This Morning viewers were left gobsmacked after listening to guest Emma Showdon who had an addiction to eating sponges.
Emma’s addiction started to take over her life after she found herself eating up to 14 sponges a week.
The 26-year-old from Stockton-on-Tees revealed she sacrificed money for transport in order to buy sponges and even asked nurses if she could eat sponges while in labour.
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On the show today mum Emma appeared via a pre-recorded link from her home to talk about her addiction.
She revealed: “On my worst day I probably go through three sponges. When I had my oldest, Jack, it was a very traumatic pregnancy. I took about 20 sponges with me but they wouldn’t let me because they said I’d choke.
“After I had Jack I still got the sponges and its never stopped but my kids are getting older and I can’t let them see what I’m doing. It’s become a big problem.”
She went on to reveal that her addiction got so bad she and her kids were forced to walk home in the rain after she spent her transport money on a special honeycomb sponge.
After Emma finally admitted her addiction to chewing sponges she was able to seek help from the show’s resident therapists Nik and Eva Speakman.
She then underwent therapy to find the root cause of her habit.
Emma told the Speakmans she developed the strange eating habit after her grandmother’s death 10 years ago.
She explained: “A week and a half after my Nanna died. I had a small abscess in my mouth and I just broke the sponge off and put it in my mouth to keep ice on the abscess but then I started chewing it, and as I was chewing it I got a sense of relief.”
Emma revealed she struggled with the grief and never spoke about her gran’s death.
The pair went on to tell her the sponges were “toxic” because they are made from cellulose which are soaked in chemicals.
Nik said: “You’re slowly killing yourself.”
Despite struggling with the addiction for so many years Emma finally managed to beat it after help from the Speakmans.
Emma travelled to the This Morning studios to talk to hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about beating her habit.
She said: “My life has completely changed since I went to see the Speakmans.
“I feel great, I’ve never touched a sponge and I’ve got rid of them all out of my house.
“I’ve realised that it’s never been about sponges, it’s been problems that I’ve kept for years and I didn’t need it. It was something I thought I wanted to help me with my problems but really all I needed to do was talk to somebody.”
Viewers were left baffled by Emma’s story and took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
One wrote: “This sponge woman is making me feel sick.”
“Can’t watch this sponge eating woman,” another said.
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A third wrote: “She’s having a sponge with a cup of tea I’m literally crying.”
One baffled viewer added: “Some woman eating Sponges on #ThisMorning. Actual washing up sponge, what is happening.”