Chrissy Teigen has spoken candidly about her struggles with postnatal depression in the hope that more women will be able to speak up. The star first opened up about it after having her first child, Luna, in an essay forGlamour in March 2017.And, now, two years after writing that article, the model has spoken out again for Women's Health Month, saying how sharing her experience made her feel less alone. (The NHS predicts that one in 10 women experience postnatal depression within a year of giving birth.)
‘I didn't really realise it until I'd written an article with Glamour Magazine and spoken out about it how many women are going through this,’ she said on the Today show. ‘I think more than anything I've ever done, more women on the street come up to me and talk about that article than anything else.’
‘Since it happened with Luna, it happened with my first one, I just didn't know that there was any other way to feel,’ she added. ‘I thought it was very natural to be in this low, low point and I just assumed that was motherhood and there was no other way around it.’
The star also said that she had a supportive community around her, including her doctor, and her husband John Legend. She said, 'John and my doctors were my strength. I had such a good group of people that were around and people were really watchful of me. In the future, with any other babies that come along, I understand it now.' Chrissy also spoke about the possibility of having more babies - she has two children, Luna, three, and Miles, 11 months - adding, ‘It was more like OK if it does happen, like I understand it now. Even in the future with any other babies that come along - no, not now.’
Following Chrissy’s brave words, see below for other celebrities who have spoken publicly about their experiences with postnatal depression, including Adele and Gwyneth Paltrow…
Celebrities Who Have Spoken About Postnatal Depression
1 of 6Courteney Cox
Friends star Courteney Cox admitted that she went through delayed postnatal depression on USA Today, saying, 'I went through a really hard time — not right after the baby, but when (Coco) turned 6 months. I couldn't sleep. My heart was racing. And I got really depressed.'
2 of 6Cardi B
Rapper Cardi B experienced postnatal depression after the birth of her first daughter Kulture last year. Speaking with Harper's Bazaar, she said, 'I thought I was going to avoid [postpartum depression]. When I gave birth, the doctor told me about postpartum, and I was like, "Well, I'm doing good right now, I don't think that's going to happen." But out of nowhere, the world was heavy on my shoulders.'
3 of 6Princess Diana
In a 1995 interview with Martin Bashir for Panorama, Diana said, 'Then I was unwell with postnatal depression, which no one ever discusses, postnatal depression, you have to read about it afterwards, and that in itself was a bit of a difficult time. You'd wake up in the morning feeling you didn't want to get out of bed, you felt misunderstood, and just very, very low in yourself.'
4 of 6Adele
Adele has also hinted about struggling with postnatal depression after the birth of her son Angelo. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said, 'One day, I said to a friend, "I fucking hate this," and she burst into tears and said, "I fucking hate this, too," and it was done. It lifted.'
5 of 6Drew Barrymore
'I didn't have postpartum the first time [I had a baby] so I didn't understand it because I was like, "I feel great!"' Drew Barrymore told People. 'The second time, I was like, 'Oh, whoa, I see what people talk about now. I understand. It's a different type of overwhelming with the second. I really got under the cloud.'
6 of 6Lena Headey
In a recent interview with The EDIT, the Game of Thrones actress revealed that she struggled following the birth of her son Wylie in 2010. 'I was postnatally depressed but I didn't know it,' she said. 'I saw a doctor for the medical check, and I just burst into tears. She said I was postnatally depressed and I went, "Am I? Why is that?" I saw a great guy and he sorted me out, but I did the first year [on Game of Thrones] in that space, figuring out motherhood and going through a weird time personally. It was tricky.'