Hey Dame:
You sound really bitter! Angry! Right? O.K. Illigitimis non carborundum? (Don't let the bastards wear you down!). So they gossip! They always gossip! Don't let them get you to drink over it. They will talk. You can't stop them. But you can stop them from driving you to drink. Get some others who are also like you, in recovery, maybe AA if you do that program, get some companionship with others who feel like you, who suffer like you and above all, when you feel you're in a hole don't get a shovel and dig yourself down deeper. Keep posting here on SR. We're like you. We've been talked about, gossiped. We know anger, isolation, loneliness. Do you have a dog or cat? If not, get one right now.
Bill.