Frankie Bridge has credited her husband Wayne for standing by her as she battled depression in the early stages of their relationship. The Saturdays star, who is an ambassador for mental health charity Mind, opened up about her experiences with anxiety and depression during an appearance on Loose Women on Thursday.
The 29-year-old also said that becoming a mother to her two sons, Parker, four, and Carter, two, has helped her. "For me having children made it better. Everyone thought I'd get post-natal depression and so did I, so we were on top of it," Frankie explained. "I'm worse when I'm pregnant. Wayne helped so much - it happened early on in our relationship and he could have walked away from it but he didn't. That's why it's important to talk about it – not just for people suffering but those around them, as they don't really know what to say."
© Photo: Getty ImagesFrankie Bridge credited her husband Wayne for supporting her through depression
She added: "I've got two young kids now, back in the day I could have stayed in bed all day and that's not healthy, so the boys are good in that way. But some days I do feel like doing that." The singer first suffered with depression at the age of 15, when she was in the pop band S Club Juniors. In 2012 the singer was hospitalised for treatment and took a hiatus from her group The Saturdays.
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Frankie has since spoken openly about her mental health on several occasions, but has admitted she doesn't want it to "define" her. 'It's refreshing that everyone knows, but weird. I was and sometimes still am scared of being the poster girl for depression. 'That's the one who's always sad', you know," she said. "I know that's probably not how people think but it makes me nervous of doing too much. I'm not embarrassed of it but I don't want it to define who I am."
