Featured Image Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images/Tom Shaw/Getty Images
Topics: Mental Health, Sport
Brenna Cooper
Topics: Mental Health, Sport
Graham Thorpe's wife Amanda has revealed that the England cricketer's cause of death was suicide in a heartbreaking statement.
Earlier this month it was announced that Thorpe had passed away aged 55, with tributes pouring in across the cricketing world.
Thorpe's wife and daughters, Kitty, 22, and Emma, 19, have now spoken about his death, revealing that the former Surrey batsman had died by suicide in an interview with The Times.
Mrs Thorpe revealed that the cricket legend, had been suffering for years struggling with anxiety and depression and was hospitalised back in 2022 after a 'serious' attempt on his life.
"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," she explained.
"Despite glimpses of hope and of 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 really seemed to work."
She continued: "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 really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life."
During his career as a cricketer, Thorpe had been labelled as one of the best players of his generation. He would represent England in 100 Test Matches, as well as featuring 82 times for the One Day Internationals side.
He also had a 17-year career with Surrey County Cricket Club before retiring from the sport in 2005. He was later granted an MBE for his services to the sport in 2006.
Explaining the decision to speak out about her dad's illness now, Kitty said 'there is nothing to hide' and they were primarily focused on 'protecting' him at the time. She went on to add that they wanted to speak out in order to 'raise awareness' about mental health.
"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," she added.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.