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Strictly's Pete Wicks 'won’t be the last' after he was 'breaking down' over loss
The Strictly Come Dancing star recalled the loss on ITV's Lorraine as he backed a new mental health campaign
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Pete Wicks has opened up about the loss of his grandmother as he joined a new mental health campaign. The Strictly Come Dancing star recalled the loss on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday (March 6).
Joining Lorraine Kelly on the programme, Pete announced that he will be backing the show's new mental health initiative, March4March, making him the second celebrity to join the campaign after the late Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy announced her support on a previous programme.
Pete, who has been very open about his own struggles with his mental health in the past, opened up about why he wanted to get involved with the campaign: "For me, I love nature and I love getting out, and this is the perfect time to be doing it.
"The sun is shining, there’s a little bit of Spring and it makes me feel better… It’s a perfect opportunity to reflect, have a little bit of time to yourself, because I think it’s really important, as we all live such busy lives, to take a bit of time to reflect on where you’re at and where your head is at."
Reflecting on his own mental health, Pete said: "It took me a long time. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and throughout that time, I think a lot of it is through not understanding myself and not being able to express how I was feeling, and I think a lot of men suffer with that.
"Not just men, women as well, but not understanding your own emotions or not giving yourself time to understand your own emotions, they often present themselves in a different way."
He continued: "For me it used to be anger, because that was the only kind of emotion that I understood. As I’ve gotten older and over the last few years, through certain things that have happened like losing my nan and whatever else, it’s enabled me to try and understand myself better."
Pete also opened up on his childhood and his dad leaving at an early age: “I never used to look at it as being a kind of hard or traumatic experience really, I just assumed it was something that as a man I had to deal with.
"I think actually as I’ve got older, it has impacted certainly the way I look at life and everything else and a lot of that comes from learning about yourself because being in your own head, which is what I used to do, is a very lonely place. Your own head can be the worst prison in the world.”
He continued: “We all talk about mental health as just talking, but actually listening is a massive part. It’s a huge part. If you’re out with friends and people want to talk to you, really take the time to listen to what they’re saying, because sometimes it’s not even about getting advice from people, it's about venting and having someone not judge you and just listen to what you’re saying.”
He went on to discuss the death of his nan, who he dedicated a dance to on Strictly last year, and how he dealt with her grief. Pete admitted: "For the first kind of eighteen months, I couldn’t even mention her name without breaking down, and then last year I did a book and it was a really cathartic experience.
"It was a case of me putting down in words and opening up about how I felt about the situation, about losing my nan and lots of other things.
"I’m not the first person to lose a grandparent and I won’t be the last, but it was so individual to me and I think a lot of people, when it comes to mental health, no one thinks and feels the way I do and that’s kind of part of your superpower. You’re the only one that thinks the way you do, and that’s a really beautiful thing, so trying to understand yourself is so important."
Article continues belowLorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV1, ITVX, STV & STV Player
