JAMIE Laing has opened up on dealing with crippling anxiety whilst starring on Made In Chelsea.
The reality TV star, 36, who recently raised £2 million after completing a 150 mile ultra-marathon for Comic Relief, also candidly discussed meeting his now-wife Sophie Habboo, 30, and their plans to have ‘loads’ of children.
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After getting engaged in December 2021, the famous couple tied the knot on April 14, 2023.
The pair got hitched in a Chelsea registry office, but things haven’t always been so smooth-sailing for this ‘posh new power couple’.
In an interview with The Times, Jamie, the great-great-grandson of the baronet who created the McVitie’s digestive biscuit and Sophie, the daughter of entrepreneurs, got candid on their romance.
The Chelsea couple fell in love whilst starring on Made in Chelsea, Channel 4’s long-running reality show charting the experiences of London’s loaded youth.
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But the podcast hosts confessed that when they first met, they were not immediately attracted to each other.
Whilst the Strictly star stressed: “Sophie hated me,” Sophie claimed: “Jamie was this very big character on Made in Chelsea, and it’s like a school. I was almost like the lower year, I was a newbie. So at first I thought, ‘This guy is a bit intimidating and a bit full of himself.’ ”
But whilst starring on the show, despite appearing self-assured, Jamie was actually suffering with crippling anxiety.
He confessed: “It was awful. I never spoke about it, ever. I thought it was weak. I thought I would lose my job. I thought I’d be alienated.”
Jamie shared the belief that he would be “fired” from the show, as he expressed: “I was meant to be this outgoing, confident individual, and inside I was crippled with this … I didn’t even know what it was.
“I went to a doctor and said, ‘Something’s wrong with me. I don’t know what’s going on.’ He said, ‘You have anxiety, and I think it’s GAD – generalised anxiety disorder.’ I went, ‘How do I get rid of it?’ He said, ‘You can’t.’ I went, ‘Come on, tell me what I need to do. I need to get rid of it.’”
Jamie also recalled how he spoke to his best friend, Toby, about his anxiety for the first time – before he’d even spoken to the doctor who’d diagnosed generalised anxiety disorder.
He acknowledged: “I was 28. I was struggling. I hid it, hid it, hid it. I was so scared to phone [Toby]. As soon as he picked up … He calls me Jam Pot. He was like, ‘Hi, Jam Pot.’ And I burst into tears.”
Jamie acknowledged that his pal Toby thought he “was dying” and whilst he claimed something was “wrong” with him, he was soon reassured that they would “go through it together.”
It was awful. I never spoke about it, ever. I thought it was weak. I thought I would lose my job. I thought I’d be alienated
Jamie Laing
Reflecting on the “incredible” phone call, Jamie revealed that he and his male friends now have a WhatsApp group ‘called Checking In’ – so they can support and comfort each other when needed.
Not only did Jamie get candid on his crippling anxiety, but he also discussed having Botox and an accidental hair transplant.
Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing – relationship timeline
MADE In Chelsea stars Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo said I Do in 2023. Here’s their love story.
- The couple first met while appearing in the E4 show Made In Chelsea.
- During a trip to South Africa, which aired towards the end of MIC series 17, Jamie began to realise he had feelings for Sophie.
- The couple first got together in 2019 but endured a number of obstacles including a cheating scandal during the same year, as he slept with Rosi Mai Waldon while the pair were exclusively dating.
- Jamie and Sophie managed to successfully put the past behind them and announced their engagement in 2021.
- They had a London wedding in April 2023.
- Shortly after, Jamie and Sophie flew to Spain to get married at the Marbella Club surrounded by 200 guests.
Jamie went to Nottingham, which he described as “the capital of hair transplants”, for the procedure, and shared: “Honestly, I think when I’m older, when we have our 22nd kid and I pick them up from the school gates with so many facelifts, all the parents are going to be saying, ‘Who is that 74-year-old man?’ And I’ll have a ponytail and …”
Despite initially feeling “really scared about kids,” now, Jamie, who wants to have sex with Sophie every day, thinks it would be “cool” to have a large family.
The reality star expressed: “Now I’m so down for it. I would like to have loads…I would go, four”, to which Sophie agreed: “I’d be up for that.”
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