She has been the butt of 'Poor Michelle' jokes and memes for years, but Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams has spoken out about her mental health struggle while in the band and after they split.
Along with her bandmates Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland, the trio enjoyed a huge number of hits including 'Independent Women' and 'Survivor' - but Williams has revealed that she battled depression for much of that period, beginning in her early teens.
Speaking on CBS's 'The Talk', she said that she had been inspired to talk about her own struggles in an effort to normalise discussion about mental health, and pop star Demi Lovato's recent revelations about her own mental health struggles.
"For years, I’m in one of the top-selling female groups of all time suffering with depression," she said, adding that she didn't realise that she had been depressed until her thirties and that she had disclosed her feelings to Beyonce's father Mathew Knowes, who was Destiny's Child's manager at the time.
"It got really really bad…to the point of I was suicidal," she said. "I was to that place where it got so dark and heavy because sometimes you feel like ‘I’m the provider, I take care of people, I’m not supposed to be feeling this way—what do I do?’ I wanted out.”
If you're feeling depressed or suicidal, Pieta House are on hand to listen: 1800 247 247
Samaritans: Phone 116 123
