Good Morning Britain host Sean Fletcher admits he ‘struggled to keep his head above water’ after son Reuben’s battle with OCD ‘almost tore our family apart’
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Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son battled obsessive compulsive disorder.
The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV breakfast show’s easy-going co-host, but he admits his good-natured approach was compromised by son’s Reuben’s condition and the impact it had on their personal lives.
Speaking to The Mirror’s Mind In Men spin-off podcast, Fletcher, 49, revealed he ‘struggled to keep his head above water’ on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old’s diagnosis in 2014.
‘The OCD was telling him that he shouldn’t do those things or something bad would happen,’ he recalled, admitting Reuben was pulled out of school for a year as a result of his battle with the condition.
‘I was really struggling…it’s really hard, you’re just tired all the time It’s a bit like when you have a newborn, you can deal with problems when you have sleep, but when you don’t have sleep, the smallest things become big.’
Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son battled obsessive compulsive disorder
The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV breakfast show’s easy-going co-host, but he admits his good-natured approach was compromised by son’s Reuben’s condition
What is obsessive compulsive disorder?
Obsessive compulsive disorder, usually known as OCD, is a common mental health condition which makes people obsess over thoughts and develop behaviour they struggle to control.
It can affect anyone at any age but normally develops during young adulthood.
It can cause people to have repetitive unwanted or unpleasant thoughts.
People may also develop compulsive behaviour – a physical action or something mental – which they do over and over to try to relieve the obsessive thoughts.
The condition can be controlled and treatment usually involves psychological therapy or medication.
It is not known why OCD occurs but risk factors include a family history of the condition, certain differences in brain chemicals, or big life events like childbirth or bereavement.
People who are naturally tidy, methodical or anxious are also more likely to develop it.
Source: NHS
He added: ‘I look back and I think I’m a much better presenter now I don’t have this struggle that we had at home. At the time I was just sort of fighting and just trying to keep your head above water.’
Despite his turmoil, Fletcher refused to discuss his domestic issues with his co-hosts, opting instead to keep them buried.
‘I immediately just clicked into the mode, which was ‘don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it,’ he added. ‘And I didn’t for a long time. I probably didn’t feel a television studio was a safe space.
‘To be fair, I didn’t feel anywhere was a safe space to talk about it, but definitely television.’
Reuben, the oldest of Fletcher’s two children with wife Luned Tonderai, has since enrolled at university after learning to manage his OCD, but the presenter still reflects on its impact.
‘It was almost like the OCD was tearing our family apart,’ he said. ‘It was like a little gremlin sitting on the mantelpiece, making arguments start…making things difficult.’
Fletcher previously admitted a conversation with colleague Kate Garraway helped him understand the importance of family.
Speaking to MailOnline in 2020, he admitted ‘nothing else matters’ when family are thrown into a time of crisis after Kate’s husband Derek Draper contracted COVID-19 and was rushed to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma.
He said: ‘I remember going out in the summer and seeing Kate for the first time, and we got talking, this was before going on air.
‘I was reading the news that day so I was probably on a bit earlier than her, so she was having makeup done and I was ready to go, and we just got chatting.
‘We’ve sort of got talking about how you can plough on in your life with all sorts of things and so many things feel really important and then something will happen.
Fletcher revealed he ‘struggled to keep his head above water’ on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old’s diagnosis in 2014 (pictured in 2016)
Reuben is the oldest of Fletcher’s two children with presenter wife Luned Tonderai (pictured)
‘So for me I was talking to her about my son and it was like ”oh my gosh none of that other stuff matters” and of course her with Derek.
‘Suddenly something happens and all those other things you thought were absolutely crucial are just not important and you know, we didn’t have a moment we weren’t hugging or anything like that, but just I just thought there was a moment of just ”oh yeah.”’
He added: ‘My wife’s not in a coma or anything but I do get that moment of ”oh yeah these things I was really worrying about are just irrelevant” and it’s the same, tying it in with having bowel cancer or any type of cancer.
‘You do all sorts of stuff in life and then suddenly you get that diagnosis and actually none of that other stuff matters it’s actually, you know, you’re hanging on for dear life, or someone you know is hanging on for dear life.’
If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact SANE on: 0300 304 7000.
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