Mario Falcone credits sister Giovanna Fletcher with helping him survive mental health struggle

The Only Way Is Essex star Mario Falcone has said his sister Giovanna Fletcher helped save his life when he was struggling with his mental health and had attempted to take his own life.

Falcone, 33, shared that when he was battling depression and at his lowest point nine years ago, the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! winner encouraged him to seek help and open up about how he was feeling.

He told Hello! magazine: “Giovanna was amazing. The ‘Mama Gi’ we saw on TV… she has always been that. She is super organised in a crisis and just knew what to do and got me to counselling.

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“As a man you have your guard up and I felt I had to put on this kind of bravado, but she told me ‘you need to open up’. That saved my life without a doubt.”

Falcone, who shares son Parker with fiancee Becky Miesner, is now an ambassador for Papyrus, a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. He said it was "shocking" to discover how primary-age children suffer with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.

He added that he "will always want" his son to open up about his own feelings.

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Falcone also shared in the interview that he and Miesner were hoping to wed in Italy this summer.

Fletcher, 36, married her husband, McFly's Tom Fletcher, back in 2012. They share three sons: Buzz, seven, Buddy, five, and two-year-old Max.

With additional reporting by PA.

For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.

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