NRL legend Sam Thaiday’s tragic suicide confession on I’m A Celebrity

I’m A Celebrity star Sam Thaiday brought his campmates to tears after he shared his harrowing personal struggles.

I’m A Celebrity star Sam Thaiday has bravely opened up about previously wanting to take his own life.

During an emotional chat with his campmates about why he came into the jungle, the NRL star revealed that he signed up for the show to help fund a charity close to his heart.

As he fought back tears, Thaiday shared that he wants to help young boys who struggle to talk about their feelings just like he did when he was growing up.

Sam Thaiday opened up about previously wanting to take his own life. Picture: 10.

“My charity is called Find Your Feet. It’s run by a guy named Tommy Herschel,” shared the star. “He goes into schools and helps young boys, and he gives them a safe place to share their feelings and talk about how they’re feeling. I sat in on one of his sessions and to hear how brave some of these young boys were in opening up and sharing their stories about what was going on in their lives.”

Thaiday then went on to share his own heartbreaking connection to suicide, revealing that he once contemplated taking his own life as a teenager.

Nicky Buckley cried as she listened to the heartbreaking story. Picture: 10.

“As a 13 year old boy, I wanted to take my own life, and I wish I had someone like Tommy around to let me know that it was okay to talk about my feelings. As a young kid, I really struggled to find my place,” said the star as some of his campmates began to visibly tear up.

“I found myself too white to be black and too black to be white, and didn’t know where I fit in. And if I had someone like Tommy Herschel in my life as a young kid, maybe I would have shared a lot of these stories a lot earlier in my life.”

He added: “He’s a bit of a one-man band at the moment, and I just thought he needed help. So that’s why I’m in here. And hopefully even, like, I don’t even have to win it, I just want to raise some awareness for him, I want people talking about it.”

I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Sunday At 7.00pm And Monday to Thursday At 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play.

Originally published as NRL legend Sam Thaiday’s tragic suicide confession on I’m A Celebrity