'I needed to get away': Loose Women's Andrea McLean opens up about her 2019 breakdown to fellow panellists as she prepares to release tell all book
Andrea McLean suffered a breakdown behind closed doors in 2019.
And the Loose Women panellist, 50, is now ready to open about and tell her story as she discussed her ordeal with her co-stars on Monday.
She took some time off from the daytime show after revealing her mental collapse left her in an 'dark place,' but she has turned the negative into a positive as she plans to release a new book about her experience.
Hardship: Andrea McLean suffered a mental breakdown in 2019 but she is now ready to open about and tell her story, as she discussed her ordeal on the ITV's Loose Women on Monday
Andrea returned to Loose Women in May 2020 and publicly disclosed that she had gone through a really challenging time.
The TV host said she couldn't imagine going through the pandemic with the same mental state that she had in 2019.
She said: 'I had a breakdown last year which is not something I've necessarily spoken about but I did.
Break: The Loose Women panellist, 50, took some time off from the show after suffering from a mental collapse that left her in a 'dark place', which she will explore in her upcoming book
'If the coronavirus had happened then it would've been horrendous but I worked on myself so hard and had so much help and so much support that when it happened we'd already started calming our life down, taking things out that were causing stress.'
Andrea has spent most of her lockdown writing for her new book, which divulges the most 'raw' and 'honest' moments during her breakdown and leading up to it.
The TV presenter revealed on Loose Women that the book discloses her previous experience with domestic abuse and her mental struggles as she finally reached her breaking point.
Tell-all: Andrea has spent most of her lockdown writing for her new book which divulges the most 'raw' and 'honest' moments during her breakdown and leading up to it
She said: 'Last year i had a breakdown, I also spent much of the following year and much of the lockdown writing about that breakdown.
'What that's like, it's like poking a wound. The book that I've written is the most honest and raw book i have ever written.
'It the reasons why I had a ... It talks about domestic abuse, which I have never opened up about before, it talks about mental unwellness, and getting to that breaking point when you can't take anymore.'
Luckily, the mother-of-two has the support of her family and friends as she comes to terms with her breakdown.
She said: 'It talks about domestic abuse, which I have never opened up about before, it talks about mental unwellness, and getting to that breaking point when you can't take anymore'
However, the emotional toll of reliving some of the hardest moments of her life in made Andrea feel like she needed some time away.
'It was like picking a scab, so I needed to get away.'
Andrea's trials and tribulations will be revealed in her upcoming book, This Girl Is On Fire which will be released on 29 September 2020.
Release date: Andrea's is a #1 Sunday Times best selling author and her experiences will be revealed in her upcoming book, This Girl Is On Fire which is released on 29 September 2020