Andrea McLean opens up about 'worst part' of anxiety battle

Andrea McLean

Andrea McLean has opened up about her battle with anxiety following a secret breakdown in 2019.

Andrea McLean admitted that while she "keeps on top of it", she sometimes finds herself slipping back into old habits once she starts to feel better mentally.

"I keep on top of it," the 51-year-old told HELLO!. "The worst part of anxiety is that you do all the things that you know you're supposed to do to keep on top of it, and then you start feeling better and you think 'oh well I'm good now so there's no need to do that'. So you stop doing all the little things and it creeps back in again."

Andrea admitted that she goes into "kicking yourself mode" when she finds herself feeling anxious again, before remembering to "take a deep breath and start all over again".

Andrea McLean with husband Nick Feeney

Andrea with husband Nick | Getty

Last year, the TV star confessed that she suffered a secret breakdown in 2019 after pushing herself too hard.

Speaking to our sister publication Woman's Own, Andrea McLean said at the time: "I was pushing myself to just keep going and going and I’ve realised now that actually I don’t operate that way.

"I don’t like to let anyone down so I always say yes to everything and then end up running around in circles. I was trying to slay every day, get up at half-five, go to the gym, make sure I only have smoothies, and in the end I just burnt out and fell down."

Speaking of how she overcame it, she added: "I asked for help, and I think that’s the key thing that I would say to anybody, especially now, as there will be a lot of people who are feeling really vulnerable and a bit wobbly.

"I didn’t tell anyone and I didn’t ask for help, I thought I could just push it down and crack on, and, actually, you don’t crack on, you crack up, and that was my biggest thing."

Celebrity Writer

Roxy James is a freelance Celebrity Writer at GoodTo, covering all things royal, entertainment and reality TV. Be it the latest Royal Family happenings, behind-the-scenes gossip at Strictly Come Dancing or breaking engagement, divorce or baby news - Roxy has it covered.