Robbie Williams: 'My family keeps me on the rails'

Robbie Williams and Ayda Field married in 2010 and have two children, Teddy and Charlton

Pop star Robbie Williams says he is no longer likely to "fall off the rails", having found contentment with his wife, Ayda Field, and two children.

The singer, who had a well-documented struggle with depression and substance abuse in his 30s, said having a family "focuses the mind".

"Before the kids and the wife, it [his career] wasn't just a job," he told Chris Evans' Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

"It was trying to fill in all the blanks that were in the soul.

"And that didn't make sense. I got to the top of the mountain and it was like, 'Ow, I'm still in pain'."

"Then the wife came, then the kids came, and now it all makes sense... because souls are depending on me.

"My wife depends on me, my kids depend on me. I haven't got the excuse to fall of the rails, to maybe not turn up to this interview, to watch what I'm saying.

"It's a blessing."

However, the singer, who announced his new album The Heavy Entertainment Show earlier this week, said he still faced self-esteem problems and depression on a regular basis.

"My brain idles at neuroses and worry and panic," he said.

"The run-up to this album has taken three years and I've written 75-plus songs.

"But every time I've been into the studio, it's been under the heavy weight of: 'You're coming back, you're doing an album, this had better be a hit, you're 42, you're fat, you're eyes are droopy, go and write a bigger chorus'.

"It's an uncomfortable place to be [but] it propels me forward," he added.

Williams met Turkish-American actress Ayda Field in 2006, and they married in 2010.

The couple had their first daughter, Teddy, in 2012, followed by a son, Charlton, two years later. Williams attracted controversy at the time by live-tweeting the labour.

The star, who has been sober for almost a decade, said the couple still held parties at his home - but they mainly revolved around "quizzes".

Crumbs in the bath

However, he admitted he had fallen off one wagon recently, after trying to get in shape for his new tour.

"Months ago, I went on this diet and it worked but it's kind of extreme. I lost seven pounds in five days.

"And then, seven days in, I woke up one morning and I thought, 'That's odd, there's a polaroid image in my head with me and some grapes and some peanut butter. That's strange, 'cos that didn't happen.'

"The second day I woke up and I went to the loo and there were crumbs in the bath.

"The third night, I woke up at the fridge and I'd been night eating every night. I put on nine pounds in the middle of the night, without knowing.

"That being said, I'm looking after myself. I'm carb-less, sugar-less, fun-less.

"I'm in those clothes I used to wear in the 90s."

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