TV favourite Denise Welch has paid tribute to her husband Lincoln Townley for standing by her during her darkest times.
In a new interview, the Celebrity Big Brother winner has revealed that when she suffered from severe depression, her second husband really helped her get through it.
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“The first time I had a serious episode we were in between moving houses,” she told the Sunday People.
“Lincoln looked in my eyes and saw the deadness.
“He was absolutely incredible, especially for someone who has had no experience of mental illness, and remains wonderful to this day.”
The universally loved mum-of-two, who has experienced periods of mental over the years, last suffered from depression six months ago and revealed that it lasted four days.
And Lincoln was on hand to look after her and knows exactly how to deal with her in times of need.
“How my depression manifests is I become incredibly insular, quite unresponsive.
“I can go to bed feeling normal, wake up and it’s there. When I’m at home with Lincoln he’ll take all pressure off me.
“If I want to go to bed, he’ll make sure no one bothers me. He’ll take the phone away. He doesn’t try to give me advice.
“He lets me talk and wants to know how I feel.
“If I want to go to bed, he’ll make sure no one bothers me,” she said.
“He’ll take the phone away. He doesn’t try to give me advice.
She added: “I am on medication and I always will be but I’ve stopped drinking and I’m much healthier in the way I eat and gently exercise.”
Denise is currently appearing in video to support Heads Together, a mental health campaign backed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry which aims to change the way we talk about psychological issues.
In the film she says to Lincoln: “When I met you, I’d been living with clinical depression for 21 years.
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“As I was falling for you, I wondered how you would deal with my episodes of depression, which can sometimes be quite frightening.
“I remember looking into your eyes when I was poorly, and seeing empathy and understanding.
“Even in the midst of how I felt, I knew that you were going to be there for me, and that had been something I had been worrying about.
“You make it better just by being there, and just by understanding, and I feel very lucky that I’ve got you and that you’ve got my back.”