Sam Thompson has revealed for the first time he was suffering from ‘burnout’ amid his shock split from Zara McDermott.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, admits the condition left him so low and despondent that he couldn’t leave his house for six months, except for work, because he didn’t want to be around people.
It was during this time cracks in his relationship with Zara, 28, started to appear and they eventually broke up after five years on New Year’s Day.
Sam claims he reached breaking point due to his heavy workload, sparked by winning ITV series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, which resulted in a flurry of job offers he simply couldn’t turn down.
Upon reflection, Sam concedes he took on too much, resulting in extreme physical and mental exhaustion, and described being crowned King of the Jungle as both a ‘blessing and a curse.’ However, he did not at any point link his burnout to his split from Zara, who was not mentioned in the interview.
The podcaster described the inner turmoil he struggled with over wanting to take on every opportunity offered but suffering from lack of energy, revealing: ‘I would sit there fighting and telling myself to stop being a little bitch.’
Sam Thompson has revealed for the first time he was suffering from ‘burnout’ amid his shock split from Zara McDermott
The Made In Chelsea star admits the condition left him so low and despondent that he couldn’t leave his house for six months, except for work, because he didn’t want to be around people
It was during this time cracks in his relationship with Zara started to appear and they eventually broke up after five years on New Year’s Day
Speaking to the I’m ADHD! No You’re Not podcast, presented by comedian Paul Whitehouse and his wife Dr Mine Conkbayir, Sam explained: ‘There were times when I didn’t leave the house for six months unless I was working, not long ago actually.
‘I don’t know what it was, I just didn’t want to be around people but it’s wild because I love people at the same time.
‘I love hugging people and getting to know people but a lot of the time I don’t want to speak to anyone and be at home.’
Focusing on the cause of his burnout, which included hosting I’m A Celeb ITV2 spin-off show Unpacked, he continued: ‘I got burnout last year, no one knows that actually.
‘I won the jungle the year before that, but it was like a blessing and a curse, because it was so great, I always wanted to do the show, always wanted to meet Ant & Dec, I made amazing mates from it, came home, and you know what it’s like.
‘I’ve always wanted to work on This Morning, and they called up, do you want to come and work, and I was like ‘f*** yeah’, and then I got a new radio show, ‘f*** yeah’, a podcast three times a week, a live tour and then all the brand stuff because I love doing digital marketing on my Instagram, I adore it and have my own marketing agency, then I have the two businesses.
‘So, all of this stuff and then I did Unpacked which was the Australian show, I just wanted to gobble it all up.
‘Anyone listening to this will think f*** off and I get it… it’s all stuff we dream of doing but it doesn’t stop the energy from being zapped. I would sit there fighting and telling myself to stop being a little bitch.
Sam explained how winning I’m A Celeb was both a ‘blessing and a curse,’ as it ultimately led to his ‘burnout’ scare
The podcaster was in a relationship with Zara for five years until the pair split when they both became engrossed by their respective careers
Sam explained that he came up with the idea for his podcast with Pete Wicks, Staying Relevant, in the shower, but he needed help with the business side of the project
Sam revealed that he failed boarding school and only a few years ago apologised to his father, who had funded his private school education
‘I said yes to absolutely everything but by the end of the year I was in a really tough spot, like a really bad spot. Burnout is real. I took a bit of a step back this year.’
Sam and Zara dated for five years, building a loyal social media following thanks to their viral TikTok videos.
They lived together in Sam’s west London home with their two cats, and Zara grew close to his family, especially his sister, Louise.
The couple’s relationship became strained as Sam focused on his career after winning I’m A Celeb, while Zara concentrated on her own projects, including Strictly Come Dancing and her BBC documentaries.
Zara is now in a relationship with One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, while Sam has dated former Love Islander Samie Elishi and was most recently linked to model Talitha Balinska.
On the second episode of the fourth season of the hit podcast, released Thursday, Sam discussed in-depth his mental health.
He told Paul and Mine that his ADHD diagnosis ‘changed everything.’ Even though he had always suspected he had it, the official diagnosis helped him understand challenges from his school years.
Since his diagnosis, which was confirmed on his Channel 4 documentary Is This ADHD?, he’s been regularly attending ‘neurodiverse therapy’ sessions.
Opening up to the couple, who last week had pop superstar Robbie Williams on the show discussing his secret battle with Tourette’s Syndrome, Sam explained that he had been ‘terrible’ in the classroom.
This contributed to him ‘failing school,’ an awkward topic he had to discuss with his father, who had spent a fortune sending him to boarding school. Not that he didn’t enjoy his time in education.
The TV star says that being diagnosed with ADHD helped him understand why he found school so difficult
Sam was speaking on the I’m ADHD! No You’re Not podcast, which is presented by comedian Paul Whitehouse and his wife Dr Mine Conkbayir
He explained: ‘I was at boarding school from the age of eight. I loved it, I f***ing loved it.
‘I always lived in London so when I went to the boarding schools in the countryside and there were football goals, I loved my sport, and I made friends, it was f***ing phenomenal.
‘I genuinely think some people will agree, some people wouldn’t, but I think it has moulded me into who I am today.
‘It has made me super independent. I went travelling at the age of 17/18 and I loved it; I never missed home or anything. I really wanted to go out and do my own thing.
‘Also talking to people, when you’re thrown in at eight years old, people normally get put in there at 13 years old, at either of those ages you have to speak to people, you genuinely have to go up to someone and someone will come up to you, you are put into interactions daily and it means you learn people skills a lot quicker.’
On the negative side of boarding and failing his exams, he added: ‘You spend a lot less time with your parents, so it sucks from that perspective.
‘It’s not for everybody. Also, to be honest with you, my dad wasted loads of money because boarding school is expensive, I’m sure most people know, and I f***ed it up. I failed everything. I failed absolutely everything.
‘I apologised to my dad, bless him, I took him for lunch only a few years ago and I said to him, dad, I am so f***ing sorry.
‘I said, you should have just saved money, you didn’t need to do that. I took him for a Dover sole, all the thousands of pounds, here’s a Dover sole.’
Despite his struggles at school, Sam has built a successful career, which he now manages much better after slowing down following his burnout scare.
He added: ‘I do a podcast, a radio show, I do social media, I have two businesses, I own an eyewear company and an app weirdly, which puts you in touch with videographers and photographers so it’s like a Task Rabbit or a Secret Spa or Uber for creatives.
‘I am incredibly fortunate to be able to do this but if you have an idea that you genuinely believe in, being able to give that to someone, I have the idea and I will fund a lot of it, but I need you to run it.
‘I don’t know how to build a f***ing business; I have the idea for a business, we have a podcast that I came up with in the shower, Staying Relevant, and we hired the most amazing executive producer, who runs the entire thing but I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t have a clue.
‘We have eight employees and being a boss when you’re like me is hilarious, I’m like a kid.’
- I’m ADHD! No You’re Not is available on all podcast platforms every Thursday at 6am