Harriet Tyce, a novelist and former barrister, has shot to fame on this year's instalment of BBC's hit competition series The Traitors. She made waves on Wednesday, 14 January's episode of the show, when she revealed her former law career as a part of her attempt to expose Traitor Rachel Duffy.
Away from the show, Harriet is also a writer and active social media poster who not only uses her platform to promote her books, but also to explore her journey with sobriety. She occasionally shares side-by-side pictures of herself before and after she decided to give up alcohol, revealing in a post from the end of 2025 that she had lost four stone.
In a first-person piece written for The Observer in 2024, she candidly explained her 35-year struggle with alcohol, including how it affected both her career and her physical health.
Harriet recounted an incident where she had "so much and so fast" at 15, citing it as the beginning of a cycle that went mostly unnoticed by people around her at the time because she was a high achiever. She wrote: "Shaming, yes, but at least I went on to get straight As at O-level.
"Thus, the pattern began. The screw-ups were bad, but I got away with them," she continued. "That's the issue with being highly functional."
She also shared how her alcoholism impacted her criminal law career throughout her 20s, explaining that "there were long stretches of time that dinner consisted of five pints of Stella and a packet of crisps".
The Traitors star added: "I can’t kid myself I was getting away with it then; I was systematically sabotaging myself, falling over in chambers in front of senior barristers and turning up late and hungover the next day."
Harriet gave up alcohol completely in 2022
On the moment that she decided to stop drinking, she explained how when one of her best friends died of cancer in April 2021, it made her increasingly aware of her mortality. "It was emphatically not alcohol related in any way," she explained. "But we were born within two weeks of each other and seeing her life cut so short was a moment of reckoning for me.
"I could keep on as I was going, or I could face up to the fact that I was more than a pickled brain in a pickling jar," Harriet continued. "It was time to take care of myself." She then revealed that she had her final alcoholic drink on 7 June 2022.
Harriet's multi-millionaire husband
The author is married to Nathaniel Tyce, who works as the head of global markets at Japanese bank Nomura, where he reportedly earns £3.5 million a year. The couple have been married for 25 years, and live together in North London.
Expert tips for your own sobriety journey
This time of year, many people try Dry January, and some find that giving up alcohol can be a little more difficult than imagined. Certified sobriety coach Christy Osborne spoke exclusively to HELLO! about going sober, telling us the health benefits and sharing her tips for those who are struggling.
"Going sober can significantly impact our happiness by altering the dopamine and serotonin levels in our brain," she shared. "When we consume alcohol, our brain is flooded with a large amount of dopamine, more than we get from everyday enjoyable activities.
© Getty Images"This excessive dopamine raises our pleasure baseline, meaning our brain requires more dopamine over time to feel pleasure," she continued. "Consequently, activities that once brought us happiness feel dull and boring. Alcohol becomes the primary source of pleasure and happiness."
For people struggling with Dry January, the sobriety expert said that her top tip is to "focus on what you're gaining rather than missing out on". Elaborating, Christy explained: "While alcohol may provide a temporary feeling of euphoria, it comes with a host of negative side effects, including poor sleep and increased anxiety."
"Embrace the positive changes that sobriety can bring. Focus on improved sleep, reduced stress, and genuine joy from staying alcohol-free, and use these benefits as motivation to stick with your resolution throughout the month and beyond. Remember, you're not missing out but gaining a happier, healthier you," she concluded.
