Jeannie Mai's Estranged Husband Jeezy Details His 8-Year Battle With Depression
Jeezy is reflecting on a difficult chapter of his life.
The rapper—who filed for divorce from Jeannie Mai last month—recently gave insight into his mental health journey, saying he struggled for depression for nearly a decade before learning more about the condition.
"I learned that vulnerability is power," the 46-year-old shared on Tamron Hall in an Oct. 16 clip. "I thought something was wrong with me, thinking I come from poverty, this is just how it is."
In fact, Jeezy said growing up in Georgia without access to mental health resources inspired him to share his story in his new memoir Adversity for Sale.
"I didn't understand trauma and all these different things so when I started to get the words for it, I started to understand and grab tools, I started to become better," he told host Tamron Hall. "I started my journey and that's why I'm expressing it and putting it in the book because I didn't know I was depressed for like eight years of my life straight."
The "Put On" artist went on detail the toll depression on his life, explaining that he often wanted to "sleep forever" and was "leaning into my vices."
"And that's what street life does to you," he continued, saying that he was especially affected by violence in his community. "When you lose 200, 300, 400 people like gone forever, you just, you get numb. And I wasn't able to get in touch with my emotions and I was wondering why."
The musician said that it was his children—including his and Jeannie's 20-month-old daughter Monaco Mai Jenkins—that helped him feel more deeply: "Thank God for my kids, but there was a time I was just cold. That's when I was Young Jeezy."
On Sept. 14, he filed for divorce from The Real co-host after more than two years of marriage, per the documents obtained by NBC News.
Stating that the former couple had been "living in a bona fide state of separation," he said there was "no hope for reconciliation" and requested joint legal and physical custody of Monaco.
While Jeannie's rep did not respond to E! News' request for comment at the time, the 44-year-old later shared a message on healing the following month.
"Sometimes," her Oct. 11 Instagram post read, "you need to take a break and disconnect, to heal."
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