Jay-Jay Harvey is continuing to take time off from her breakfast show on The Edge as she battles depression, her husband Dom has revealed.
In an update shared with listeners today, Dom explained that Jay-Jay had been recovering at home, doing “a lot of sleeping” and “a lot of spontaneous crying”.
“She is a sufferer of depression but in all our years together, I’ve never seen her have one as bad as what this one was and is,” he said.
“She’s been to the doctor, and she was already on some antidepressants … she’s now on some more powerful stuff and she realises that she needs to make some bigger changes to her life to address this thing.”
Jay-Jay and Dom pictured at the NZ Music Awards. Photo: Getty
The news comes after Jay-Jay walked out of the live show last Wednesday, as well as cancelling the upcoming dates on her planned book tour.
Dom and his fellow co-host Clinton Randell later explained that they had found Jay-Jay crying in one of the toilet cubicles in the building.
“She’s slowly getting better, but it’s going to be a really long process,” explained Dom on the show today, adding that they weren’t sure when she would be reappearing on the programme.
“We wish Jay-Jay all the best … she might be back before Christmas, I don’t know, we don’t really want to put a date on it. The most important thing is just getting her well and happy again and beating this thing,” he said.
In her memoir Life on the Edge, Jay-Jay wrote candidly about her experience with depression, saying that it “rears its ugly head every now and again, and brings the whole party down … I hate myself for not being able to do everything that’s expected of me, and I try to push everyone away so they don’t see me like this”.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline – 0800 543 354
• Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757
• Healthline – 0800 611 116
• Samaritans – 0800 726 666
• Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO).
• Youthline – 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email [email protected].
