(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Brigitte Nielsen says the worst thing about becoming an alcoholic was losing her childrens respect.

The 47-year-old actress has spent time in rehab for her addiction to alcohol, and is now sober. She has four children, and admits her illness had a grave effect on her relationship with them.

Yes it was hard. I consider myself a pretty strong woman. I was in a very difficult marriage, I was in an abusive marriage and I stayed for 13 years. I stayed for my children. One of my bits of advice is if theres no trust and you are in an abusive relationship you are eventually going to have to pack your bags and leave. There is no other way, and its the toughest decision in the world. I did not make that decision, I stayed and became an alcoholic, she explained on UK programme Loose Women.

I lost everything. And the most and the saddest thing I lost was the respect and love of my children for so many years. But its now back and its fine. There is always time to change and become better, its never too late.

Brigitte is now married to Mattia Dessi, and the pair are blissfully happy. Mattia is 15 years younger than Brigitte, and although she was initially wary of dating him due to his age she is now pleased she took the plunge.

When I met him I was 40 and he was 25 and I felt like I was going to be dating my son. It was very scary, I stood him up three times in the beginning, she explained. Its the chemistry. I think thats the key, the trust and the communication. (C) Cover Media