{"id":68754,"date":"2023-12-07T09:39:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T09:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talkcelnews.com\/?p=68754"},"modified":"2023-12-07T09:39:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T09:39:57","slug":"sean-fletcher-admits-son-reubens-ocd-almost-tore-our-family-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talkcelnews.com\/celebrities\/sean-fletcher-admits-son-reubens-ocd-almost-tore-our-family-apart\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Fletcher admits  son Reuben&apos;s OCD &apos;almost tore our family apart&apos;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Good Morning Britain host Sean Fletcher admits he &#8216;struggled to keep his head above water&#8217; after son Reuben&#8217;s battle with OCD &#8216;almost tore our family apart&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact SANE on:\u00a00300 304 7000\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son battled obsessive compulsive disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV\u00a0breakfast show&#8217;s easy-going co-host, but he admits his good-natured approach was compromised by son&#8217;s Reuben&#8217;s condition and the impact it had on their personal lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to The Mirror&#8217;s Mind In Men spin-off podcast, Fletcher, 49, revealed he &#8216;struggled to keep his head above water&#8217; on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old&#8217;s diagnosis in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The OCD was telling him that he shouldn\u2019t do those things or something bad would happen,&#8217; he recalled, admitting Reuben was pulled out of school for a year as a result of his battle with the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I was really struggling&#8230;it\u2019s really hard, you\u2019re just tired all the time It\u2019s a bit like when you have a newborn, you can deal with problems when you have sleep, but when you don\u2019t have sleep, the smallest things become big.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/08\/36062640-12836395-Crisis_Sean_explained_that_his_family_went_through_their_own_str-m-2_1701938713729.jpg\" height=\"452\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son battled obsessive compulsive disorder<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/08\/36061542-12836395-Screen_star_Sean_joined_the_GMB_presenting_team_in_2014_and_also-a-3_1701938757371.jpg\" height=\"769\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV breakfast show&#8217;s easy-going co-host, but he admits his good-natured approach was compromised by son&#8217;s Reuben&#8217;s condition<\/p>\n<h3>What is obsessive compulsive disorder?<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>It can affect anyone at any age but normally develops during young adulthood.<\/p>\n<p>It can cause people to have repetitive unwanted or unpleasant thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>People may also develop compulsive behaviour \u2013 a physical action or something mental \u2013 which they do over and over to try to relieve the obsessive thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>The condition can be controlled and treatment usually involves psychological therapy or medication.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>People who are naturally tidy, methodical or anxious are also more likely to develop it.<\/p>\n<p><span>Source: NHS\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8216;I look back and I think I\u2019m a much better presenter now I don\u2019t 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.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite his turmoil, Fletcher refused to discuss his domestic issues with his co-hosts, opting instead to keep them buried.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I immediately just clicked into the mode, which was \u2018don\u2019t talk about it, don\u2019t talk about it, don\u2019t talk about it,&#8217; he added. &#8216;And I didn\u2019t for a long time. I probably didn\u2019t feel a television studio was a safe space.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;To be fair, I didn\u2019t feel anywhere was a safe space to talk about it, but definitely television.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Reuben, the oldest of Fletcher&#8217;s two children with wife\u00a0Luned Tonderai, has since enrolled at university after learning to manage his OCD, but the presenter still reflects on its impact.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It was almost like the OCD was tearing our family apart,&#8217; he said. &#8216;It was like a little gremlin sitting on the mantelpiece, making arguments start\u2026making things difficult.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fletcher previously admitted a conversation with colleague Kate Garraway helped him understand the importance of family.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to MailOnline in 2020, he admitted &#8216;nothing else matters&#8217; when\u00a0 family are thrown into a time of crisis after Kate&#8217;s husband Derek Draper contracted COVID-19 and was rushed to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8216;I remember going out in the summer and seeing Kate for the first time, and we got talking, this was before going on air.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/09\/78682661-12836395-image-m-15_1701939817623.jpg\" height=\"664\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fletcher revealed he &#8216;struggled to keep his head above water&#8217; on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old&#8217;s diagnosis in 2014 (pictured in 2016)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/09\/78682857-12836395-image-m-17_1701940307378.jpg\" height=\"898\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Reuben is the oldest of Fletcher&#8217;s two children with presenter wife\u00a0Luned Tonderai (pictured)<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;So for me I was talking to her about my son and it was like &#8221;oh my gosh none of that other stuff matters&#8221; and of course her with Derek.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Suddenly something happens and all those other things you thought were absolutely crucial are just not important and you know, we didn&#8217;t have a moment we weren&#8217;t hugging or anything like that, but just I just thought there was a moment of just &#8221;oh yeah.&#8221;&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8216;My wife&#8217;s not in a coma or anything but I do get that moment of &#8221;oh yeah these things I was really worrying about are just irrelevant&#8221; and it&#8217;s the same, tying it in with having bowel cancer or any type of cancer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You do all sorts of stuff in life and then suddenly you get that diagnosis and actually none of that other stuff matters it&#8217;s actually, you know, you&#8217;re hanging on for dear life, or someone you know is hanging on for dear life.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><span>If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact SANE on: 0300 304 7000.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/tvshowbiz\/article-12836395\/Good-Morning-Britain-host-Sean-Fletcher-admits-struggled-head-water-son-Ruebens-battle-OCD-tore-family-apart.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good Morning Britain host Sean Fletcher admits he &#8216;struggled to keep his head above water&#8217; after son Reuben&#8217;s battle with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sean Fletcher admits son Reuben&amp;apos;s OCD &amp;apos;almost tore our family apart&amp;apos; 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