Marriage battle of the Boyne

Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author John reveals his break-up heartache

NOVELIST John Boyne has revealed he almost took his own life after his marriage break-up.

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author told how he took too many pills one night after discovering his former husband was seeing someone else.

The acclaimed Dublin writer said he felt “very worthless and very alone”, adding that “nothing seemed to matter without him there beside me”. Boyne told RTE’S Brendan O’connor: “For everything that I took, within half an hour I was calling an ambulance. It was a ‘cry for help’.” The 47-year-old, from Sandyford, south Dublin, became emotional when he explained how the break-up drove him to the brink.

He added: “I didn’t really see it coming – like any relationship there were ups and downs, good moments and bad moments, but I was under the impression we were 99% solid.

“We had just come back from a fantastic trip to Australia and it was only a few weeks after we got back that he said he didn’t want to be in this relationship any longer.

“In truth I haven’t handled this brilliantly over the last couple of years.”