Now, Fergie is a successful singer (both as a solo artist and with the Black Eyed Peas), she's about to have a film come out this Christmas ('Nine'), has her own clothing line, and she's married to Josh Duhamel. Yet at one time, Fergie was struggling with a drug problem and involved in gangs, she confided to the UK Sunday Times.

"I... found my outlet in the underground club scene and the raves." It didn't help that she developed a predilection for Hispanic "Cholo" gang members (she has a thing for guns).

Was her clubbing escapist? "No, it was a creative outlet. It was all, 'Let's experiment with dance, let's experiment with colour.' You know?"

"I'd be the girl up on the stage with the glow stick," she laughs. "I had a blast, but those things can only last for so long. I'm actually lucky that I hit it as hard as I did because it took me to a place where I knew I never wanted to do it again.

"It started with ecstasy. I loved ecstasy. Loved it, loved it. It was great at first, then it just went..." she mimes a crashing plane with her forearm. And crystal meth? "It ruins you."

Click on the continue reading link below to read about how Fergie got to that "dark place" and what got her out.

Photos by INF

Fergie said that her background as a child actor certainly contributed to her later drug use.

"What happens when you’re a child professional is that you have to be, well, professional. You’re taught not to have tantrums, to always people-please. That’s part of how I got into [drugs] later."

It got to the point where Fergie said she once spent eight hours talking to her hamper while high on crystal meth. Once, when she went down to buy drugs in East LA, she ended up with a gun pointed at her head. She ended up spending all the money she'd earned and living with her parents while still dating gang members.

So how did Fergie get out of this destructive pattern of drug use and dating men who were in gangs?

"I don't hang out in circles where everyone is smoking crystal meth out of a pipe. That wouldn't be smart. You have to make good decisions. I always say I'm retired.

"[And] a lot of what comes with the [Cholo] lifestyle is not what I wanted for my future. So I started becoming attracted to qualities that didn't involve guns and drugs and gangs. I changed my behaviour through therapy and started becoming attracted to things like integrity and loyalty. Who would be a good father? Who would be a good husband?"

I'd say she chose well with the clean-cut Josh! I'd heard rumors about Fergie but had no idea it had gotten so bad. Good for her for pulling herself together!