The Big Brother 2007 winner says that contestants need better access to therapists after leaving the show
BRIAN Belo has spoken out against the lack of care Big Brother housemates receive once they are out of the house, saying that his second stint on the show in 2015 led to the “hardest year of my life.”
The 29-year-old won Big Brother 8 in 2007, and went back into the house with Helen Wood last year, however, he ended up leaving the compound after a furious row with her in which she branded him a “rapist and a murderer.”
Following his dramatic exit, Brian revealed he battled issues with anxiety as he struggled to fit back into society.
“Everyone I've spoken to on the show has had issues with anxiety when leaving,” he said at The Sun Online’s Celebrity Big Brother Facebook Live Party.
“My issue is I don't think we get good care after we leave - I've done it twice now - and after being called a murder and rapist, how am I meant to go down the supermarket?
“We need to be properly looked after. I've been massively effected since. It's been the hardest year of my life.”
He added that contestants aren’t given the resources to cope with life after the house, and that many suffer from anxiety attacks.
“I'm just a normal boy from a council estate, not Justin Bieber, and I've been on one of the biggest shows and then just have to go back to real life?
“We're not given the resources of the presenters - were just normal people and then expected to navigate back in real life. I didn't audition last year they came to me.
“You can chat to one therapist initially after leaving, but then you are on your own.
“I don’t want in another 10 years’ time another bunch of teenagers to go through what we went through.
“People are having anxiety and panic attacks. All BB housemates suffer from panic attacks and this is something that needs dealing with.”
Brian isn’t the only housemate to speak about his struggles with anxiety, Chloe Jasmine Whichello told us she is currently having hypnotherapy to deal with her issues since leaving CBB last year.