Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe’s wife Amanda has disclosed that he killed himself due to depression and anxiety. It was on August 5, that the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Thorpe had passed away at the age of 55. Notably, many outpoured tributes for one of the finest Test players England has ever produced.
Thorpe was one of the key players in English cricket throughout his career. His career was extended from 1993 to 2005 and he later took up various coaching roles for 12 years. In 2022, he was hospitalized due to illness.
Amanda has revealed that he attempted suicide two years ago while mentioning he had had severe depression and anxiety for the past couple of years. She added that the family had supported him, and he tried numerous treatments, but none were effective.
“Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life,” Amanda said during an interview with the Times.
“For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety. This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.
“Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work. Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone,” she added.
Meanwhile, Thorpe’s daughter Kitty said that they are now ready to share the former cricketer’s mental health struggles as they are not embarrassed about it. She also acknowledged they hope discussing it will raise awareness about the importance of mental health.
“We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too,” Kitty said.
