RTE viewers have praised Greg O'Shea after his appearance on Friday night's Late Late Show.
The 2019 Love Island winner appeared on the first Late Late Show of 2023 alongside Ryan Tubridy and opened up about his rugby career and the difficulties he has faced since his rise to fame.
O'Shea recently retired from rugby after going to the Tokyo Olympics as he looks to focus on his career. O'Shea also spoke openly and told the show about his thoughts of taking his own life and his decision to seek medical help after dealing with mental health struggles.
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Speaking on the show, Limerick native O'Shea told Tubridy: "When I was about three of four days into the show I got pulled out of the villa and put me into a cabin and I had a zoom call with my mam and she told me my nana passed away and I felt like such a fool and such an idiot when my nana passed away. In the middle of it all I was grieving my grandmother."
Greg spoke about the fall out with his public break up with Love Island winner Amber Gill and O'Shea also revealed that he moved to London after retiring from Rugby Sevens where he found himself lost in life.
"My mate told me I was being cancelled and I didn't know what being cancelled meant. I was just so hell bent on going to the Olympics that it was never an option to go the Love Island route.
"I did that and it's such a nice way to close that chapter.. The height of depression for Olympians is after it then Monday morning it's gone. I went through that and I retired from a sport I didn't want to retire on. The issue with Rugby Sevens is it just doesn't bring in the money.
"I really struggled that i felt like I lost my identity. All I did was go in and train for the guys and when you're a professional everything is done for you. I've lost all that and lost all my mates that I saw every day."
And Greg spoke about his decline in his mental health. "Throw in I went on the biggest show in the UK and won it and I've been cancelled for the last two years and I haven't allowed myself to process and in those two years I've been getting abused with death threats, losing thousands of followers ever day.
"Then they start texting my mam DMing my parents and my sisters and my teammates. I remember one teammate got a message saying when you get to training you should stab Greg in the back.
"I''m like this has gone too far.. When I retired I started processing all that and I was dealing with that.
"I've lost the reason to get up in the morning I'm living in a big city by myself which is one of the loneliest cities to live in the world and I also had a relationship at the time where we were never compatible. On the face of it I had everything and what they say to do is talk to people but we don't speak and it's such an issue. Men don't speak to each other.
"After trying to speak to the person I'm close to in London they pulled away. I'm sure that person was dealing with their own stuff now only am I spiralling mentally so I'm at home and I said I'm never going to speak to someone again. It's quite upsetting but I was driving around Rathfarnham and I'm in convulsions of tears and I just wanted it all to end. I was just so done and I was like 'what's the point'.
"And I said I'm just going to talk to a medical professional."
And viewers were full of praise for O'Shea with one saying: "We should be spreading positivity online and in person. You really never know who is having mental health issues or feeling low etc.. Greg O’Shea, fair play man for highlighting your last few years of your life! #LateLateShow"
While another said: "What a brave interview from Greg on the Late Late"
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