Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he has struggled with the demands of his job while his son struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The TV personality is known to millions as the easy-going co-host of the ITV breakfast show, but he admits his good-natured nature has been affected by his son Reuben’s condition and the impact it has had on their personal life.
Speaking to The Mirror spin-off podcast Mind In Men, 49-year-old Fletcher reveals he found it difficult to stay afloat on Good Morning Britain after the now 20-year-old was diagnosed in 2014 had received.
“The OCD told him not to do these things or something bad would happen,” he recalled, admitting that Reuben was taken out of school for a year due to his battle with the illness.
“I was really struggling… it’s really hard, you’re just tired all the time. It’s a bit like when you’re sleeping, you can deal with problems with a newborn, but when you don’t have sleep,…” “Smallest things become big.”
Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he has struggled with the demands of his job while his son struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder
The TV personality is known to millions as the easy-going co-host of the ITV breakfast show, but he admits his good-natured nature has been affected by his son Reuben’s condition
What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, commonly known as OCD, is a common mental illness that causes people to obsess over thoughts and develop behaviors that they have difficulty controlling.
It can affect anyone at any age, but usually develops in young adulthood.
It can cause people to repeatedly have unwanted or unpleasant thoughts.
People may also develop compulsive behavior—a physical or mental action—that they do over and over again to relieve the obsession.
The condition can be controlled and treatment usually includes psychological therapy or medication.
It is not known why OCD occurs, but risk factors include a family history of the disorder, certain differences in brain chemicals, or major life events such as a birth or bereavement.
People who are naturally orderly, methodical, or anxious are also more likely to develop it.
Source: NHS
He added: “Looking back, I think I’m a much better presenter now that I don’t have that struggle that we had at home. “Back then I was just struggling and trying to stay afloat .’
Despite his turmoil, Fletcher refused to discuss his domestic issues with his co-hosts, choosing instead to keep them buried.
“I immediately went into mode that was, ‘Don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it,'” he added. “And I haven’t done that for a long time. I probably didn’t feel like a TV studio was a safe place.
“To be fair, I didn’t feel like there was anywhere safe to talk about it other than on TV.”
Reuben, the eldest of Fletcher’s two children with wife Luned Tonderai, has now enrolled at university after learning to deal with his OCD, but the presenter is still thinking about its impact.
“It was almost like OCD was tearing our family apart,” he said. “It was like a little gremlin sitting on the mantelpiece and starting discussions… making things difficult.”
Fletcher previously admitted that a conversation with his colleague Kate Garraway helped him understand the importance of family.
Speaking to Web in 2020, he admitted “nothing else matters” as the family hit a time of crisis after Kate’s husband Derek Draper fell ill with COVID-19 and was rushed to hospital, where he fell into an induced coma.
He said: “I remember going out in the summer and seeing Kate for the first time and we chatted, that was before it went on air.”
“I was reading the news that day, so I was probably a little earlier than her, so she was getting her makeup done and I was ready to go and we just chatted.”
“We were kind of talking about how you can get on with all sorts of things in your life, and so many things feel really important, and then something will happen.”
“So I talked to her about my son and it was like, ‘Oh my God, none of that else matters,’ and of course about her and Derek.”
“Suddenly something happens and all the other things that you thought were absolutely important just aren’t important, and you know, we didn’t have a moment where we didn’t hug or something, but I just thought there was Moment of simplicity.” ”Oh yes.”’
He added: “My wife isn’t in a coma or anything, but I have this moment of, ‘Oh yeah, these things that I was really worried about are just irrelevant,’ and it’s the same thing, it’s with colon cancer or “to be associated with a different kind of cancer.”
“You’re doing all sorts of things in life and then all of a sudden you get this diagnosis and actually the other stuff doesn’t matter, it’s actually, you know, you’re hanging on for your life, or someone you know is hanging on for their life around. ‘
If anything in this article affects you, please contact SANE on: 0300 304 7000.