The drummer spoke about how alcoholism is something that his mother has battled.
“My upbringing is…interesting,” he said.
“I didn’t have a father, and my mum has struggled with alcoholism my whole life. I’ve grown up kind of bringing other people up… I’ve had to be relentlessly positive, and I have a very depressed mind.”
The 24-year-old said that this was something he had to deal with when the band decided to take their two-year hiatus.
“I was dealing with my feelings in the beginning [of the hiatus] with just alcohol,” Ashton said.
“I had to overcome that pretty quick if I wanted the next period to be successful, and that was a process really that I’m still dealing with. It’s a constant thing.”
Ashton decided to look inwards and used this dark period to write songs for the latest 5SOS album, Youngblood.
“I actually dove inward for the first time,” he said.
“I was living alone, and the only way I was able to focus on the album was diving into my actual songwriting and processing who I actually was through song. I was feeling down and the most depressed I’ve ever felt, but apparently, that’s when you create your best work.”
We admire Ashton’s honesty!
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