15 July 2025
British pop star Anne-Marie has bravely shared her emotional journey through postnatal anxiety and depression, revealing how deeply it affected her mental health after becoming a mother for the first time.
The Baby Don’t Hurt Me singer, now 34, welcomed her daughter Seven, 17 months ago, and recently gave birth to her second child, a baby boy, with husband and rapper Slowthai. In a candid interview on BBC Radio 2’s The Breakfast Show with Scott Mills, Anne-Marie described the difficult months following Seven’s birth—especially the early onset of postnatal anxiety, a condition she didn’t even know existed at the time.
“I actually had anxiety so bad when I first had Seven and I didn’t want to be left alone,” she said.
“I was like, ‘Don’t leave the house, don’t go there, don’t go there.’”
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“I Didn’t Know Postnatal Anxiety Was a Thing”
Anne-Marie admitted she was only familiar with postnatal depression, and the symptoms of anxiety caught her off guard.
“I only knew about postnatal depression. So I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s a new one.’”
Roughly six months after Seven’s birth, Anne-Marie began to experience postnatal depressionas well.
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Therapy Is Now Her “Best Friend”
Since then, the singer has been prioritizing her mental health. Though she has had an on-and-off relationship with therapy, Anne-Marie now attends sessions once a week, calling it her lifeline.
“I started in lockdown… then I felt like I was OK, and I stopped.
But then I had Seven and I was like, ‘OK, I’m sorry if you saw any of the interviews where I said I don’t need you anymore—can I have you back?!’”
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Her Advice to New Mums: “Speak to Someone”
Asked what advice she would give to others experiencing similar struggles, Anne-Marie didn’t hesitate:
“Probably speak to someone.
I just felt like, ‘Oh, this is just how I’m supposed to feel’… but there’s so many other options to what it could be.
Therapy is my best friend. But also, tell people.
I never asked for help, and that’s why I got so tired.”
She reflected on how people often assume you’re “fine” when you’re just trying to keep it together.
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“I’m Slowly Getting My Brain Back”
Anne-Marie described the profound changes she’s gone through since becoming a mother:
“I look different. I feel different. My brain is rewired. I swear everything has changed.”
Despite the emotional toll, she’s now finding her way back to herself.
“I just feel like now I’m slowly getting my brain back to normal.
Well, it wasn’t normal in the first place, bear in mind!
But it feels like I actually feel happy again.”
Anne-Marie’s openness shines a light on the lesser-known side of motherhood, reminding others that it’s okay to struggle—and that help is out there.
