Frankie Bridge has opened up about being concerned for her sons health after battling with anxiety and depression herself.
The Loose Women star and member of The Saturdays has shared a new vlog on her YouTube channel. In her weekly videos, she documents her family life, business endeavours, and day-to-day activities with viewers.
Frankie, who rose to fame in S Club Juniors, has been married to former footballer Wayne Bridge since 2014. The pair share two sons — Parker, 12 and Carter, 10 — whom she regularly talks about.
Frankie Bridge opens up about son Carter’s health
In her vlog shared yesterday (February 16), Frankie expressed her worries for both her sons.
While filming herself driving in her car, the All Fired Up hitmaker, who has been open about her battle with anxiety and depression, revealed that Carter had his “dyslexia assessment this week”.
Describing him as “very bright” and having a “very good vocabulary of words”, Frankie said his “processing is very slow”. She added that he hasn’t “come on” since his last assessment from about three years ago.
The singer explained it is “affecting his confidence and his self-esteem”. As a result, he is withdrawn from things he enjoyed, such as playing sports.
“Now, he just doesn’t want to do it. Obviously, we’ve warranted that,” she continued, stating it is “such a shame”.
‘It’s just really hard when someone else tells you that your son is struggling’
As she opened up about her son feeling overwhelmed and not so confident, Frankie then admitted that her son’s health is the “thing that affects me the most”.
“It’s just really hard when someone else tells you that your son is struggling,” she said before addressing both her children.
“I have a huge fear of my kids being like me, mental health-wise. I don’t want my kids to deal with depression and anxiety for their whole life. That was a big part of when I was younger of why I went into hospital with my depression and anxiety. I knew I wanted kids with Wayne, and I didn’t want my mental health to affect them from them having to deal with me,” Frankie continued.
She also wanted to be well enough to deal with their mental health, if needed.
“I think that will always feel like my biggest failure with them,” Frankie added, explaining her “trigger” is that they’re “going to be like me” if they’re ever feeling “down”.
Frankie insisted she is eager to have Carter homeschooled, believing that could solve his anxiety.
Frankie Bridge has never shied away from talking about her mental health and depression.
While in The Saturdays, the singer admitted she reached breaking point and struggled. As a result, she checked herself into a specialist mental health hospital in 2011.
Frankie Bridge checks into mental health hospital
“I’d reached a point where I couldn’t cope with everyday life,” she told BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat in 2020.
“I was constantly crying and telling my partner [footballer Wayne Bridge] that I didn’t really want to be here anymore.”
At the time, Frankie had already committed to filming a music video shoot in Iceland. Frankie and her manager came to an agreement that she’d keep working and be admitted when the two-day shoot was over.
“Luckily it was a moody shoot so I didn’t have to put on this happy, smiley front,” she admitted.
‘I was anxious from the womb’
While speaking to The Guardian in 2024, Frankie insisted she has been “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,” she continued.
“Depression came in my late teens. The doctor suggested therapy and I was outraged. “I’m British. We don’t do that.” Then I realised anxiety had spilled over into something else.”
Frankie revealed her grandmother gave her the nickname Sunshine and Showers because she was “either happy or low, without much in between”.
Frankie’s book
In 2020, Frankie published a book, OPEN: Why Asking for Help Can Save Your Life, which “opens up about her ongoing journey from breakdown to breakthroughs and through self-loathing, hospitalisation and self-acceptance”.
While promoting the book, Frankie shared with Happiful: “Knowledge is key. Know what is happening to you, find someone you can confide in, and don’t give yourself such a hard time. Remember, a better day is around the corner.”
Read more: Frankie Bridge admits ‘that’s life’ after sharing gross ‘soiling themselves’ story
What do you think of this story? Let us know your thoughts and leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.