Less than 24 hours after hosting the charity football match, Soccer Aid, Alex Scott made an appearance on ITV1's hit lunchtime panel show Loose Women on Monday, June 12, to discuss the release of her memoir, How (Not) To Be Strong. And soon after sitting down with Ruth Langsford, Coleen Nolan, Linda Robson and Brenda Edwards, Alex was seen visibly holding back tears as she spoke about her childhood and the abuse she and her mum allege they suffered at the hands of her father - allegations he has denied.
Speaking about the book, Ruth said: "You speak about your family life a lot, with your mum, your brother and your father. And you talk about abuse that you suffered at the hands of your father. And your mum. How difficult was that for you and your brother to witness that?"
Taking a breath to think, the former Arsenal player, who received an MBE in 2017 for her 'contribution to women's football' began: "It's..." before she paused to compose herself with the support of the Loose Women around her, one of whom, Brenda, said: "You've got this baby girl" as she passed her a box of tissues.
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Alex continued: "It's hard because we felt like we couldn't do anything. And you want to be there to save your mum. And she's also doing the same for us. It's weird because I actually thought... the paperback comes out tomorrow and I was like, 'No, I'm in a better place, I can talk about it', but then straight away you have the visuals. And you go straight back to those moments. Which are hard."
Leading the interview, Ruth added: "I do have to say your father has actually denied all these allegations. So we must make that clear. He is obviously not here to respond," before asking how Alex felt when she would lie in bed at night hearing all of this, as a child.
Alex claimed: "You're just laying in bed, hearing everything, and just praying and hoping that your mum's going to be alive in the morning. And then, when she is and you're in an environment where you're controlled, and you're not being able to show love, it's like 'what can you do?'.
"And that's why my mum is my everything. And I want to give her the world. People that are survivors of domestic violence and domestic abuse, their life is stripped from them. They think they're cowards. And I want to show my mum, and I can't stop telling her how amazing and incredible she is, that she isn't a coward and that she actually saved me and my brother."
Following this, Alex, who revealed she underwent therapy to learn how to communicate and process these feelings, explained how writing the book set her free - and also set her mum free.
She said: "I was ready to offload it and that's what I did in the book. And it set me free as well as my mum. She loved [the book]."
Later in the interview, Alex - whose first steps in her football career were in the laundry room of Arsenal football club "scrubbing the guys' kit" - had a moment with Brenda Edwards who said it was a "pleasure and honour" to meet her.
She said: "Alex, can I just say it's an absolute pleasure and an honour to meet you and to listen to your strength and your passion, having been through domestic violence and abuse myself. And something that we have in common is my son, Jamal, who unfortunately witnessed certain things and that helped him to find the strength to go and talk to other people. He admired you so much and had so much love for you and your strength and your passion about everything. I just want to say how much I appreciate you."
After hearing this statement, which was applauded and supported by the studio audience, Alex reflected on the instant connection her and Jamal shared having been through similar experiences in their youth. She told Brenda: "Our energies connected straight away. Sometimes people are going through things that you don't talk about, but you know and that brings you together as well."
Following the interview, Ruth confirmed all proceeds from Alex's memoir would go to Refuge, the UK's largest domestic abuse organisation. For more information on the charity, see here.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV1.
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