The 38-year-old star confessed he was "deeply sorry" for the "pain" he had caused to his wife and friends through his flings with up to 10 women.

The pop star and his wife Emma, who have two children, married only last October but have been together for five years.

In a confession to The Sun this week, he said he had seen a number of women over the years during his relationship.

Owen, who has often been seen as a "squeaky clean" member of the reunited group, called himself "a prat" and disclosed he was seeing a therapist in a bid to "sort things out".

His spokesman confirmed the singer had checked into a "private clinic" in recent days but would not say which one.

Owen, who sings lead vocals on a number of the group's hits, including Babe and Shine, said he had been living with the guilt for years and wished he had confessed all before the marriage.

The Oldham-born star, who has a three-year-old son Elwood and daughter Willow Rose, who is one, broke the news of his infidelity to his wife at their London home on Wednesday.

He said his confession would help them to move on, and he wanted to be with his wife "for life".

"It's going to do good in the long run. It's for the best, this," he said.

Owen said he had discussed his drink problem with bandmates Gary Barlow, Jason Orange and Howard Donald and had sought advice from former Take That member Robbie Williams, who battled alcohol and drug addiction.

The singer - who also admitted he had been a heavy cannabis user and still smoked the occasional joint - said: "I have had issues for a long time. I've drunk for the last 10 years and it got to a bad point."

He went on: "I never really saw the problem. I carried on drinking through my relationship with Emma and it got to the point where she asked me to stop.

"I've never liked drinking during the day but once the kids went to bed, I'd get the bottle open and off I went.

"I have been a prat. I wasn't thinking - I don't think logically when I'm drunk. I'm not the person I want to be when I'm drunk. I can be a nightmare to live with."

Referring to his flings, the star said: "I want to make it absolutely clear I am not using the drink as an excuse. I've been living with the guilt. Maybe the drink was my way of dealing with the guilt."