Michelle Williams recently took a turn as a guest co-host on CBS’ The Talk, where she opened up about her private battle with depression.
The singer shared that she even considered taking her own life while at the peak of fame with former group Destiny’s Child, saying, “For years, I’m in one of the top-selling female groups of all time suffering with depression.”
“It got really, really bad … to the point that I was suicidal,” she revealed. “I was to that place where it got so dark and heavy because sometimes you feel like, ‘I’m the provider, I take care of people, I’m not supposed to be feeling this way—what do I do?’ I wanted out.”
While she knew something was wrong as a teen, former manager Mathew Knowles convinced her that she had nothing to complain about.
“When I disclosed it to our manager at the time, bless his heart, he was like, ‘Y’all just signed a multimillion-dollar deal and you’re about to go on tour. What do you have to be depressed about?’ So I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m just tired.’”
Williams continued, “I didn’t know until I was in my 30s what was going on. I just thought it was growing pains. I just thought, ‘I’m turning into a woman.’ I’ve been suffering since the ages of between 13 and 15. At that age, I didn’t know what to call it.”
Because of her own experience, the gospel songstress is determined to “normalize this mental health discussion.” Check out her full story below.
