First Dates presenter Fred Sirieix has shared support for his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix after an emotional interview.
Andrea was part of Team GB's Olympic diving team and won a bronze medal in the women's 10m synchronised diving, alongside Lois Toulson.
However, the 19-year-old missed out on a medal in the women's platform final, ultimately placing sixth.
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Reflecting on the result in an interview with the BBC after the results were revealed, a visibly emotional Andrea said she wasn't upset with competition despite not getting the result she wanted.
The teenager then went on to make a candid admission about her journey with mental health, telling the interviewer: "Genuinely... I'm not upset with my performance, three years ago I didn't even want to be alive.
"So today I'm just happy that I'm alive, I'm breathing and I've got my family here to support me."
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Fred has now responded to his daughter's comments on social media, sharing a string of supportive tweets on Twitter.
Retweeting a clip from her interview with the BBC, Fred wrote: "My love."
He continued: "Thank you for this incredible adventure and the inspiration Andrea. What a beautiful moment! You and your brother are the best thing I have ever done and will ever do."
Fred then followed up the post by thanking his followers for their kind messages, adding: "Thank you so much for all the kind messages. It means so much and it is so appreciated. I will pass on the love and support to Andrea. Merci encore x".
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Andrea has been open about her mental health struggles since competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the diver previously revealing that she had been considering quitting the sport all-together.
"It felt like a chore every time I went into training. It didn’t feel like something I wanted to do anymore, it felt like something I had to do. I was mentally exhausted," she said (via The Mirror).
"I had three or four waves of thinking I’m going to give up before I realised that I can’t do that. I love the sport more than I thought."
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She elaborated further on her mental struggles in an interview with World Aquatics earlier in the year, explaining that 2021 had been a particularly difficult year for her. "I went through a time when I just didn’t like anything," Andrea explained.
However, she was later able to regain her love for diving the following year, going on to win a series of medals and podiums across 2022.
Topics: Fred Sirieix, Olympics, Mental Health, Sport, UK News
Brenna Cooper