Frankie Bridge made an emotional confession on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women while discussing her battle with anxiety and depression.
The singer, 36, admitted that when she has a ‘dip’ with her mental health, she sometimes fears that her husband Wayne and sons Parker, 11, and Carter, nine, ‘would be better off with someone else.’
She made the revelation during a discussion about how to best support a loved one through an illness.
Frankie said: ‘For me, having depression and anxiety, I often feel like you become a bit of a weight on the family.
‘You don’t need to be cared for in the same way, but I feel like if I’m going through a dip, and my depression is particularly bad, I feel like I’m bringing a bad aura and a bad feeling into the house.
‘I do often think of Wayne and the kids and think, ”They’d have been better off with someone who didn’t have those issues.”‘
Frankie Bridge, 36, made an emotional confession on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women while discussing her battle with anxiety and depression
The singer admitted that when she has a ‘dip’ with her mental health, she sometimes fears that her husband Wayne and son Parker, 12, ‘would be better off with someone else’
A visibly emotional Frankie went on to explain that she wishes her family could be around someone who is ‘naturally happy all the time and didn’t have those dips.’
She said: ‘I feel sorry for them sometimes that they have to deal with me.
‘You do feel like a bit of a burden sometimes, but obviously it’s very different to being physically looked after.’
Following the candid revelation, Frankie was comforted by her fellow panelist Nadia Sawalha, 60, who explained what it is like to have a spouse with mental health issues.
She added: ‘We don’t understand it in the same way that we understand physical pain.’
She went on to explain that while she would like her husband Mark to be happy all the time, his struggles don’t take away from him being an incredible person – and stressed that Frankie is also incredible in her own way.
Nadia said: ‘When you’re in a dark place, it can feel like that, but when you have people who love you, they just don’t want that pain to be there. You are a 360-degree woman – you are funny, kind, and a great mum.
‘You also are someone who is unlucky enough to deal with a mental health condition and that is not your fault.’
Frankie, pictured here with her husband Wayne and sons, said: ‘For me, having depression and anxiety, I often feel like you become a bit of a weight on the family’
Following the candid revelation, Frankie was comforted by her fellow panelist Nadia Sawalha, 60, who explained what it is like to have a spouse with mental health issues
This is not the first time that Frankie, who rose to fame as a member of S Club Juniors, has opened up about her mental health struggles.
She told The Guardian: ‘I was anxious from the womb. It’s who I am. As a child, my thoughts would happen at night-time.
‘I’d struggle to breathe and have stomach aches. Depression came in my late teens.’
The star’s mental health reached the point where she chose to receive inpatient psychiatric care at the age of 21 – and this helped her manage her symptoms better.
She said: ‘Psychiatric hospital made me realise I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t sectioned. I chose to go and stayed a month. Soon, a massive weight lifted.’
Loose Women airs weekdays on ITV1 from 12:30pm and is available to stream on ITVX.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
