‘When When you’re famous, you’re not meant to feel sad’
Fans were left shocked last week when Simon Webbe revealed he’d lost his brother, Straon, who tragically took his own life just two months ago. Posting on Instagram to announce the sad loss, the singer wrote, “It’s 2019, and I feel this is a year where we should be thankful, stop searching for perfection because we will never find it. I lost my brother Straon to suicide while I was working in Bradford. He was someone I thought I’d see again and it hurts me deep that people, like myself, struggle every day with mental health issues. It’s taboo and needs to be brought to the forefront… I’m back on social [media] and will support the #mentalhealthawareness movement as I always have. Please be brave and talk.”
Ahead of his announcement, Simon, 40, spoke to Closer about his own experience with mental ill health, saying, “There’s not a rise in [poor] mental health at the moment – it’s always been there, people have always suffered – but it’s just been taboo in the past. I think when you’re famous, you’re not meant to feel like you’re sad or going through something. You should be having the best life. When you have a high in life, there has to come a low at some point. And it’s learning to deal with that low and telling yourself, ‘This is OK, it’s OK to feel like this, I can get through this.’ Working out, keeping busy and having a schedule are the best ways to work through it.”
In 2014, Simon – who has a grown-up daughter – revealed he’d contemplated taking his life after he was declared bankrupt and the Blue reunion tour ended. Speaking previously, he said, “I never attempted suicide, but I thought about it. I turned mirrors round so I didn’t have to look at myself. I didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to be a part of anything. I wanted to black out.” Now Simon admits he’s found happiness with long-term girlfriend Ayshen Kemal, with whom he tied the knot last August – and Blue were there to perform on his big day. “It was a magical day,” says Simon. “The best day of my life. And having the guys singing was the cherry on top – it was a given, really. I was celebrating my life and they had to be there. “A lot of people just wanted to come to the wedding to see these guys perform. My family were all going, ‘Are the boys going to be there? Are they going be singing?’ It was just a free Blue ticket to a lot of the guests!”