Family and friends went into panic mode when Avril Lavigne’s Dec. 7 tweet about her “health issues” went viral.
After dropping out of the public eye for more than two months and refusing to answer to concerned love ones, the startling note had everyone wondering what’s wrong with the singer. “The buzz in her inner circle is that she’s been in rehab for depression and substance abuse issues,” a source close to the singer says. “Avril was an emotional wreck over her marital problems, and she turned to partying to deal with the pain.”
Avril’s last public outing was a booze-filled birthday bash in Vegas on Sept. 27, and at that time, she appeared to have gained weight, and guests noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring; Chad Kroeger, her husband of 17 months, didn’t even show up. She was next spotted at a Special Olympics event on Oct. 20. “Avril looked really beat down and tired,” an attendee admits. “She hardly had on any makeup and she’d definitely gained weight.”
As Star reported in early September, Avril and Chad have been headed for a divorce. They assumed they’d be better off separated and have since been spending more time apart — and Avril hasn’t been taking it well. “Chad is fine with moving on, but Avril is taking the breakup much harder,” the source explains. “Her entire world seems to be falling apart.”
The 30-year-old’s sagging music career has also fed her depression. Her latest album, Avril Lavigne, was released in November of last year and sold only 650,000 copies, a huge disappointment considering fans bought more than 8 million copies of her 2007 release, The Best Damn Thing.
As early as Aug. 23, it was obvious that Avril’s marriage and career troubles had taken a toll when she stumbled out of Chateau Marmont, needed her pals to help her stay on her feet. “She was swaying back and forth, and her hair was a mess,” an eyewitness reveals.
And now, it appears that partying away her problems has damaged her health. “Avril feels more alone now than ever and just wants to make it through this,” the source adds. “Everyone hopes that if she is indeed with rehab, it serves her well and she learns better coping mechanisms. She’s got a lot of wonderful people in her life; she just needs to swallow her pride and embrace them.”
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Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger on the Mend
