Zoella reveals crippling anxiety made her turn down a chance to meet Prince Harry
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YOUTUBE star Zoella has spoken out about the mental illness that has plagued her life – and even made her turn down a chance to meet Prince Harry.
The 26-year-old vlogger – who reportedly rakes in £50,000 a month – suffered crippling anxiety attacks and says: “I felt like I was being attacked.”
She told Cosmopolitan: “I was too scared. I’m working on this anxiety thing but I’m not quite ready for that. Hopefully he will invite me back. Sorry Prince Harry.”
“I’m one of those people who think everyone should have a therapist,” she explained. “People go to the gym, they eat healthily and visit the hairdresser’s but no one really looks after their mind.”
Zoella’s attacks were so bad she couldn’t get on public transport.
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She said: “There was a point where I was nervous to go out on my own. It’s not like you’ve gone into a Hollywood film where your biggest dream is coming true. It’s something that happened because of a hobby, and along the way you have to get used to this new lifestyle you have.
“There have been times when someone has just gone ‘Hi’ in my face and I have sworn [in shock] and then had to apologise.'
She says boyfriend and fellow YouTuber star Alfie Deyes, 23, has helped her overcome some of her confidence issues.
“He’s the first person to say, ‘I’m so proud of you’. If I’m ever like, ‘I can’t do this’, he’s like, ‘I can help you.’”
The anxiety was at its worst after it was revealed the Brighton-based vlogger had a ghostwriter for her bestselling novel, Girl Online.
Zoella, real name Zoe Sugg, said the backlash made her feel like she was being attacked.
She added: “It knocked my confidence massively. When it came round to the second book, I felt I couldn’t and that it all been ruined. It took a lot for me to put that behind me and move forward.”
In recent weeks, Zoella has defended herself on Twitter after trolls questioned her input in a new lifestyle range.
She wrote: “When will some people realise I don’t just slap my name on things.
Zoella added she had spent “months, if not years carefully planning, testing and designing" the range which includes cushions, doormats and Christmas baubles.
The full interview appears in the November 2016 issue of Cosmopolitan, on sale 5 October
