Heston Blumenthal was in tears as he bravely told how his wife Melanie Ceysson had saved his life by admitting him to hospital under the Mental Health Act as he struggled with bipolar disorder.
The 58-year-old chef described the ordeal during an appearance on The One Show on Tuesday night, detailing the “horrible” situation that led to him being diagnosed with the mental health condition last year.
He lifted the lid on what had happened, saying: ‘As a chef, I’ve been called everything from a culinary maverick to a genius. These ideas have taken me to incredible heights, but I’ve also had some very deep valleys.
These recurring peaks and troughs became increasingly stronger and more regular.
‘I was extremely high and had been for days. I had hallucinations, feelings of paranoia and even suicidal thoughts.’
Heston Blumenthal was in tears as he bravely told how his wife Melanie Ceysson had saved his life by admitting him to hospital under the Mental Health Act during his battle with bipolar disorder.
The 58-year-old celebrity chef described the ordeal during an appearance on The One Show on Tuesday night, alongside Melanie
Heston admitted: ‘My wife Melanie got me the help I needed after witnessing so many extremes of my behavior.’
The 36-year-old wife of the Michelin-starred chef described her husband’s moods as a “tornado” and feared he was a danger to himself.
Melanie talks about the moment she had to take him to the hospital: ‘That was when I pressed the red button’. She calls the aftermath ‘the most horrible hours’ of her life.
Heston explains: ‘Melanie made the difficult decision to have me have surgery, which meant I had to be put under general anaesthetic.
“There was a knock on the door, a police officer came, then five firefighters came, then a doctor with an assistant and I thought, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ And then I saw the doctor pull out a big syringe and then I woke up in the hospital.”
As he thought about it, he said to Melanie, “I realize now, looking back, that it was horrible for the people who cared about you. In the end, you saved my life.”
The TV chef added: ‘Since my diagnosis I’ve learned a lot about myself and realised that a lot of my creativity is down to my bipolar disorder.
“I hope that talking about this condition can change the way we look at it and put it in the spotlight for the right reasons.”
The 36-year-old wife of the Michelin-starred chef described her husband’s moods as a ‘tornado’ and worried he was a danger to himself
Heaton explains: ‘Melanie made the difficult decision to have me have surgery, which meant I had to go under general anaesthetic’
Reflecting, he told Melanie, “Looking back now, I realize it was horrible for the people who cared about you. Ultimately, you saved my life.”
Heston, who is open about his personal life, was positively diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2017, before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in May this year.
The celebrity chef is known for his three Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, which was previously included in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
BPolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, can cause people to have extreme mood swings.
It causes depressive episodes (feelings of sadness and listlessness) and manic episodes (feelings of excitement and overactivity).
When he spoke openly about his diagnosis in May, he said his neurodiversity played a huge role in his company’s success.
“My most artistic, innovative and exciting work comes from my neurodiversity, which I call my superpower,” he said.
Heston and entrepreneur Melanie married in March 2023 in a picturesque village in Provence, the region that inspired Heston to become a chef.
The couple met when she was working in a hotel in Val-d’Isère, a ski resort in the French Alps, and he was staying there during the Christmas holidays with his table tennis coach.
The celebrity chef is known for owning the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, which has been awarded three Michelin stars and was previously listed in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants
HHis last marriage was in 2018 to another French woman, Stephanie Gouveia, the mother of his youngest child.
The newlyweds later held a reception at their nearby home for around 60 guests, including Blumenthal’s fellow TV chef Raymond Blanc, owner of the two-Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons restaurant in Oxfordshire, former BBC director general Lord Birt and Great British Menu judge Matthew Fort.
Guests were served a range of Blumenthal’s signature dishes from his restaurants, including oyster and passion fruit jelly, carpaccio, triple-cooked chips and Scotch eggs.