Eurovision winner Måns Zelmerlöw opens up about infidelity, lies and drug use in new book

Måns Zelmerlöw spent years presenting an almost flawless public image. In his new diary-style book, “When Everything Falls,” the Swedish singer describes what happened when that image gave way to divorce, infidelity, lies and drug use.

Zelmerlöw disappeared from public view after Melodifestivalen in spring 2025. The result had been a major disappointment: the Finnish group KAJ was chosen to represent Sweden at Eurovision. Immediately afterward, Zelmerlöw expressed his frustration by crying and kicking objects. It later emerged that he had tested positive for drugs after the final.

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I am happy that the book exists and that I can tell my side of the story that led to all the gossip and rumors.

At the same time, his private life was falling apart. His former wife later announced on Instagram that they had both filed for divorce. She accused him of psychological and physical violence, infidelity and creating a hostile atmosphere. Zelmerlöw writes about the painful consequences, including a custody dispute over the children and his sudden fall from the center of Sweden’s entertainment world.

In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Zelmerlöw said he did not write the book to seek compensation or return to the spotlight. He began keeping a diary and found the process therapeutic. “I am happy that the book exists and that I can tell my side of the story that led to all the gossip and rumors,” he said.

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The challenges in my relationship unfortunately awakened in me a desire to escape, and that is exactly how it manifested itself. I was not happy. I did not feel safe with myself. I had lost contact with my real self.

He says he regrets his failed relationships most. He describes his cocaine use as recreational and says it happened a long time ago. “The challenges in my relationship unfortunately awakened in me a desire to escape, and that is exactly how it manifested itself. I was not happy. I did not feel safe with myself. I had lost contact with my real self,” he said.

Zelmerlöw says he was “very lost” and had not stopped to reflect for 20 years. After a year of writing, therapy and personal work, he says he recognized his own part in the simultaneous collapse of his life. He came to see himself as someone whose surroundings had shaped a polished version of him. He first became known through Sweden’s 2005 Idols program, where he finished fifth, and won the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars the following year.

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Very lost.