"He really did believe that we would be better off without him" - Graham Thorpe's wife reveals former England cricketer 'took his own life'
England legend Graham Thorpe took his own life due to struggles with depression and anxiety as revealed by his wife Amanda in a devastating interview. Thorpe died at 55 on August 5, much to the shock of the cricketing world.
He had been dealing with a serious illness since 2022, resulting in him turning down the Afghanistan head coaching role that same year. Apart from his wife Amanda, Thorpe is survived by their two daughters, Kitty, 22, and Emma, 19.
Speaking to The Times, Thorpe's wife revealed:
"Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life. For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety. "
She continued:
"This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit. Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work."
"Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone," added Mrs. Thorpe.
Thorpe is also survived by his first wife Nicky and their two children Henry and Amelia. A ceremony to celebrate the former England batter and his contributions to Surrey Cricket happened over the weekend in Farnham.
"We are not ashamed of talking about it" - Graham Thorpe's daughter
Graham Thorpe's elder daughter Kitty felt it was time to share the news of her father's manner of death being depression and anxiety to create awareness.
The 55-year-old was England's dominant force in the middle order in the 1990s and early 2000s, finishing with over 6,700 Test runs and 16 centuries.
"We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too," said Thorpe's daughter (as per the aforementioned source).
Thorpe finished with over 9,000 international runs in 182 matches across the Test and ODI formats. He was also England's assistant and batting coach for a prolonged period.
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