She’s split from husband Dominic Harvey, left The Edge after 23 years and now, as she prepares to start her new job at More FM, Jay-Jay Feeney (yes, she’s gone back to her maiden name) has opened up to Woman’s Day about her struggles with depression.
Speaking candidly about her 2016 breakdown for the very first time, the radio diva tells the magazine it was exhaustion from the early starts of her breakfast show that sent her into what she calls “the Great Depression”, which saw unable to leave her home for a month.
“I’ve blocked most of it out of my mind because it was such a horrible time – I’ve never felt so low in my life,” confesses Jay-Jay, adding that she wanted to check herself into hospital but didn’t because she was scared it would make the news. “I didn’t want anyone around me. I needed to crawl out of this dark cave by myself.”
After getting help from her GP and a psychiatrist, Jay-Jay is now looking forward to joining Kiwi icon Jason Gunn on The Jase & Jay-Jay Show on weekday afternoons on More FM from April 23, although the news she’d have to move to Christchurch came as a big shock.
“I’d just bought a new apartment after leaving Dom and fully furnished it,” the Auckland-based star tells Woman’s Day. “I’d settled in and got a new car, and felt so happy and comfortable, but now I have to uproot my life all over again.”
For more on Jay-Jay’s struggles with depression, her return to the dating scene and why she’ll “never say never” when it comes to reuniting with Dom, see the latest issue of Woman’s Day.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 to talk to a trained Depression Helpline counsellor for free.
Otherwise, call Lifeline on 0800 543 354, the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0508 TAUTOKO or Youthline on 0800 376 633.
