Joey Essex bravely shared how his mother’s death has shaped his life and relationships (Picture: BBC/Instagram@joeyessex)
Joey Essex won the hearts of the nation tonight as he relived the trauma of his mum’s suicide in BBC One documentary Grief and Me.
The former Towie star opened up about his mum Tina taking her own life following a battle with depression when he was 10 years old.
In the documentary, Joey was seen speaking to a therapist about his grief and how he has struggled to let people in, particularly with romantic relationships, out of fear that he’ll lose them just like his mum.
Viewers were moved by the powerful scenes and were surprised to learn he’d been dealing with so much pain underneath his typical happy-go-lucky persona.
Reacting to the film, one tweeted: ‘I hope Joey Essex knows what an enormously brave and significant thing he has done here in showing this vulnerability and journey to the world.’
Another praised with similar sentiments: ‘Good on Joey Essex for talking about traumatic grief from childhood. Suicide is a subject that often stops conversation especially when talking about a family member or friend.
‘It also can cause many emotions – so invariably it gets hidden, not helping anyone at all.’