Rocker Gerard Way instigated My Chemical Romance's split so he could battle his booze demons following a relapse.

The Welcome to the Black Parade hitmakers parted ways in 2013 after 12 years together and they insisted the reason was because they wanted to end on a high.

Way, who struggled with alcoholism and an addiction to prescription drugs during his 20s, has now revealed he relapsed shortly after the release of the group's final album in 2010 and subsequently decided to walk away from the band and clean up his act for the sake of his daughter Bandit.

The singer, now 37, tells NME magazine, "I relapsed, not into drugs but booze... I was self-medicating again to get through, and I'd forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time. I started to face the hypothetical reality of Bandit not having a father. I started taking that seriously, thinking, 'I want her to have a dad. A guy that's present. Because one way or another - either by death or by asylum, she's gonna be fatherless if I keep this up'... (I decided) break the band or break me."

Way has been married to Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z since 2007.