CNN announced on June 8 that celebrity chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain died of an apparent suicide in his Strasbourg, France hotel room. Bourdain's passing is the second tragic celebrity death at the hands of mental illness within the past week—fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on June 5.
In what is surely a difficult time for anyone who suffers from depression, Paula Froelich, the journalist and author who dated Bourdain in 2005, took to social media to write at length about her experiences with the "black dog."
She first posted to Instagram, with a simple caption:
To a good man, a great friend, a loyal love. That's all I'm going to say
Froelich then took to Twitter, where she wrote a moving thread that began:
Here's the thing about depression: it's a sneaky little, sticky B****.
You can be rich as hell, totally successful but still lonely AF and the "you're nothing but a fraud" voice only goes away when the ambien takes effect.
Froelich ends on a hopeful note. No matter what we go through, at least we all have each other.
But take heart in knowing: only the best, funniest, loveliest, most empathetic, wonderful, talented people have depression. You're in a good crowd. Now. Let's go fight that black dog. Together.
Many celebrities paid tribute to Bourdain following his passing and continued the important discussion about dealing with clinical depression and destigmatizing mental illness.
None of us have to fight alone.
H/T - Indy 100, Getty Images
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
