Former Hollyoaks star Stephanie Davis has spoken candidly about her mental health struggles and how she has learned to manage overwhelming emotions, describing a time when she felt 'literally being stabbed by my feelings.' Now, at 33, she says she feels in control and grateful for the life she has built.
Growing Up in the Public Eye
Stephanie arrived as Sinead O'Connor in Hollyoaks in 2010, aged just 17. She has since been open about turning to alcohol to cope with the pressures of fame after leaving the soap. Reflecting on her time on the show, she told Metro via Which Bingo: 'It was a very big part of my life, I was very young when I started acting, and it was a very different time period in the industry.'
'I was 14 or 15 when I did Andrew Lloyd Webber's Over the Rainbow on BBC One, which catapulted me into Hollyoaks. I was a child, basically, and I had to grow up in the public eye. That's not easy. It's hard enough growing up as it is, you know, let alone every mistake being put out there for everyone to see.'
Life as a Single Mum
Stephanie is a single mum to two boys: Caben, born in 2017, and Samuel, who arrived in 2025. She described motherhood as 'the best thing in the world' but also challenging. 'It's obviously very hard as well, but when you're waking up and seeing your kids' faces. My baby is still in the room with me; he loves co-sleeping. He's so attached to me. When he wakes up in the morning and he's starting to say all these little words, he kisses me in the morning as well.'
She added: 'Because of the age gap I've got with my two, I was on my own with Caben, but he's nine now. It kind of just got easy, and then it was back to the beginning, and now I'm on my own with both of them. It's challenging, but I wouldn't have it any other way.'
Managing Mental Health
Stephanie spoke about techniques she uses to cope with difficult moments, including cold water therapy and writing down her fears. 'My head is my biggest problem, and my head tells me lies. I can't trust my own thinking, because my thinking won't read the truth in a situation. I have to regulate and ground myself, and usually, that's putting pen to paper so I can see it in black and white.'
She reflected: 'Feelings are real, but they're not physical. I used to feel like I was literally being stabbed by my feelings when they used to be too overwhelming for me to deal with. I couldn't cope with where to place my feelings; it was just too overwhelming. They are just feelings; they're going to come and go, and it's just like waves of water, isn't it. Sometimes it's calm and peaceful, sometimes a big wave comes and knocks you over, but that wave is always going to go back out, and the weather is always going to change.'
Future Plans
Looking ahead, Stephanie is open to returning to soapland but also hopes to be challenged elsewhere in TV. 'I'd love to venture out and try something else. Liverpool, where I'm from, I feel like as a city, we've come into our own recently. We've had Adolescence; there's Jimmy McGovern writing for us. I would love to do one of his dramas. That's at the top of my list.'
She added: 'Now I'm off maternity leave, I really believe in God and for him to place something when it's the right time, and a really good drama for me to do that I'll hopefully relate to other people to help them. There's not much I can ask for. I've got everything that I really need. I have a vision board as well; I'm big on vision boards. I have a picture of Jimmy McGovern in the middle and a little one of Stephen Graham as well.'
