Last week Chrissy Teigen published an essay for Glamour in which she revealed for the first time that she has postpartum depression.
The essay was brutally honest, with Chrissy explaining that she's experienced chronic pain as a result of her depression and anxiety, and that for many months she couldn't even leave the house.
She wrote:
Getting out of bed to get to set [for Lip Synch Battle] was painful. My lower back throbbed; my shoulders – even my wrists – hurt. I didn't have an appetite. When I wasn't in the studio I never left the house. I'd ask people who came inside why they were wet. Was it raining? How would I know – I had every shade closed. Most days were spent on the exact same spot on the couch and rarely would I muster up the energy to make it upstairs for bed. John would sleep on the couch with me, sometimes four nights in a row. I started keeping robes and comfy clothes in the pantry so I wouldn't have to go upstairs. There was a lot of spontaneous crying.
She went on to explain that she'd opened up about the illness in the hope of decreasing the stigma around depression.
Chrissy wrote:
I'm speaking up now because I want people to know it can happen to anybody and I don't want people who have it to feel embarrassed or to feel alone. I also don't want to pretend like I know evertything about postpartum depression, because it can be different for everybody. But one thing I do know is that – for me – just merely being open about it helps.
Well, now Chrissy's husband John Legend has revealed just how proud he is of her for writing the essay.
Speaking to E! Online, John said:
I'm so proud of her. She showed me the drafts when she was writing it, and I knew it would mean a lot to a lot of women for them to see that.
He went on to say that Chrissy being vocal about her depression would help other women feel less alone.
He said:
By acknowledging the pain she's going through, she also acknowledges the pain that a lot of women go through after they have a child. A lot of people don't want to talk about it. A lot of people feel alone when they're going through it and for her to let people know that they're not alone, I think was really powerful.
John also offered advice for other partners of women experiencing postpartum depression.
He said:
You have to be present. You have to be compassionate. You have to understand what the reasons for them feeling what they're feeling are. I think once you know the reasons, you can be more helpful in identifying what they're going through.
Chrissy and John, you are just the best. 👏 ❤️
