Artists candidly discussing their struggles with mental illness isn’t as common enough as it should be. Former Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams wants to change and “normalize” that.
Williams was a guest co-host on The Talk on Wednesday (Oct. 18) and took the opportunity to open up about her struggles with depression and thoughts of suicide at the peak of Destiny Child’s success in the early 2000s.
At the time, she didn’t think she was suffering from depression because she couldn’t identify the signs as symptoms, and instead believed they were “growing pains.” It wasn’t until she reached her 30s, she said, when she looked back and realized what she was suffering from and how long it had affected her for — according to her, she began feeling depressed when she was young teen.
When she disclosed to the group’s manager — Beyoncé’s father Mathew Knowles — that she was thought she was depressed, he told her, “You all just signed a multi-million dollar deal. You’re about to go on tour. What do you have to be depressed about?” Williams continued to deal with her depression, but it only worsened — to the point that she was suicidal and wanted to leave the group.
Watch her talk candidly about her struggles below.
