For fans of “Made in Chelsea”‘s Sophie Habboo and those who follow her “NewlyWeds” podcast with husband, Jamie Laing, her social media absence has been concerning of late. And on 18 September, the reality star revealed that she had been taking some time out to focus on herself and her mental health struggles. Taking to Instagram stories, she wrote: “The truth is, I have struggled with anxiety for many years, but the last year it got pretty debilitating.”
Habboo addressed that, while she often puts her life online and details the ins and outs of her relationship on her podcasts, she had not been feeling herself. “The more I continued to live in that space without talking about it and trying to put a plaster on it, the worse I felt,” she added. “So, I decided to go away to recoup, be in a place where I could get professional help so that I could get back to myself, understand what was going on what was causing me to feel this way and change it.”
The influencer, who married fellow “Made in Chelsea” star Laing in May, announced that she is back and feeling better. While she acknowledged that her anxiety will always be a part of her, she is equipped with the tools to manage it better. “I know first hand how scary it is to admit to admit to yourself let alone others that you are struggling mentally, and I just wanted to come on here and say it’s okay,” she advised her followers. “It’s okay to say it and ask for help and hopefully I can help some of you guys to do that. And continue to talk about mental health on here, so that noone has to be alone, ashamed or scared.”
Laing has also previously opened up about his own anxiety which led him to leave the E4 reality show and pursue his own passion projects, including cover on BBC Radio 1, fronting podcasts, and growing his confectionary business, Candy Kittens.
By opening up on social media, Habboo once again proves that platforms like Instagram often only show one side of a person’s life, and we never truly know what’s going on behind the filters and witty captions. Here’s hoping that by talking about her struggles, the stigma around getting help will continue to lift.
