Trinny Woodall shares how she went from drug addiction to building a business on the Diary of a CEO podcast

Trinny Woodall has opened up and spoken honestly about the ups and downs of her life. 

Talking to Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO Podcast Trinny, 59, discussed how she went from being addicted to drugs and living in a halfway house to building a multimillion-pound business empire. 

The beauty entrepreneur explained that she realised aged 22 that she had an addiction, having started using drugs at 16. She told her father about the drugs and then went to spend time in rehab but was “kicked out” but continued going to meetings. 

Trinny revealed that she and “made a pact” with her three friends to go to rehab and get clean. Trinny stayed in the rehab centre for five months but explained  “something very tragic happened in that time.” 

The business woman explained that one of her friends with whom she made the pact died and after a few years her other two friends had died. She went on to say that she then decided she would never take drugs again “I came back to London a very different person”. 

How did Trinny Woodall become famous? 

Trinny Woodall shot to fame with friend Susannah Constantine on the BBC series ‘What Not to Wear’ which ran for five seasons from 2002. The programme focused on giving women fashion and beauty advice and the pair went on to write several books - which I myself owned.

The duo parted ways when the programme finished. Both ladies still give their fashion advice and often feature on ITV’ This Morning. When asked by Steven Bartlett why the show ended she replied  “I had a partner who wasn’t always well.” 

Who was Trinny Woodall’s ex-husband? 

Trinny Woodall ex-husband Johnny Elichaoff tragically died in November 2014 at the age of 55 after jumping from a shopping centre roof in Bayswater, west London. Trinny and Johnny shared a daughter Lyla who was 11 at the time and he had a son Zak from a previous relationship. 

Trinny explained “What is staggering is Johnny had hypervigilance around his children because he had been in the Israeli army and he was a paramedic. And he had post-traumatic stress disorder, which wasn’t diagnosed until about 20 years later.”

"But he was also so worried for their [his children’s] welfare. So you have this thing of, where do you get to in your brain when you are so worried about your children that you convince yourself the best thing for your children – who you love profoundly – is that you’re not in their life any more?”

The founder of Trinny London said that she met him when she was 27 and had got clean. He was in recovery from addiction to painkillers following a motorbike accident. The couple married in 1999, the same year she started her tech company. After the relationship broke down they divorced in 2009 but stayed close friends “we spoke every day on the phone”.

Johnny died when Trinny had just started working on her beauty business Trinny London. 

Who is Trinny Woodall's daughter?

Lyla Elichaoff is Trinny's daughter and only child. The mother daughter are extremely close and Lyla often pops up on her mother's Instagram. Speaking to Woman & Home Trinny said "I've been through some tough times recently, but I'm feeling good now. Lyla likes to mother me. We are pretty close because she doesn't have a dad. We only have each other, so we have to sort stuff out quicker after an argument."

In 2013 Trinny met businessman Charles Saatchi following his split from TV chef Nigella Lawson.  The high-profile couple dated for over 10 years according to The Sun, and friends suggested they split because their 20-year age gap was causing issues. Following their split Trinny posted on her Instagram “It's a new day, it's a new dawn, it's a new life.”  

What is Trinny London? 

Trinny London is a premium beauty and skincare brand. Trinny explained to Steven Bartlett how she was initially told her business would have to be marketed to millennials as women in her “age bracket” (she was in her 50s at the time) don’t shop for beauty and skincare online. According to Forbes Trinny London was worth $250 million in 2021 and is now believed to be estimated at $300 million. 

Trinny London features beauty products from makeup to skincare with personalised tips and advice from their team of experts online or in store.

Trinny Woodall's new book ‘Fearless: The definitive guide for finding your style, boosting your confidence and living your best life’ is available to buy from Amazon on September 14.