KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 ― The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Holly, has revealed she was sexually assaulted twice which resulted in a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The experience led the 21-year-old to spend three months in a mental health hospital to help her cope with the devastating trauma.
The model spoke about the two sexual assault incidents that happened when she was 18 on the 21 & Over podcast recently.
"I went to university, studied fashion design, and I loved it. But by the second half of the first year I was being affected by my PTSD and I had no idea that this was happening.
"I was going out a lot, missing class because I’d been out.
"I wasn’t enjoying myself at all. I was struggling a lot,” she said during the podcast.
Holly said her PTSD was a result of the two horrific events.
"I didn’t tell anyone about it until a year afterwards. I just buried it in a box in the back of my mind.”
After her mental health worsened, she ended up leaving Ravensbourne University in London and was admitted to Marylebone’s Nightingale Hospital, the city’s only private mental health hospital, the Daily Star reported.
"That was where I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression.
"Since then, I have been in therapy up to three times a week.
"I now have these diagnoses that I carry around with me,” she said.
Holly added that she is trying to take control of her narrative and turn it into something positive.
She praised her chef dad, 54, for his support after revealing the incidents to him the year after.
Additionally, Holly said her mum Tana, 46, her sisters Megan, 23, and Tilly, 19, her twin Jack, and her youngest brother Oscar, two, have given her "the greatest unconditional support” for which she is grateful.
"It’s brought me closer to them in many ways.”
"I’ve lost friends. It’s definitely a journey. But I hope that by speaking out I can help other people,” said Holly, who is now studying at the Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design.
She also shared her mental health battles with her 273,000 Instagram followers, encouraging people to break the stigma surrounding mental health.
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