Married at First Sight Australia 2022 groom Jack Millar has addressed how he was impacted by Olivia Frazer and Jackson Lonie publicly sharing intimate details about his mental health.
During the experiment, Jack and Jackson admittedly shared a close bond and naturally, discussed personal things within their friendship.
However, when Jackson and his hotly contested wife recently partook in a tell-all interview with the Where’s Your Head At? podcast, they revealed that Jack suffers from depression and anxiety — something Jack was yet to publicly disclose.
In an exclusive interview with So Dramatic!‘s Megan Pustetto, the 27-year-old revealed he was “shocked” that his wellbeing was used as a talking point without permission.
“That was a bit of a shock, to be honest,” Jack said in episode 187 of the So Dramatic! podcast. “I was a little bit hurt and a little bit riled up that evening when I heard that.”
While he acknowledged that Jackson and Olivia didn’t speak ill of him, he was disappointed that he wasn’t afforded the opportunity to discuss his mental health struggles on his own terms.
“I want to speak about that in my own way,” the TV groom confessed. “I want to speak about my experiences, I want to have the opportunity to decide when I want to do that. And unfortunately, [it] was mentioned on that podcast.”
Married at First Sight’s Jack Millar Opens Up About His Mental Health Struggles
During his candid episode, Jack revealed that anxiety has been a “large part” of his life for upwards of five years. As such, it was “a bit of a struggle” for him in the early weeks of Married at First Sight.
“I had a week or two where I was really bad. I was an anxious mess,” he disclosed.
Adding that anxiety is “pretty ingrained” in who he is, Jack said he was “very passionate” about understanding his emotions.
“The way I go about my anxiety is, I understand the way that I’m feeling [and] try and understand my emotions,” he said. “[I] try to be in touch with those. I’m not exactly the best at describing those to other people. But that’s also something that I know about myself, and I know what I need and how to deal with it.”
Jack continued by noting that people may not “have enough knowledge about mental health” and that it continues to be a “growing topic”. As such, he reiterated that he would have preferred to “bring up ” his personal experience in his own way.
“And I’m not going to do that fully yet,” he admitted. “But that’s sort of one of the main things about mental health… Understanding that everyone will have their own story and it is a very private and personal thing.
“That is a large part of what needs to be known in this sort of scenario and that was not the right thing to do by me.”
Jack Millar Credits Domenica Calarco for Being His “Main Help”
Jack revealed he sought help from many of his castmates on Married at First Sight when he was struggling.
However, no one was as supportive as his expert-appointed wife, Domenica Calarco.
“Most importantly… Dom, she was the main help,” he said. “She was the one that was with me 24/7. She was a huge help.”
While acknowledging his TV bride “struggled with how to navigate” Jack’s emotions at times, she was his biggest champion at the end of the day.
“That’s a huge learning curve as well and… that was something that Dom learned how to navigate and she ended up figuring it out.”
As for where his head is at these days, Jack revealed he’s “really well mental health-wise”.
“I’ve had amazing support from my family and friends as my life has been on display for everyone to see,” he noted, adding that it was a “very overwhelming experience at times”.
“I’m living my life. Finn [his dog] is my best friend by my side,” Jack said. “I’m very comfortable and happy with what’s going on around me at the moment.”
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 187 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
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