British snooker star Mark Selby revealed his wife Vikki’s health problems in an interview following last night’s thrilling World Snooker Championship final.
In an emotional conversation following his defeat to Belgian player Luca Brecel, four-time champion Selby, 39, told BBC channel Hazel Irvine that “health is more important” than snooker, describing his own struggles with depression and health fears for his wife .
Belgian player Brecel, 28, who was crowned world champion after beating Selby 18-15, used his acceptance speech to also pay tribute to Selby and his wife, saying: “I just want to say ‘stay strong’ because I have some have heard the news and i don’t know if i should say it but i just wanted to say “stay strong Vikki”.
It is not clear what Vikki’s health problem is. The couple, who share daughter Sofia, first met in 2006, with Selby’s wife, a former pro pool player, who has helped him through his ongoing battle with depression.
At the Crucible last night, Hazel Irvine also spoke about Selby’s struggles with his mental health, which left him needing antidepressants.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby, 39, told the crowd at the final in Sheffield last night that his wife Vikki Layton is struggling with health issues
Former pro pool player Vikki is credited with helping her husband overcome his mental health issues – he previously referred to her as “my rock”
He told her, “Where I’ve been to where I am now… I’ve loved the past two weeks. With things going off the table as well, not just me but also Vikki, you clearly realize that health is more important.
“Ultimately it’s a game, but one you want to win – but if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world.”
The couple married in Mexico in 2011, after getting engaged in Venice the previous year; they welcomed their daughter in 2014. Selby had a troubled childhood, abandoned by his mother when he was eight and lost his father to cancer when he was just 16.
Known as ‘The Jester from Leicester’ to fans, his mental health took a turn for the worse after he won snooker’s top honors for the first time in May 2016.
Speaking to MailOnline this month, he said his wife had noticed the first signs of his mental health decline.
He explained, “Vikki said she came to the table to greet me and instead of being excited I stared through her like she wasn’t there. She said I hadn’t really celebrated. She noticed that I was going through it then.
The couple, photographed at Wimbledon, married in Mexico in 2011 after getting engaged in Venice a year earlier. Layton is a former professional pool player; the couple met in 2006 and share a daughter Sofia
Selby pictured at dinner on Monday; he was beaten 18-15 by the Belgian Luca Brecel
Selby’s opponent Luca Brecel used his winner’s speech to urge the family to stay strong, saying “I just want to say ‘stay strong’ because I’ve heard some news and I don’t know if I should say it but I wanted to just to say “stay strong Vikki”.
In January last year, the snooker player first publicly revealed his struggles with mental health, announcing that he’d had a ‘relapse’ and that putting on a ‘brave face’ wasn’t the best way to deal with his issues. to go.
Selby, who made history on Sunday night by getting a 147 in the final, continued: ‘I spoke to the doctor and we looked back at the footage. He said, “Judging by your body language and how you acted, you definitely went through it without knowing it.”
A few months later, Selby was prescribed antidepressants. However, it was another five years before he came out about his battle with depression. That came last January after losing in the quarter-finals of the Masters, when he posted on social media that he had suffered a ‘relapse’ with his mental health.
He wrote, “I want to apologize to all my friends and family for letting them down. Mentally not in a good place at the moment, had a relapse and trying to bottle it up and put on a brave face is not the way. I promise I will get help and become a better person. #mental health.’
“Out of nowhere it hit me like a brick and I didn’t enjoy anything,” he explains. ‘I didn’t really have a life. I locked myself in the house.’
The snooker star says he is still on medication but is focusing on day-to-day affairs. He said, “Every day when I wake up, I write down something I want to finish that day. It can be anything. For example, take Sofia to the park after school. It gives me purpose.
‘I’m still on medication. If it means using them for the rest of my life and I’m where I am now, I’ll accept that.’