Millie Elder-Holmes on her drug addiction, 'workaholic' dad Paul and hopeless moments

Millie Elder-Holmes has revealed how drug abuse was her rebellious reaction to her parents' divorce and feeling displaced.

Elder-Holmes posted to Facebook on her Clean Eats NZ page that she was "beautifully broken". She said she grew up spoiled with things but "quality time" poor. She described her famous news presenter father Paul Holmes as a "workaholic" and her mother's career in medicine as leaving little time for her.

Her parents separated when she was 10 and she moved schools. Elder-Holmes was bullied and "life got real".

"I've struggled with my parents' separations, new parents, moving away. I felt displaced and unnoticed.

"As a teenager I lashed out, I was rebellious, I had wild parties and snuck out a lot. Then came drug addiction to crystal meth for five years, abusive relationships, violence, court cases, drug convictions, rehabs and the public backlash that came with having a well-known parent."

Elder-Holmes detailed how she got rid of her $1000-a-day methamphetamine addiction without rehab, only to have life turned upside down by the sudden death of her father to colon cancer, and the murder of her partner Connor Morris.

Morris died instantly when he was hit in the back of the head with a sickle, piercing his skull, during a fight in 2014.

In a time of turmoil and tragedy Elder-Holmes moved to Greece, her biological father's homeland, to spend time with him and her family. At the same time her journey of self-healing through food started to nurture her body after abusing it with drugs.

"I never imagined during my addiction that I would EVER be free of drugs, let alone thrive on finding a healthy lifestyle and building a job and life around that.

"My point is there were so many HOPELESS moments in this last decade, moments I told myself I couldn't carry on that I didn't want to try anymore. So many times I wanted to self destruct.

"I didn't quit because I thought of the disappointment of my loved ones here and on the other side and I never gave up, because I know deep down that I have something to give, that this horrible experience or what ever I was going through at the time would one day give me a unique and powerful perspective.

"Even if you think you're damaged and unloveable, you are not! There is happiness out here for you. Don't give up."

Elder-Holmes lives in Greece with her boyfriend.