He has previously spoken openly about feeling suicidal after being dropped from his record label Syco in 2014.
And now James Arthur, 34, has decided to reconsider the “trauma” of being placed in foster care at the age of 14 in order to overcome “decades” of struggling with his mental health.
The former X Factor winner has directed a new documentary – James Arthur: Out Of Our Minds – in which he speaks candidly to his parents about how their decision to abandon him has impacted his whole life.
After leaving foster care, his depression and anxiety were so bad that he felt he couldn’t get out of his bed while the star contemplated suicide following his rise to fame.
Also appearing on the BBC Three show, which will air on November 13, is ex-girlfriend Jessica Grist, with whom he was involved during his early years in the spotlight.
Trauma: James Arthur, 34, has decided to revisit the ‘trauma’ of being placed in foster care aged 14 in order to cope with ‘decades’ of struggling with his mental health (pictured in 2021)
Jmes, who has moved “seven or eight times”, has now moved back to his hometown of Redcar, North Yorkshire, after feeling “more and more isolated” in the south-west of the country.
He told The Sun how he hopes to feel closer to “who he is” when surrounded by people who knew “the weird little ADHD kid” he was.
James admitted he struggled with his mental health for “decades” and was sometimes overcome by depression and anxiety.
Despite trying antidepressants, therapy and exercise to help, the singer explained, “I decided that in order to address my mental health issues, I needed to start by returning to my hometown to reconsider my past and the separation from my parents. “
Throwback: The X Factor star has directed a new documentary – James Arthur: Out Of Our Minds – in which he speaks candidly to his parents about how quitting has affected his life as a whole
The former X Factor winner admitted he previously “felt a lot of resentment against his parents,” and I did his best to keep them away.
But now he sees his move back to Redcar as an opportunity to get to know her again and have the uncomfortable conversations necessary to come to terms with what happened.
However, James admitted: We are not fully there yet. I need to talk to my father. With Mum, I don’t know if I ever got a break from her – hearing her say ‘sorry’ without hearing a ‘but’.
The singer’s mother, Shirley, split from his father, delivery driver Neil, when James was just two years old and they both remarried to new partners a year later
Needing closure: However, James admitted: “With Mum, I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten closure from her – to hear her say ‘sorry’ without hearing a ‘but'” (Image: Shirley in 2012)
When James was nine, his stepfather, Ronnie Rafferty, a computer engineer, moved the family to Bahrain, where they lived happily for four years.
They suddenly moved back to the UK at the age of 13 and Ronnie ‘disappeared’, leaving James’ mother Shirley alone to raise four children.
A year later, at an emergency social worker meeting, his parents admitted they couldn’t cope, and James was sent to foster care.
James explained how his mother struggled with mental health issues and that his father needed to “step up”.
Heartbreaking: James said when his parents put him in foster care: ‘I felt quite hopeless. I saw both of my parents decide to say, “He can’t live with us.” (Picture 2019)
He told the publication at the time: “I felt pretty hopeless. I saw both of my parents decide to say, “He can’t live with us.” I was a kid and all I really needed was someone to put an arm around me. I will never forget this day.”
Recalling the “scary” drive to his caregiver’s house, James admitted he would cry at night because he felt confused because, at worst, he had just been “a bit disruptive” at school.
He revealed how he kept the fact he was in foster care from his friends for two years because he was “ashamed” of holding back his feelings while his mental health “spiraled”.
James said of his parents’ decision to give him away: “I upset them so much and I carried that situation and how it all turned out for the rest of my life.”
Wearing it: James said of his parents: “I upset them so much and I carried this situation and how it all turned out for the rest of my life” (pictured on X Factor in 2012)
At 19, unemployed and destitute, James left foster care and moved into a tiny room next to a drug dealer in North Yorkshire.
Overcome with anxiety, teenage James became a recluse and slept before his GP finally prescribed him antidepressants.
In 2012, at the age of 24, he called his mother Shirley to ask her for a fiver so he could pay for the electricity. She loaned him the small amount on the condition that he would go to The X Factor auditions in Middlesbrough.
James’ world then changed overnight as he won the legendary show after navigating the “super intense” boot camp, judges’ houses and live finals.
Journey: Overwhelmed with anxiety, teenager James became a recluse and slept before his GP finally prescribed him anti-depressants (pictured in 2012)
The talented star had stopped taking his anti-depressants prior to entering the ITV competition but admitted he “hadn’t really addressed the deep trauma”.
James openly claimed to the publication that his childhood trauma “would always come back and haunt him.”
The singer recalled walking off the stage with his heart pounding and feeling utter terror as he admitted, “I thought I was going to die.”
An ambulance was called and he resumed antidepressant medication on the advice of doctors.
After topping the charts and releasing an album, James was embroiled in controversy over a homophobic slur on Twitter and a falling out with Simon Cowell over a mixtape that glorified violence, leading to his being dropped from Syco in 2014.
Devastating: Speaking on camera, his ex-girlfriend Jessica Gibb reminisced as she lay outside her bedroom begging the suicidal singer to unlock the door (pictured together in 2014)
The star revealed he struggled with anxiety on a daily basis and admitted he used drugs, drank and partied – and in retrospect he described himself as “a fool”.
Speaking on camera for his new documentary, his ex-girlfriend Jessica recalled one night she lay outside her bedroom begging the suicidal singer to unlock the door.
He has previously spoken openly about feeling suicidal after being dropped from his record label.
“If I were ever near a balcony or in my car, I would have a picture of myself jumping across the street or going off the street. But then I thought, “Don’t do it, you have sisters, you’re the man of the family”. But I’ve thought about it a lot,” he told The Mirror in 2016.”
In 2016, James rekindled his career: he overcame his addiction, re-signed with Syco and his single “Say You Won’t Let Go” topped the charts.
For confidential support, call the Samaritans at 116123 or visit a local Samaritans office, see samaritans.org
James Arthur: Out Of Our Minds airs on BBC Three on November 13 at 9pm.
Buried: James openly claimed to the publication that his childhood trauma would “always come back and haunt him” (pictured in 2012)