‘Celebrity Big Brother’ star Jess Impiazzi bravely opened up about her battle with depression on ‘Loose Women’ and the impact it had on her life.
The 28-year-old model made the decision to drop out of the Italia Conti Theatre School in 2006 to look after her mother Debbie after she lost her sight due to Uveal Effusion Syndrome, an incident that followed the tragic death of her nephew at 13 months old from meningitis.
Jess admits the trauma of both things took a heavy toll on her mental health and she struggled to deal with the illness.
Speaking to the panel on the episode of the ITV daytime chat show, Jess said: "I got hit with depression, I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I dropped out of school. My favourite teacher said my light had gone out. When you’re feeling like that, you can’t sing and dance. I didn’t want to see anyone and I just wanted to hide all the time."
Jess admits helping to care for her mother after she lost her sight and watching her parent learn new skills such as braille gave her the motivation to beat her depression.
She added: "I went on anti-depressants and she was keeping me going as she needed me. I felt like I was a burden to everybody. I was so depressed."
Jess was praised by the panellists – Ruth Langsford, Linda Robson, Janet Street-Porter and Stacey Solomon – for being so honest about the health issues in her past.
Jess Impiazzi talks depression struggle
