When actress Natasha Richardson died of a brain injury after hitting her head in a skiing accident six years ago, all eyes were on her husband Liam Neeson and his struggle to come to terms with her death.

However Liam and Natasha's teenage sons Daniel and Micheál were also left devastated by the loss of their mother, and now Micheál has revealed he turned to drugs and alcohol to help him cope.

Micheál, now 19, spoke out on the sixth anniversary of his mum's death about how he pushed his feelings away immediately after the tragedy, only realising last year that it was time for him to face his grief head-on. 

"Of course, when it happened it was devastating,” he told the Sunday Times Style magazine. “But in my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside. And so, within the next week I was like, ‘OK, on with my life’.”

Speaking about the years of substance abuse that followed, Micheál said, "I was going out, partying a lot, looking for self-gratification. I wanted to be the man, doing these drugs." 

"Everybody said, 'This kid has lost his mum, that's where the problem comes from.' And I was like, 'No, it isn't, I just like to party.' But looking back, I realise it was a delayed reaction."

Micheál says he "hit rock bottom" last year and checked himself into rehab. "Last spring, things just started going downhill,” he said. “The people I was with, we were partying a lot. I couldn’t leave my house. I was unmotivated, couldn’t wake up in the morning. It was dark. I hit rock bottom and couldn’t do anything."

The teenager says his father Liam is an "inspiration" to him but that he was always a "momma's boy" and took Natasha's death extremely hard. However with the support of his family he has moved on from drugs and is now working as a fashion gallery curator.

We're glad to see he is finally coming out the other side.