell me she’d gone missing, or been seen shoplifting. I lived in fear about what would happen next, dreading the call that she’d died from an overdose.
“It was hell. I’d beg and plead with her to get help, but she had no interest.
“She’d make excuses and say she was taking prescribed methadone – but would still be taking illegal drugs too.”
It was when Charlotte had her first child in 2018, aged 19, that she became ever more desperate for her mum to get help.
“I wanted her to know her grandson,” says Charlotte. “I’d ask her to wash and not have anything before she came round.
“And despite how ill she looked I saw a light in her eyes whenever she saw him.”
It was later that year, she wrote the email to Jeremy Kyle that changed their lives.
When she appeared Michelle shocked viewers with her emaciated appearance, her cheeks were sunken and her collar bones jutted out. She was sent to a residential rehab for three months in November 2018 – and has been clean ever since.
GETTING HELP
If you think that you or a loved one have a drug addiction then your GP should be contacted.
You can also visit FRANK for honest information about drugs and to find local treatment services.
If you are having trouble finding the right help, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 03001236600
Or click here to visit the NHS website for more advice and support
Charlotte has gone on to have five more children, the two youngest with her current partner of three years, and admits it comes with mixed emotions.
“I think part of the reason I’ve had so many is that I want to give children the childhood I never had,” she says.
“I felt so lonely as an only child and I didn’t want that for my kids, we are such a big family they’ll never be alone. I adore mine, I love watching them run round the garden and feeding them healthy meals.
“I find it hard at times to understand why mum couldn’t tackle her addiction because she loved me. I have never and would never touch illegal drugs.
“It took going to a lot of meetings and listening to other addicts to understand it’s a disease. I’ve forgiven my mum for my childhood and we are very close.
“I love it when she comes to stay – and now I’m the one who borrows money from her, for treats for the children! We joke about it all the time.
“It took a while to believe she wouldn’t relapse, I was very worried, particularly when she went through tough times, like her ectopic pregnancies.
“But she’s come through it all and now helps other women with their recovery. I’ve finally got a mum that I not only love but am proud of.”
