Fred Sirieix responds to Olympian daughter’s emotional interview where she admits she ‘didn’t want to be alive three years ago’
First Dates presenter Fred Sirieix has shared support for his daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix after an emotional interview.
Andrea was part of Team GB’s Olympic diving team and won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m synchronised diving, alongside Lois Toulson.
However, the 19-year-old missed out on a medal in the women’s platform final, ultimately placing sixth.
Reflecting on the result in an interview with the BBC after the results were revealed, a visibly emotional Andrea said she wasn’t upset with competition despite not getting the result she wanted.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix competed in single and synchronised diving events. (Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images)
The teenager then went on to make a candid admission about her journey with mental health, telling the interviewer: “Genuinely… I’m not upset with my performance, three years ago I didn’t even want to be alive
“So today I’m just happy that I’m alive, I’m breathing and I’ve got my family here to support me.”
Fred has now responded to his daughter’s comments on social media, sharing a string of supportive tweets on Twitter.
Retweeting a clip from her interview with the BBC, Fred wrote: “My love.”
He continued: “Thank you for this incredible adventure and the inspiration Andrea. What a beautiful moment! You and your brother are the best thing I have ever done and will ever do.”
Fred then followed up the post by thanking his followers for their kind messages, adding: “Thank you so much for all the kind messages. It means so much and it is so appreciated. I will pass on the love and support to Andrea. Merci encore x”.
The First Dates host. ( David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Andrea has been open about her mental health struggles since competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the diver previously revealing that she had been considering quitting the sport all-together.
“It felt like a chore every time I went into training. It didn’t feel like something I wanted to do anymore, it felt like something I had to do. I was mentally exhausted,” she said (via The Mirror).
“I had three or four waves of thinking I’m going to give up before I realised that I can’t do that. I love the sport more than I thought.”
She elaborated further on her mental struggles in an interview with World Aquatics earlier in the year, explaining that 2021 had been a particularly difficult year for her. “I went through a time when I just didn’t like anything,” Andrea explained.
However, she was later able to regain her love for diving the following year, going on to win a series of medals and podiums across 2022.
Featured Image Credit: (John Phillips/Getty Images and BBC Sport)
