Ryan Reynolds (44) wants to be a role model for his three daughters, so he recently spoke candidly about the fact that he has been struggling with mental issues for years. By talking openly about his fears, he hopes that others will feel free to do the same.
“If you talk about it, it can be liberating for other people”
Ryan sees it as his job to show his daughters James (6), Inez (4) and Betty (1) that all kinds of feelings are allowed, he tells Entertainment Tonight . “You have to show what it is like to be sad, anxious or angry. There is room for all those things.” The actor, who is married to actress Blake Lively, did not receive that lesson from home. “I don’t mean to say that my parents were negligent, but they are from a different generation.”
He believes that the stigma on mental problems should disappear and be talked about more. “I know when I was feeling my worst, I felt like no one else had those feelings,” he says. “If you talk about it, it can be liberating for other people.”