Joe Wicks praises his ‘brave’ mother

Joe Wicks has revealed that his mother, Raquela, placed him in the care of his drug addict father, Gary, at the age of 12 to seek help for his OCD.

Joe praised his mother for being “brave” enough to get the help she needed in the form of five months of therapy, while her 38-year-old older brother Nikki tried to free her from the daily fears of living with her father. dependant.

In his upcoming documentary, Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, the 36-year-old fitness guru and chef will take the lid off of his difficult upbringing and offer insight into the topics he’ll be covering.

Difficult: Joe is seen in a clip from Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, his upcoming documentary that examines his difficult upbringing.

During the screening of the movie, her mother left when she was 12 and her younger brother George was only a year old, as a tearful Joe looks in the mirror after he starts screaming about how clean their house is and living alone for days. cigarette, chocolate and coke boxes.

“How hard it must have been to leave a one-year-old girl with a heroin addict… She knew that if she didn’t go, her whole world would collapse on her. She did something very brave.

He added that his misunderstanding about his illness caused a lot of controversy, and Joe said, “We had such a contradictory relationship.

Family: Joe praised his mother for being “brave” enough to get the help he needed in the form of five months of therapy, and also explained how he didn’t understand his illness as a teenager (pictured with his mother and brother Nikki)

Siblings: Joe talked about how his 38-year-old older brother Nikki tried to rescue him from the daily fears of life with his addicted father.

“I couldn’t walk through the door without taking off my shoes or having friends around. Had I known, I would have been kinder to him and loved him more.’

In the documentary, Joe will explore the mental health of parents in England as he explores how his mother’s eating disorder, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and his father’s drug addiction affected him as a child.

“Of course there are things I’m used to, I don’t choose to remember,” Joe added in comments during Wednesday’s screening.

Family: During the screening of the movie, Joe talked about how his mother broke up when he was 12, Nikki 14, and his younger brother George was just one (pictured when Joe and Nikki were kids)

Excited, she explained: “As a kid, the worst thing is to feel that it was your fault, to be blamed, to feel that you were not worth it, or that your parents were not worth it. “I love you enough. Those feelings are a real man, you couldn’t wear them as a kid.’

While his brother and 38-year-old Body Coach business partner Nikki protected Joe from some of the worst moments in the house, Joe said his brother “saw the police broke the door, the drugs put in the bathroom.”

Since opening up about his mental health, Joe explained how he has been approached by many fans who have found themselves in heartbreaking situations and have done their best to help them all.

Raw: In his upcoming documentary, Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, the 36-year-old fitness guru and chef will take the lid off of his difficult upbringing and offer insight into the topics he’ll be covering.

However, he added that it has become an addiction and although he spends eight hours a day replying to people’s messages, he is still unable to help everyone.

Joe hopes that being honest about his turbulent childhood with his parents due to mental health issues will encourage others to talk more about the issue.

A newly released clip of the upcoming documentary shows Joe’s downfall as he is overwhelmed by the memories conjured up by fan messages about his own upbringing.

“Most of the messages I get from the pandemic are about mental health,” Joe tells the camera.

“The common themes are anxiety, depression, very common. Not one person a day, but hundreds of them.’

“I’m aware, my parents have had ups and downs throughout their lives. My mother had severe OCD and my father was going in and out of rehab, it was crazy.’

“I remember being a kid in this scenario and being very sad and confused and lost. It was really difficult. When I read these letters from parents with similar psychological problems, I can’t help but feel a connection.’

His voice broke, Joe continued: “It comes in waves, some days I really feel like I love him, other days I just want him to stop. I don’t want to be a Body Coach, I just want to be Joe”.

“All these feelings, they’re just there, that’s what I do, but it has to touch me more than I thought.”

Later, Joe is seen talking to his father and tells him, “I can only imagine how hard it was for you and the constant lies.”

“I remember you said you were going to the grocery store to buy some milk,” Joe said. It was like your “I’m going to steal something” code. You never came back with milk. I knew what that meant.

The show was produced by documentary director Louis Theroux, who previously claimed that Joe’s exercise program was one of the things that helped him cope during the lockout.

The Body Trainer recently told the Radio Times: “After finishing physical training with Joe, I realized that I was helping people not only with their physical health, but also with their mental health. I wanted to continue this conversation.

‘When I was a kid, I didn’t know my parents had psychological problems. I thought my dad was a drug addict and my mom liked to clean.

“But I knew I had this ability to share my story, and I hope it inspires people.”

Tragic: During the screening of the movie, Joe told The Mirror: “How hard must it be for him to leave a one-year-old girl with a heroin addict” (pictured with her mother)

The fitness and nutrition expert revealed that as a child, she used exercise to relieve stress and avoid the atmosphere at home.

He admitted: “I would be a nightmare if I didn’t train.

‘No one can control me. Physical education was the only class I looked forward to because it helped me focus.

Joe added that aside from a few family counseling sessions as a child, he received very little therapy himself, and that the documentary is the deepest in his history.

Opening: The fitness and nutritionist recently revealed that she exercised as a kid to reduce stress and avoid the mood at home (Joe pictured with brother George and dad Gary)

Joe learned from his experience of being in the dark and said he hopes children can be better informed about their parents’ mental health issues.

He said: “Millions of parents are struggling with mental health issues, especially after quarantine.

“They put it in the bottle and try to be brave and happy, but it’s probably breaking inside. When the parents back off, the kids pull back ».

As part of the documentary, visit Our Time, a charity that supports young people with mentally ill parents, many of whom are caregivers at a young age.

Joe noted that if you use the right language, kids can “process things” and understand that their parents are having a rough day, but “it has nothing to do with them.”

He added: “Strong. But it is also difficult due to stigma. You are afraid that your children will be taken from you or that people will laugh at them.

“So it’s hard to say ‘Talk about it,’ because you usually save it for your friends, your coworkers, your boss.”

The documentary will also explore how exercise, diet and sleep can help mental health.

Joe Wicks: Face My Childhood will air on BBC One on 16 May at 9 PM.

Candid: Joe admitted that, apart from a few family therapy sessions as a child, he had very little therapy himself, and the documentary is the deepest immersion in his past.