Written by Finlay Mead

Formerly known by his stage name ‘Andrew G’, Osher Günsberg is one of Australia’s most loved TV icons. This weekend, in an interview on Rich Roll, he spoke candidly about his historic mental health issues.

From Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to Tom Holland, a string of movie and TV stars have given us a glimpse into their myriad mental health struggles over recent months and years. This weekend, Aussie TV star Osher Günsberg joined the fray during an interview on Rich Roll.

This wasn’t Osher’s first time on the podcast discussing his mental health. Almost a decade ago, The Bachelor presenter discussed his journey from being an insecure, overweight teenager to the marathon-running host of Australian Idol.

However, shortly after that last appearance, Osher experienced a highly publicised psychotic breakdown that left him terrified, depressed, and sincerely afraid of the end of the world. Therein ensued a wider struggle with his mental health and a host of substance abuse issues.

WATCH: Osher discusses his struggles with body image as a teen:

And yet, rather than shying away from his traumas, Osher has returned to the podcast once again to speak openly, honestly, and unashamedly about everything he’s been through as well as the many lessons he’s learned from his hard times, which you can read more about in his new book.

The Roots Of Osher’s Mental Health Struggles

The whole two-hour conversation is, without a doubt, worth a full watch. However, as someone who has endured similar issues around weight and body dysmorphia, Osher’s discussion here was of particular interest.

The star describes in detail his transition from being an obese, ashamed teen to the vision of physical health he became only a few short years later. Recounting his heaviest days during adolescence, he said this to Rich:

“At the age of seventeen, I left high school at 112kg which is 250-something pounds. I’ve still got the stretch marks, mega body-shaming, bullying, terrified of having my shirt off, so afraid”.

Osher Günsberg

The Bloody Realities Of Male Body Dysmorphia

One particular detail really struck a chord, not only because of my own incredibly similar experience as a teen but also because of the lesser-known, minor humiliations that are often felt by people in the midst of body dysmorphia and issues around food.

Talking about his love of bodyboarding, Osher said this:

“I would always swim with a t-shirt on because I was so ashamed of my own body… I distinctly remember being on holidays once… I was fifteen, sixteen, I was swimming in the ocean, in the surf, and I was bodysurfing because I always loved bodysurfing, and I stood up out of a wave and I looked down and there were blood spots on my t-shirt because my t-shirt had rubbed my nipples so much they were bleeding… it was no fun.”

Osher Günsberg

Why Osher’s Opinion Matters

This level of candidness emerges only five minutes into a feature-length interview which personally I found incredibly refreshing; to see a man — especially an Australian man — open up about his mental health and especially his body image so readily is a real rarity.

However, it also gives you a flavour as to the darker turn the conversation takes when they move on to Osher’s psychotic break and substance misuse issues, so I advise anyone who may still be struggling with said issues to consider this a much-needed trigger warning.