Michelle Williams Found Herself Questioning Life After Her Engagement
Thanks to social media, stars are becoming more open about sharing their bouts with anxiety and depression and it reminds us all that money can't buy happiness. Jada Pinkett-Smith recently revealed that she had her own experience with depression that left her crying for nearly 45 mornings straight, and former Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams opened up to PEOPLEabout a recent mental health episode that resulted in her being hospitalized.
After a surprise proposal and show-stopping reunion performance at Coachella earlier year, people would expect that the singer would be over the moon. Instead, she was dealing with marital and emotional issues brought on an old nemesis she thought she would never have to face again. The 38-year-old singer revealed:
"I thought I was over depression. I thought, 'I'm good!' I've got love, I'm working out, but I was so angry. The rage built up in me. I did not attempt suicide, but I was questioning [life]."
Like most of us, Michelle buried her emotional distress in her work and before she knew it, she found herself trapped in a deep depression that she would be unable to climb out of alone.
"The entire year, we were rehearsing every day for hours. I was burying it, and before you knew it, I was looking up out of the pit like, 'Oh my God.'"
Depression sucks because it's an illness that doesn't just affect one person. Mental health disorders have the potential to not only affect the person suffering but also their friends and family at the same damn time. Michelle told PEOPLE that her husband, Chad Johnson, was the epitome of supportive throughout her depressive episode, even though she tried her hardest to push him away.
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"I would've understood [if he left]. He's been praying for a wife. He didn't pray for a depressed wife."
Chad, who will star as Michelle's co-star on their new reality show, Chad Loves Michelle had this to say:
"Some of the things said and done were very hurtful. But I was like, 'I don't even want to talk about what happened. Get well and we can work on us later.'"
In July, Michelle and her husband recognized that she needed professional help and sought treatment at a mental health facility in Los Angeles. Later, Michelle made it clear that she did not intend to put her mental health on blast, but the media did a pretty good job of doing it for her. After receiving an outpour of support from friends and family, the entertainer posted this message on social media:
"Thank you ALL sooooooooooooooo much for every message of love and support sent! My family, friends and fiancé have been AWESOME! Sitting here reflecting on the past two weeks. I had no plans of what I was going through being public BUT now that it is I have a made an even BIGGER commitment to the mental health awareness area."
She explained that although she resents her lack of privacy as an entertainer, but said that she's grateful that she can use her platform to help others. She had this advice for others that may be struggling with a mental health issue:
"So many people are suffering, hurting, hopeless, lost and don't see a way out but there is. Depression sucks, but my faith in God and my commitment to doing the work to stay well is my way out! You have to do the work even when you're tired and feel the heaviness. Take one step at a time! Don't overwhelm yourself. If you can just get up out the bed and brush your teeth and shower.....DO IT. For people dealing with depression, that is a HUGE step! Now don't be depressed AND stinky.....pick a struggle! 🤣 (Y'all know I had to add some humor)"
Depression and anxiety can only beat you if you don't use the resources around you to stop them, and Michelle is proof. Despite all the money, love, and material wealth you have in the world, mental illness does not discriminate. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice, and part of that choice involves knowing when it's time to get help. Michelle told People:
"People fall off the fitness wagon, people fall off the wellness wagon, but I can't fall off the [therapy] wagon. I have to get healed to live this happy life."
Check out the full article in PEOPLE Magazine this Friday.
Featured image by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
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Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images