Siya Kolisi’s wife Rachel attempts suicide

Rachel Kolisi, who is a philanthropist and wife of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, has opened up about her battle with depression, including her suicide attempt as a teenager. In an interview with Mpoomy Ledwaba on her Wisdom & Wellness podcast, Rachel got candid about her spiritual and mental health journey. She spoke about how her parents’ divorce affected her as a teen and into her adult life.

“I felt led to share my story about depression and that journey. My parents went through a really bad divorce and this is just my personal story. I know everyone’s struggles are different.

With my parents’ (divorce) it was very challenging. I lost my way so much and found myself sometimes in not healthy friendship groups. They’d be like if you are having a tough day let’s have a drink or a smoke and that’s the environment I found myself in and it spiralled. Depression does that, it does that to a person where you are like ‘I’m not depressed, I’m fine.

Rachel shared that she tried to commit suicide when she was a teen and spent two to three years cutting herself as a cry for help. I tried to commit suicide when I was 15,” she said.