Nick and Femi tackle depression, suicide and royal prank in mental health podcast
The Amazing Race stars Nick Evbuomwan and Femi Ogunsiji talk depression and suicide with former 2Day FM presenter Mel Greig, years after her royal prank scandal.
Confidential
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They may have failed to win The Amazing Race, but Nick Evbuomwan and Femi Ogunsiji continue to win hearts nationwide following the success of their new podcast Uncovered.
The psychiatric nurses told Confidential they have been blown away by the public’s response to their new show, which tackles mental health issues in a lighthearted way.
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“We can’t believe the response we have received so far. It feels so surreal. People are not only surprised by how relatable the topics are but finally feel like they’re able to speak more openly about mental health,” Evbuomwan said.
“Its crazy! So many people have told us how this podcast has reinstalled faith into their minds and that it’s truly okay to not be okay as it’s really just a normal part of everyday life.”
The duo, who quickly became fan-favourite on The Amazing Race, discuss issues like anxiety and depression and so far they have had celebrity appearances from fellow former Amazing Race star Mel Greig and Studio 10’s Richard Reid.
In one eye-opening episode, Greig recalled her infamous 2012 royal prank with her former 2Day FM radio co-host Mike Christian and the depression that followed after the suicide of British nurse Jacintha Saldanha.
“We made a prank call when the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital for morning sickness and we impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles and unfortunately the nurse put us through to the private nurse. We didn’t expect that to happen, we thought we’d be hung up on,” Greig said on Uncovered.
“We all know what happened next. At the time, I didn’t even care that I lost my job - the one that I had fought so hard for and dreamt of for so long. It was more going through the guilt and the mental health issues. It took a few years to recover from that.
“I was a normal happy girl and then I went into a deep depression and was contemplating suicide. You can go from being normal to hitting rock bottom just like that... We had a bodyguard for three months and I didn’t see sunlight [during that time]. We had bullets with our names on it. I was isolated and reading comments from online trolls. It’s a very dark place to be in.”
Evbuomwan and Ogunsiji hope their podcast will help destigmatise mental health issues.
“That’s our biggest mission is to destigmatise mental health. People are comfortable discussing physical health but not mental health,” Evbuomwan said.
“A lot of people are too scared to talk about mental health so the aim is to open up that conversation and show that everyone goes through it and it’s normal.”
Originally published as Nick and Femi tackle depression, suicide and royal prank in mental health podcast