Max George was “mentally breaking down” at the height of his fame.
The former Wanted singer has opened up about his struggles with depression, admitting he experienced his first “proper episode” when the group’s debut single, ‘All Time Low’, hit the top spot in the UK singles chart in 2010.
He said: “It doesn’t matter what you do or who you are, you can literally have everything you want, but as success happened, mentally I was breaking down.
“My first proper episode was when The Wanted went to Number One. I’d achieved everything I had ever wanted but I couldn’t handle how it exploded so fast.”
The 32-year-old singer took a long time to “accept” his struggles because he couldn’t understand why he’d been gripped by the mood disorder.
He told the new issue of Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “It is a question I have been asked before, if I’d had any problems in my life with mental illness and, to be honest, I have not told the truth. I always would say no.
“It took me a hell of a long time to accept myself that I had these problems, and then to be able to speak to my family and close friends because it was so out of character for me.”
The ‘Glad You Came’ hitmaker was diagnosed with depression while working on ‘Glee’ in Los Angeles after undergoing numerous tests to identify the cause of his physical symptoms.