Fearne Cotton has spoken candidly about experiencing "crippling" anxiety during a turbulent period that included a benign tumour diagnosis and the breakdown of her marriage to Jesse Wood.
Double blow
The 44-year-old podcast host and author split from her husband of ten years, with whom she shares two children, Rex and Honey. Cotton also has two older children, Arthur and Lola, from a previous relationship.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, Cotton described being "stuck in deep anxiety" while navigating the health scare and personal upheaval.
Overwhelming fear
She said: "I was very scared of getting things wrong, getting socialising wrong. I built up a snowball of anxiety that could be triggered by just stumbling over a word in a conversation."
"I could go to a party and then come home and repeat every word that I'd said on a loop, and I couldn't sleep. It was just nuts. I was crippled with anxiety. I had panic attacks constantly. There were lots of things I couldn't do – I couldn't drive a car, couldn't do a lot of TV work I'd been doing. I just felt debilitated."
Career in the spotlight
Cotton began her broadcasting career in the late 1990s presenting children's shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC, before moving on to Top of the Pops and The Xtra Factor. She became the first regular female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart Show in 2007 and hosted her own weekday 10am show from 2009 until 2015.
Since then, she has launched the Happy Place podcast, tied to her wellness brand of the same name.
Health struggles
Recently, Cotton had two benign tumours removed from her jaw, months after presenter Davina McCall underwent surgery for a colloid cyst, a rare fluid-filled benign brain tumour.
Reflecting on the pressure of being in the public eye since age 15, Cotton said: "We all know that stress will manifest physically."
"I had a tumour in my face two years ago that I had removed, and as soon as I had it diagnosed, I was like, 'oh, I know exactly what that is'. That is clutching my jaw. I was so intense and livid before the therapist had revealed this epiphany."
She added: "It's not good for us. We know it's not. I'm pretty sure it is disastrous for all physical health."
Hope for recovery
Despite the ordeal, Cotton said: "Now I'm having loads of fun, and for anyone stuck in deep anxiety, I believe it's absolutely possible to get out of it. If it's debilitating to the point where you can't do things, you've got to face things that you might not want to face."
