‘He was everything to me’: Shirley Ballas chokes back tears as she discusses her brother’s tragic suicide and reflects on the ‘warning signs’ of her sibling’s struggle
- If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org
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Shirley Ballas fought back tears as she discussed her late brother David’s tragic suicide, with the star telling how he was ‘everything to me’.
David, from Wallasey, Merseyside, took his own life aged 44 in 2003 after suffering from depression, leaving Shirley and her family heartbroken.
And almost 20 years from his death, the Strictly judge, 61, became emotional during an interview on Wednesday’s This Morning as she reflected on the warning signs of her sibling’s internal struggle.
Emotional: Shirley Ballas fought back tears as she discussed her late brother David’s tragic suicide, with the star telling how he was ‘everything to me’
She was seen wiping away tears as she touched on David’s photo being among many which features in an exhibition Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) at London’s Southbank, which shows the smiling faces of 50 people shortly before they took their own lives.
Speaking to hosts Phillip Schofield, Shirley said: ‘Seeing my brother there in display in Southbank brought everything back, if I knew now what I knew then I could’ve helped.
‘Everybody loved him. He was a big brother. He was like a father. He was everything to me.
‘We talked every day at four o’clock. He was really the last person that I would ever think would take his own life.’
Tragic: David, from Wallasey, Merseyside, took his own life aged 44 in 2003 after suffering from depression, leaving Shirley and her family heartbroken
The Latin dancer then recalled the little signs that David gave he was struggling, but at the time she didn’t realise how serious things were.
She said: ‘When I look back now, there were warning signs. There was little things that he would say or comments that he would make and I would be like “you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine”.’
Now, almost 20 years after her losing her beloved brother, Shirley urged others to be more ‘astute’ when they notice a change in someone’s behaviour.
She explained: ‘We have to be astute. Our lives are so packed as mine was back then with people saying “you’ll be fine”.
Sad: Almost 20 years from his death, the Strictly judge, 61, became emotional during an interview on Wednesday’s This Morning as she reflected on the warning signs of her sibling’s internal struggle
‘I’ve had people say that to me in some of the darkest times in my life, they don’t know what’s going on inside. And even when my brother past people said “It’ll be fine” and if you haven’t been through this it won’t be fine.
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‘You learn to live with it, but it never goes away. It’s hard to ever let go.’
As Phillip emphasised how important it is to ‘talk to people’ after sharing his own dark times, Shirley went on: ‘There are many organisations where you can reach out to communicate on a small level.
‘We’re in a moving world with social media, life goes so fast, and if you just take a step back, a breath, a moment, and listen and really try to see your family or friend…’
Her everything: Speaking to hosts Phillip Schofield, Shirley said: ‘Everybody loved him. He was a big brother. He was like a father. He was everything to me’
Since her brother’s death, Shirley has become an ardent campaigner for mental health awareness, even setting up charity The Ballas Foundation with her son Mark.
Shirley was said to have felt ‘overwhelming grief’ when her brother David took his own life in 2003.
Her son Mark, a professional ballroom dancer on Dancing With The Stars in the US, previously opened up about the incident on his website.
In a blog post on his blog unearthed by The Mirror in 2017, the 36-year-old writes: ‘For me, it’s about raising awareness of depression. It’s not like a mood swing.
Distraught: Shirley said: ‘We talked every day at four o’clock. He was really the last person that I would ever think would take his own life’
Warning: Now, almost 20 years after her losing her beloved brother, Shirley urged others to be more ‘astute’ when they notice a change in someone’s behaviour
‘People struggle with it every day. Nothing matters. My uncle’s daughter was everything to him, but it didn’t matter because he was sick.
‘You have to make people aware of it so they can recognize it and help people get better.’
The post continues: ‘The family was not only left with overwhelming grief, but guilt. You keep thinking maybe you could have done something.’
David and Mark had been especially close since he helped look after him while Shirley pursued dancing opportunities in the US.
Shirley and her son decided to go public with their story in 2010 in bid to raise awareness for suicide prevention.
If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org
Touching: David’s photo features in an exhibition Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) at London’s Southbank, which shows the smiling faces of 50 people shortly before they took their own lives
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Source: Daily Mail
