Ex-Chelsea star Wayne Bridge opens up on mental health battle and career regret

Former Chelsea star, Wayne Bridge has passionately advocated for more support to be provided towards mental health, as he revisits the struggles he faced during his playing days.

At 43 years of age and having retired from professional football back in May 2014, Bridge made a total of nearly 150 appearances at Stamford Bridge, prior to his time at Manchester City, West Ham, and other notable clubs. His career came to an end following a stint at Reading in the Championship.

Post-football, Bridge featured on ITV's I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins. Notably winning the latter after a tougher-than-usual journey across the El Morado glacier in Chile.

However, it was during his involvement in the reality quasi-military training programme that Bridge came face-to-face with his own undiagnosed mental health issues, reports the Mirror.

As part of 'Talk More Than Football', a campaign focusing on mental health started by Three and Chelsea, Bridge conceded that it wasn't until a candid conversation with a doctor and then-host Ant Middleton while participating on Who Dares Wins, that he began discussing his struggles with anxiety and depression.

«I didn't seek help,» confessed Bridge, in a chat with Mirror Football, reminiscing about the experience. «When I look back, it was when I did the SAS: Who Dares Wins show and I remember getting taken into a room and speaking to the doctor and Ant Middleton who runs the show.»

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Bridge remarked: «I didn't realise we were being filmed at the time and we got talking, they made me