Getting candid.

Bachelor Nation got to know Michael Allio on Season 17 of “The Bachelorette” and again on Season 8 of “Bachelor in Paradise.” 

During his time on the Bachelor Nation shows, Michael was open about being a father and his experience as a single dad since his wife Laura passed away a number of years ago.

Last year, the Bachelor Nation star hard-launched his relationship with girlfriend Jade Marie online and has been keeping fans updated about their time together ever since. 

Michael has been very open about grieving his late wife while navigating a new relationship, and also recently discussed overcoming addiction after Laura’s passing.

While chatting with fellow Bachelor Nation star Zac Clark on a podcast, Michael reflected, “When you’re a caregiver and you’re dealing with someone that is fighting for their life, you have to be the strong one. And you have to suppress your emotions. And then all of a sudden, she passes away and here I am with a 2-year-old. I was lost.” 

Michael revealed that he formed an addiction to painkillers to help escape the pain but still be “highly functional,” and stated, “It was secret.”

“I was running away from the pain so much that I just lived maybe a year or so completely numb,” he confessed. “It got to the point where when you live that numb, disconnected life, you almost miss the pain. Because at least the pain makes you feel alive. The disconnection is such a ‘I’m not part of this world anymore. Nothing brings me joy, nothing brings me sadness.’ Everything is just steady.”

The Bachelor Nation star admitted he became “really, really worried” about where his life was headed and “didn’t like the dad I was going to be for James.” He decided to send James to stay at a relative’s house while he worked on overcoming the addiction. 

He said, “[I] locked myself in my bedroom for a week and just got sick. Purged, sweat, and that can be really dangerous too, so I don’t recommend that for people. But I was just like, ‘I can’t let this define my life anymore.’ And so when I draw the comparisons between grief and addiction, it’s because I have had both. And there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”