Alex Scott has spoken candidly about how online trolls affected her mental health and that she was left in a "really dark place" by the comments made about her.
The 36-year-old television presenter, pundit, and former professional footballer, who is now hosting BBC's Football Focus, has detailed how therapy helped her come back from a difficult time.
Alex is the new front cover star of Women's Health magazine and she told them: "I was in a really dark place…I was lonely. I’d go home and it felt like I was all on my own.
"[I’d think], I’ve got no one to talk to, no one knows what I’m experiencing or going through.
"Until, eventually, the only thing I could do was tell everyone. That was my, ‘I can’t take it any more, I need to tell you all what I’m going through’ moment."
Speaking about the difference between criticism and trolling, Alex said: "Being an athlete, you’re used to criticism, and I could always take that as a footballer in terms of: ‘I don’t think you had a good game.’
"But trolling – it’s not related to what I can improve. I went from being on screen doing a job I love to thinking: ‘I know what’s going to happen as soon as I step off this chair.’”
Alex found a way through with the help of therapy, which said has been "enlightening".
She said: "Going to therapy was absolutely the most enlightening thing I’ve ever done in my life. I love it. I will never stop.”
This has led to her thinking about freezing her eggs, with Alex admitting: "It’s still something I go back and forth with.
"Sometimes, my friends put pressure on me: ‘Alex, you’re not getting any younger, you need to do this.’ But right now, I’m loving life – so why add pressure on myself because other people are saying it’s time now to freeze your eggs?”
Alex continued: "Therapy’s helping me, so why am I not going to talk about it [freezing her eggs]?
"With a woman’s decision to get her eggs frozen – you do it for you, forward- planning, why be ashamed of that?
"It’s [about] taking away those stigmas that other people put on you. I get that all the time: ‘Why are you single?’ Like, sorry, do I have to be with someone?! [laughs].
"On my days off, all I want to do is hang out with my girlfriends, go out to a theatre show, listen to music, or have a couple of wines. I’m not going to apologise for being single.”
Alex also spoke about her inspirations in the media as she made the transition from professional sport to a television personality.
She said: "I’d been frustrated. In sport, you have so many amazing stories and I don’t think they get told.
"I used to see my teammates – full of personality – give interviews and they would be a totally different person: they’d be scared, their guard was up.
"We weren’t shining a light on sportswomen. It was all, ‘look how muscly she is’, always in this negative way.
"It felt like there was a new thing I needed to do to help my sport move forwards, and that was transitioning to [a job in the] media."
*Read the full Alex Scott interview in the October issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
