This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
Vanessa Mdee Opens Up About Her Battle with Depression ¶
On her podcast Deep Dive with Vanessa Mdee, the 32-year-old singer shared her harrowing experiences with depression, which left her battling alcoholism and anxiety for most of 2019.
She revealed that she drank herself to sleep every night and lied to people around her to keep up a facade, saying, 'I drank myself to sleep every night. I am not proud of it but it is my truth and I know there are people who need to hear this. I was lying to people around me to cover up and to keep the facade alive.'
Vanessa Mdee, who is currently dating Power star Rotimi, explained that she has decided to open up about her struggles because she wants to live a genuine life, free from the pressures of the music industry.
'This is my truth and me letting you into this space because I don’t want to live a candy-coated life anymore. I became a robot and I have no desire to be a robot or be unhappy anymore, because that’s what I was, unhappy. I had moments of we are enjoying this, I had moments of this is fun, I had moments of this is a beautiful day.'
She also spoke about the music industry, saying, 'The music industry is demonic,' and that she has chosen to leave it behind to focus on her mental health and well-being.
Vanessa Mdee emphasized that she loves her craft and will continue to create music, but on her own terms, saying, 'I love music, I love to create, I love to perform, I’m a vessel, this is what I was brought on earth to be, but maybe I was a vessel to be here in this moment to have gone through everything that I have gone through so that I can tell you most honestly the truth about things you will never somewhere else.'
