“Love Is Blind” alum Nick Thompson certainly isn’t turning a blind eye when it comes to publicly discussing mental health.
Thompson, who is in the process of getting divorced from fellow mental health advocate Danielle Ruhl, took to Instagram on Friday in order to shine a light on a crucial mental health struggle.
Mental health has been prevalent for Thompson and his now-ex. Viewers watched Thompson as he fell in love with Ruhl during the second season of Netflix’s extremely popular dating series; Thompson and Ruhl were frequently shown attempting to navigate her anxiety struggles on camera.
Thompson continues to advocate for mental health nearly a year after viewers were first introduced to him via “Love Is Blind.” He lists “mental health & wellness advocate” as a component of his Instagram bio.
Read on to find out which mental health struggle Thompson chose to highlight in his latest Instagram post.
Looking Back At Thompson and Ruhl’s On-Screen Mental Health Journey
Some “Love Is Blind” viewers weren’t keen on the way Thompson responded to Ruhl’s struggle with panic attacks while the couple was dating.
However, Ruhl would soon clear the air in an Instagram post, offering further insight into Thompson’s reaction to the “traumatic” experience she would tell him while the duo was in Mexico.
Ruhl explained her panic attack had been inspired by her fear she had revealed too much about her past to Thompson so soon in their relationship. She would also reveal Thompson had been unaware of her panic attack while he was away at a party with their castmates.
“Nick had no idea what happened,” Ruhl explained, “but when he found out what happened behind the scenes, he was more than supportive, and we were able to learn from it and get past it.”
She would go on to reiterate that she still had a lot of work to do in her journey. Ruhl wrote, “How I was represented on TV is not an accurate representation of who I am as a person, I understand that I have things to work on, and I was in a great mental space before going on the show. However, the stressful environment brought me back to a place I never expected…”
Unfortunately, matters between the duo drastically changed following their divorce.
Earlier this month, Ruhl claimed that her ex and his team were allegedly attempting to “silence” her from speaking out. She also claimed Thompson was attempting to “control the narrative” around the couple’s split.
“Just because he isn’t saying things on social media doesn’t mean that there aren’t things behind the scenes are worse. I’m proactively saying this bc I know what he has in store with media… etc… and bc he is about to go to these lows I’m being practice [sic],” Ruhl claimed via Instagram.
She would also write “I need to say this because Nick is taking extreme measures to take me down, silence me, and control the narrative because he had intended to go on another reality show and blames me for potentially being unable to…”
Thompson Discusses A Prominent Mental Health Struggle Amid Being At Odds With Ruhl
Whether Thompson has plans to publicly return to our screens remains to be seen, but he is continuing his mental health advocacy in the meantime.
Thompson, 36, tackled Season Affective Disorder (also known as SAD) in an Instagram post, offering three tips for his followers to help reduce the effects of SAD.
“With so many of us struggling this time of year, I wanted to share a few tips that have helped me better manage my seasonal depression,” Thompson wrote.
Thompson’s tips include “Prioritize enjoyable social activities and find creative ways to stay connected with others,” “Maintain a regular schedule to get as much sunshine exposure during the day as possible,” and to “Move your body with exercise or bundle up and take a walk during the daylight.”
Clayton Echard of “The Bachelor” fame ‘liked’ Thompson’s post! Echard underwent a public mental health struggle following the conclusion of his season at the helm of the long-running reality TV series.
Thompson and Ruhl’s divorce was announced earlier this summer. Ruhl had been the one to file and bring the process forward. The former couple has not been on speaking terms since October, per one of our reports covering the dissolution of their marriage. (per The Blast)