Jonjo Shelvey reveals additional facts that ruined his relationship with his three children, the 33-year-old is now doing business in the United Arab Emirates
Former Newcastle United and Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has opened up about his addiction to sleeping pills. The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Arabian Falcons in the United Arab Emirates, revealed that the habit has ruined his relationship with his three children.
This addiction began when Shelvey moved to Türkiye and signed with Kaikur Rizespor in September 2023. He left his three children and wife in England and lived alone in Rize, a small coastal city in the eastern Black Sea region. He married former S Club Juniors star Daisy Evans in 2015. Jimmy Carr also joined the couple on their big day, performing stand-up at the wedding breakfast.
Shelvey impressed during his time at Rizespor, making 33 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals. He signed for fellow Turkish side Eyupspor in August 2024, but was released in the first week of January 2025, returning to England.
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“I went to Turkey for 18 months and lived alone, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Shelvey said on the Under the Kosh podcast.
“I ended up getting addicted to sleeping pills to kill time when I got home from training. I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do now?'”
“I was in a predominantly Muslim city. There were about three restaurants. To pass the time, I took three or four sleeping pills and passed out until the next morning to train.”
When asked why she decided to take the pills, Shelvey said: “Just to kill time.”
Former Sunderland and Blackburn forward Chris Brown, who was part of the three-man presentation team, pressed further: “And it’s going to become an addiction. Is it just an escape?”
Shelvey replied: “Yeah, that’s why I moved to Istanbul. Istanbul was a bit more lively. You could go out…but then again, I was there by myself. So I’m not the type of person to go out by myself. I don’t like being alone.”
“If I could go to either of them, I thought I’d go get a drink myself to kill time. Alcohol is not good for a soccer player. It’s not a good tool.”
“But instead of drinking, I decided to continue taking sleeping pills, and I thought that would be a way to kill time.
“You know what I’m saying? So I’m not going to drink fat beer in the pub. So I’m going to go back to my apartment and take sleeping pills and train.”
Shelvey then decided to explain her daily schedule, which included eating her last meal around 3 p.m. before bed and waking up at 12 a.m. to take more sleeping pills.
“I get home at 1:00 or 1:30. I eat a little meal at 3:00 and that’s my last meal. Then I take three or four sleeping pills, and then I wake up around 12:00 and take another three or four.
“Then I woke up the next day to train. To be honest, it destroyed my relationship with the kids. I was never there. This was the first time we talked about it, and I was lucky that my lady is such a good woman that she took it out of me.”
His wife’s band, S Club Juniors, was formed following the success of pop group S Club 7, had its own BBC TV show I Dream, and produced chart hits such as Automatic High and New Directions. They broke up in 2005 after being together for about four years. Other band members included Rochelle Wiseman (now Humes) and Frankie Sandiford (now Bridge).
Shelvey spent the second half of the 2024/25 season at Burnley before opting to leave England again, this time joining UAE side Arabian Falcons in September 2025.
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