Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son battled obsessive compulsive disorder.
The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV breakfast show’s easy-going co-host, but behind-the-scenes he was in a state of turmoil as a result of son’s Reuben’s condition and the impact it had on their personal lives.
Speaking to The Mirror’s Men In Mind spin-off podcast, Fletcher, 49, revealed he ‘struggled to keep his head above water’ on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old’s diagnosis in 2014.
‘The OCD was telling him that he shouldn’t do those things or something bad would happen,’ he recalled, admitting Reuben was pulled out of school for a year as a result of his battle with the condition.
‘I was really struggling…it’s really hard, you’re just tired all the time It’s a bit like when you have a newborn, you can deal with problems when you have sleep, but when you don’t have sleep, the smallest things become big.’
Good Morning Britain presenter Sean Fletcher says he struggled to cope with the demands of his job while his son Reuben (pictured) battled obsessive compulsive disorder
The TV personality is known to millions as the ITV breakfast show’s easy-going co-host, but he admits his good-natured approach was compromised by his son’s condition
He added: ‘I look back and I think I’m a much better presenter now I don’t have this struggle that we had at home. At the time I was just sort of fighting and just trying to keep your head above water.’
Despite his turmoil, Fletcher refused to discuss his domestic issues with his co-hosts, opting instead to keep them buried.
‘I immediately just clicked into the mode, which was ‘don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it,’ he added. ‘And I didn’t for a long time. I probably didn’t feel a television studio was a safe space.
‘To be fair, I didn’t feel anywhere was a safe space to talk about it, but definitely television.’
Reuben, the oldest of Fletcher’s two children with wife Luned Tonderai, has since enrolled at university after learning to manage his OCD, but the presenter still reflects on its impact.
‘It was almost like the OCD was tearing our family apart,’ he said. ‘It was like a little gremlin sitting on the mantelpiece, making arguments start…making things difficult.’
Fletcher previously admitted a conversation with colleague Kate Garraway helped him understand the importance of family.
Speaking to in 2020, he admitted ‘nothing else matters’ when family are thrown into a time of crisis after Kate’s husband Derek Draper contracted COVID-19 and was rushed to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma.
Fletcher revealed he ‘struggled to keep his head above water’ on Good Morning Britain following the now 20-year old’s diagnosis in 2014 (pictured in 2016)
Reuben is the oldest of Fletcher’s two children with presenter wife Luned Tonderai (pictured)
He said: ‘I remember going out in the summer and seeing Kate for the first time, and we got talking, this was before going on air.
‘I was reading the news that day so I was probably on a bit earlier than her, so she was having makeup done and I was ready to go, and we just got chatting.
‘We’ve sort of got talking about how you can plough on in your life with all sorts of things and so many things feel really important and then something will happen.
‘So for me I was talking to her about my son and it was like ”oh my gosh none of that other stuff matters” and of course her with Derek.
‘Suddenly something happens and all those other things you thought were absolutely crucial are just not important and you know, we didn’t have a moment we weren’t hugging or anything like that, but just I just thought there was a moment of just ”oh yeah.”’
He added: ‘My wife’s not in a coma or anything but I do get that moment of ”oh yeah these things I was really worrying about are just irrelevant” and it’s the same, tying it in with having bowel cancer or any type of cancer.
‘You do all sorts of stuff in life and then suddenly you get that diagnosis and actually none of that other stuff matters it’s actually, you know, you’re hanging on for dear life, or someone you know is hanging on for dear life.’
Sean Fletcher speaks to host Tom Bryant for the launch of season two of the Outdoors in Mind Podcast by the Daily Mirror. Sean is supporting the Hats On For Mind campaign with GO Outdoors and the mental health charity Mind. 100% of profits from the campaign will go to Mind.
If you have been affected by anything in this article, please contact Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393.