Oscar De La Hoya Opens Up About Demons, Admits Racy Photos Were Actually Him.

For years, former boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya had been the sport’s golden boy. But behind the scenes he had been hiding a dark like of alcohol and drugs. Now he’s is opening up and seeking help.

He says, via the LA Times: “I haven’t been truly sober since I was 8,” De La Hoya says, recalling how he was a waiter at family functions, brought beer to the men and was encouraged to take a sip.

“A sip sounds harmless,” he says. “But after about 20, you are drunk.

De La Hoya spoke of being given alcohol by men in his family at a very young age, and his overindulgence continued throughout his adult life. The cocaine came much later –  he began using the drug about 2½ years ago, about the time he retired from boxing in 2009. He likens the struggle with addiction to some of his toughest boxing opponents, calling it ‘the biggest fight of my life.’ He added that “Rock bottom was recently,” and that he had considered suicide, but didn’t have the courage.

De La Hoya entered Promises rehab center three months ago, and is also admitting to a long list of lies he’d been living during his years of struggle. Among them – his former staunch denial that photos of him dressed in drag were not him.  Back in 2007 photos of the boxer were circulated showing him in a fishnet bodysuit and high heels, and occasionally a long haired wig, mugging for the camera. He was seen partying up in the strange getup with a women by the name of Milana Dravnel – who, by the way, is not his wife. Despite his insistance that the pics were photoshopped, he now admits they were the real deal.

In a Spanish-language interview with Univision, De La Hoya, 38, confirmed it.

“Let me to tell you, yes, yes, it was me… I am tired now of lying, of lying to the public and of lying to myself.”

He said he was high on booze and cocaine at the time. And the New York Post reports that De La Hoya shelled out a whopping $20 million to get Dravnel to hush up. According to the post: “The deal also called for her to give back the heels, lingerie and fishnets that she kept after their kinky photo session.”

In the Univision interview, he also opened up about his behavior behind his wife’s back, admitting he has cheated. “We are obviously not talking a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful.”  He says he and his wife had separated for a while, and that he is working to rebuild the relationship.

Even though he completed treatement in Malibu, he paid for another three weeks of treatment in case he needs to return someday.