Davinia Taylor thought her post-natal depression was going to kill her.
The 40-year-old actress sunk into a dark place following the birth of her 10-year-old son Grey, whom she has with her ex-husband Dave Gardener, but she forced herself to seek help for the mental health condition after she lost custody of the youngster.
Speaking of losing custody of her child, she said: "That’s humiliation. To be honest, that spurred me on to keep sober and keep on a programme. And now obviously I share custody with my ex-husband and everything’s fine. But that was a catalyst. That really took me to the depths of depression. The support I received in those first few years was monumental, and it changed my life completely. I think I’d be dead to be perfectly honest. Well I would be dead. I was so terrified."
The ‘Hollyoaks’ actress doesn’t think she would’ve got through the dark times if she hadn’t had the support of professionals and people who have been through it before.
When asked what helped her recovery, Davinia said: "Professional help, and the support of people who have already been there, who’ve walked the walk, because it’s all so quiet and hush hush. And for people like me to speak out and to say I had post-natal depression, I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t take something to give it to me, it just hit me. I don’t know whether it’s genetic, or hormonal, but what happened to me, it happened. I went into a massive deep hole and I couldn’t get out of it without professional help. And that’s why I’m running [the London Marathon] for [mental health charity] MIND. I could’ve not been a mum of four. I could be dead."
Davinia is now in a happy relationship with Matthew Leyde – with whom she has Asa and Jude – and has admitted her lifestyle is completely different from 10 years ago.
The blonde star – who also has six-year-old son Jackson from a previous relationship – explained on ‘Lorraine’: "This time it’s much more quiet and calm, we don’t go out, we don’t party, we eat super healthy, and it’s all about the kids. It is non-stop kids – four boys in the house. It is the noisiest household in London I swear."
Davinia Taylor thought post-natal depression would kill her
