Gladys Knight finally realized she had a problem back in the day, that she wanted to come clean about and she’s sharing her story with anyone willing to listen. It was an addiction that started a little over 30 years ago and she revealed how she eventually reached her breaking point.

Addiction- it can happen to any one of us, even your favorite entertainers. Gladys Knight is a soul music icon, but there was a time when she was caught in the horrific grip of gambling, specifically blackjack. Below are the details of some of the things Gladys said she did as a result of her addiction:

Via MichronicleOnlie: Knight realized she had a hit a new low one night when, not cognizant of the hours passing, suddenly realized that it was morning — and she should have been at home getting her son ready for school.

This was her wake-up call.
“I got into gambling when I was playing a casino,” Knight recalled. “One day a friend said, ‘Do you want to play some Blackjack?’ So I played and enjoyed it. You think you can win everything but you won’t.”

“[At that time] I was broke and yes, I had to go to work double-time, but it was OK with me.

When [my kids] got to college, it was really hard for me, so if they called me for something — like, ‘I need books’ — I would play, and I would win. And you should never win. Winning is how they get you. Because you think you’ll win everything, and you won’t. And I just woke up one day and said this don’t make no sense. I had gotten $2,000. And within 25, 30 minutes, I had won 60 grand. And I sat right at that table and gave every dime of it back. And I just got sick at the table. And I got up, went to the phone and called Gamblers Anonymous. And the lady on the phone said, “Where are you? We’ll come get you.” That was about 15, 20 years ago. And I went to one meeting. That was all I had to go to.”

“I have a faith that is unbeatable,” she said. “As far as my Lord and Savior is concerned, I try to go the way I’m supposed to, and when I fall short, I ask for help.”

Like we always say here at ILoveOldSchoolMusic, we think the lives/legacies of our favorite entertainers are something that we can truly learn from- regardless of if the story is good, bad, or ugly. Gladys Knight’s story of addiction is a prime example of that and we salute her for exposing such a vulnerable side of her life with the world.

The message in her story is simple: Whenever we know we have a problem of any kind, we should first recognize the problem, then simply do one thing and never take it for granted: Simply ask for help.