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Being a member of MI6 had only encouraged his drinking problem. In fact, one could almost say MI6 operatives and alcoholism existed in a concomitant nature. He wasn’t Bond by any stretch of the imagination, but Bond had influenced many MI6 members and alcoholism wasn’t an uncommon addiction that agents took up to deal with the stress of MI6 undercover operations.
It wasn’t until he got out from under the MI6 umbrella that he started to realize how terrible a coping method alcoholism was. It wasn’t something he liked to admit to. It was a dark part of his life that he’d prefer to forget, especially in the face of an angel like Ellie.
It wasn’t in his nature to hide the truth, however. He’d done it as part of MI6, but then it was his job and not personal. So when the conversation with Ellie veered towards his past he didn’t hide his struggle with alcoholism nor that he was still struggling with it.
It felt good to tell someone else and Ellie was extremely supportive. It didn’t take the alcoholism away, but knowing he had Ellie’s support gave him an alternative when he felt the need to turn to alcohol to deal with the stress.