Brooke Cotchin contemplated suicide after Instagram post sparked outrage

Brooke Cotchin has opened up on the horrifying extent of her mental anguish after a stray Insta post made her contemplate ending her life.

The wife of Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has revealed she thought about taking her own life in the aftermath of her highly-publicised COVID-19 breach while AFL players and their families were staying in the Queensland hub last year.

Brooke Cotchin travelled to the Sunshine State with her three children to support her husband as coronavirus forced footy teams into biosecure bubbles to ensure the season could go ahead.

However, she triggered a huge fine for the Tigers when she was busted breaking the AFL’s strict biosecurity protocols after posting a photo to Instagram of her visit to a day spa on the Gold Coast.

The visit was in breach of the isolation hub that players and clubs agreed to as part of the deal with the Queensland Government that saw Victorian clubs relocate up north.

Brooke was slammed for the breach, with many critics suggesting it was reflective of a sense of entitlement among well-paid footy stars and their partners.

She has now revealed how low she sunk in the aftermath of the incident, speaking about how her mental health demons led her to consider taking her own life.

“I kept saying to Trent, the only reason — it sounds extreme — but the only reason I didn’t kill myself was because of my kids,’’ Brooke told the Curious Conversations podcast with Tully Humprey and Sarah Pasini, adding the combination of media attention and online trolls made her “mentally depressed”.

“That’s my thing with the media and I don’t think they realise how damaging they can be,” she said.

“I suppose you get painted as this person that you’re not and you’ve got no control so you just have to deal with it.

“Everyone was like, ‘Don’t read it’. But I’m one of those people that I just need to know and I need to have control over what’s being said.

“Even what the boys were copping in the hub. I think people were so angry and frustrated and people were just looking for a way to take our their frustrations.”

The Cotchins became a magnet for criticism last year.

Family life in the hub was tough going.

‘I don’t even know what I was crying about’

Brooke said she didn’t know going to a spa was a breach of the rules, and was simply looking to take some time for herself after a trying month in the hub looking after young children — something Trent encouraged.

“The fact that people thought that I did it on purpose … like one, my husband is the biggest stiff in the AFL and he would not have let me go for a facial if I wasn’t allowed,’’ she said. “And I wouldn’t have posted it on social media if I knew I was doing the wrong thing.

“It doesn’t even make sense and we’re not those type of people. The reason why I went for a facial was because we’d been up there for a month and I was homeschooling two kids and had Parker, he was not even one, he was teething.

“I was literally fried, my one thing (to relax) is going for a facial or a massage, he’s like, ‘Just go and have some you time’.

“So I did and the only reason I posted on social media was because I had one of the best treatments I had because I wanted to support a business up there and COVID has challenged everyone and I wanted to share it for them because they made me feel amazing.

“I literally walked out crying and I don’t even know what I was crying about but just because I felt normal again. The messages, it was people that obviously had seen it on the news and had no idea who I was, but just attacking me for the opportunity to attack someone.”

Brooke said she didn’t get out of bed for days and struggled to accept support from family who couldn’t be there with her.

“I had to get up because I had no choice because Trent had to train,” she said.

“I couldn’t speak, I actually had to bar my mum’s calls because I couldn’t bear to speak to her because I didn’t want her to know how bad I was.

“It was more as well I think because I couldn’t hide. I’m living in this hub, I have to get up, I was the only partner in our hub, my kids were the only kids in there. Every meal was with the (Richmond) team and I was a mess and they had to see that.”

Brooke added she “felt bad” for Trent’s teammates because they could see “how bad I was”, and revealed she “had various panic attacks and the kids saw that — it’s not nice”.

There weren’t as many smiles in 2020.

The kids saw Brooke have panic attacks.

Brooke’s dad lashes out

Last year Brooke’s father Rick Kennedy blasted the AFL and Richmond over how it handled his daughter’s situation.

“My own view, and this is not coming from Trent and Brooke … I think the AFL and Richmond handled it really poorly,” Kennedy told Triple M in August.

“They talk today a big game about supporting women, coming in behind women and promoting women.

“What they really did is shut her down and didn’t allow her to go public and take responsibility.

“That took a few days to work its way through. I think the disappointing thing from where I sit is they had a prime opportunity to actually support a woman in a real life case rather than just words.”

Richmond went on to win the premiership last year, beating Geelong in the grand final in Brisbane.