Strictly star Paul Merson's rollercoaster marriage with third wife who gives him weekly allowance

Arsenal legend Paul Merson suffers from a gambling addiction, which heavily affected his first two marriages and has threatened the Strictly star's current marriage too

Former footballer turned Strictly star Paul Merson has battled with a gambling addiction for decades.

The reality TV show contestant is an Arsenal legend turned campaigner for reforming the gambling industry. He claims his addiction cost him a staggering £7 million over the past 30 years.

Now blocked from all betting companies, his six-figure Strictly wages, like all his earnings, will reportedly go straight to his third wife Kate. Paul placed his first bet aged just 16, which saw him spiralling into betting and cocaine addictions, which destroyed his first two marriages.

He was first with his childhood sweetheart Lorraine Costin for a decade with three sons together, Charlie, Ben and Sam. The 56-year-old later wed Louise Bache, with twin daughters and is now married to Kate, with three children together. And his gambling addiction will always be present - as a recent relapse saw the star bet on table tennis during the pandemic, blowing £160,000 which was meant for a house deposit.

The ex-pro had been furloughed from his job as a pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday and while he initially enjoyed spending time with Kate and their children, anxiety about his career kicked in. "I thought: 'They're not going to have Soccer Saturday any more'," he told the Sun.

"I was thinking: 'I'm not going to be able to earn anything'. My older kids' mums have houses and I want to give my younger kids a future. Kate and I had £160,000 saved up and I blew it in a few bets. It was all online, but it wasn't a bookmaker, it was a private bookie."

Speaking about his allowance to The Sun, Merson concluded: "I was resentful at first, like, ‘How dare you? I’m over 50 years of age’. I’m more than happy now. When I stopped drinking I took all the drink out of the house. Why not with gambling?"

Paul believes gambling companies need to take more accountability. "You know when someone's not having fun - 90 bets a day, 60 bets a day, 15 deposits a day," he said. "The limits need to be set for these people, because they won't set a limit themselves. The only time they're ever going to stop is when everything is gone."

The committed star attends Gamblers Anonymous and has private therapy to keep his life on track. His addiction will always be with him and he told radio station talkSPORT he had wanted to break his own fingers to stop him placing a bet

"The addiction is so overwhelming, it's scary what it does," he said. "If you put your hand in a fire and went to do it again your brain would tell you 'don't do that again.' With addictions the brain doesn't tell you that."

For support dealing with gambling problems, you can visit online resources such as Gamcare, Gambling Therapy, Gamban and GambleAware.