Graham Thorpe took his own life reveals wife

Former England batsman Graham Thorpe’s wife has disclosed that mental illness had led the 54-year-old to take his own life. 

Thorpe had made a ton of appearances in red-ball cricket for the Three Lions and later served as the coaching staff as well. His wife came out and revealed that he had been suffering for the last couple of years including one previous attempt in 2022. 

In a recent interview with Times, his wife Amanda said “For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety. This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.

"Despite glimpses of hope and the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately, none of them seemed to work.

"Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.

"He was so unwell in recent times and he did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life."

Thorpe’s daughter, Kitty, said the entire family would like to raise awareness about such illnesses. 

"We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We've wanted to be able to talk and share and we'd now like to raise awareness, too."