- Ex-Brisbane Bronco is now appearing on reality TV
- Reduced other star to tears with emotional admission
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Former Brisbane Broncos star Sam Thaiday has opened up about the reasons he considered suicide aged just 13 in an emotional confession on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on Tuesday night.
The 39-year-old was telling his co-stars that he signed up for the show to help raise money for a charity that helps Australian men and boys deal with trauma when the discussion took a very personal turn.
‘My charity is called Find Ya Feet. It’s run by a guy named Tommy Herschell,’ Thaiday began, explaining that the charity goes into schools to help give young boys a way of talking about their problems.
‘As a 13-year-old boy I wanted to take my own life, and I wish I had someone like Tommy around to let me know that it was okay to talk about my feelings,’ Thaiday revealed.
‘As a young kid, I really struggled to find my place.
‘I found myself too white to be black and too black to be white, and I didn’t know where I fit in.
Sam Thaiday (pictured with wife Rachel) had his I’m A Celebrity co-stars in tears with a stunning revelation about the struggles he endured in his youth
The Brisbane Broncos great (pictured with wife Rachel) said he felt so lost that he considered taking his own life when he was just 13 years old
‘And if I had someone like Tommy Herschell in my life as a young kid, maybe I would have shared a lot of these stories a lot earlier in my life.’
The raw admission made his fellow I’m A Celeb stars like Nicky Buckley shed a tear.
Thaiday – who played 304 games for Brisbane in a stellar career from 2003-2018 – was born to a Torres Strait Islander father, Billy.
He has previously opened up about his battles with depression, which led to him having more suicidal thoughts as a 15-year-old.
The former Queensland State of Origin star was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child and sent to a special school at age 12.
‘I felt like turning left and bolting… I felt dumb and worthless and thinking “what is wrong with me?”‘ Thaiday said.
”I hid behind comedy and humour and being the big loveable Sam but inside I fell apart.
‘I still s**t myself when I have to read something in front of people. I hate live reads on radio because I don’t want to stuff it up and people think I am dumb.’
When he was just 15 things were so bad he considered taking his own life, even standing metres from a dam he imagined jumping into.
Thaiday (pictured scoring a try for Queensland in 2011) was also diagnosed with dyslexia aged 12, in another blow to his mental health – but one that he has overcome
The veteran of more than 300 NRL games (pictured with his fellow I’m A Celebrity contestant Dave Hughes) is appearing on the show to help raise funds for a charity that’s close to his heart
‘I got home from school and got my footy and told mum I was just going to kick it at the park but instead of going to the park I rode to the dam and there was a hole in the fence and I sat there quietly… blank,’ Thaiday said.
‘I did not care for much at that time. It did not matter whether I fell or I jumped.’
At the time, Thaiday convinced himself ‘no one would care’ if he jumped and that no one would look for him.
The father-of-two kept the experience a secret for almost 20 years until he visited a therapist.
That experience saw him choose to go public with his struggles in the hope he could help young people who are experiencing the same thoughts.
‘On some days I am super confused with what I want to do with my life but it is also good I can see that struggle now and I know what to do with it,’ Thaiday said in 202.
‘It is an opportunity to grow and move and break that cycle.’
In addition to raising funds for Find Ya Feet, Thaiday is an ambassador for the Starlight Foundation, which helps sick Aussie children.
In 2018, the former forward – who is known for his outgoing personality and sense of humour – made headlines when he announced his retirement by dressing up as a senior citizen and delivering the news at a retirement village in Brisbane.
‘This is pretty well how I’ve felt for three seasons … I feel sore, tired and definitely balding,’ he told the media.
‘I’ve always been a bit different in everything I’ve done but I’ve always been true to myself and done things my way.
‘So this is my way of being remembered.’
