“I've suffered from anxiety”: When Ryan Day’s wife Nina spoke on personal struggles while donating $1,000,000 to mental health research

Ryan Day's wife, Nina, has been a beacon of support for the Ohio State coach since he was hired by the Buckeyes in 2019. However, she suffered from anxiety issues and addressed her mental health problems in June.

During an event at Wexner Medical Center, Ryan and Nina Day pledged to donate $1 million toward a research initiative to help those with mental health problems. Nina also spoke about her anxiety issues.

"I've suffered from anxiety my entire life," she said. "I suffered in silence because growing up nobody really talked about it. So my goal was to make sure my children never suffered in silence or any other child or adult for that matter. "

Ryan and Nina Day have known each other since they were kids. Ryan was six and Nina was seven when they were on the same tee-ball team in school.

They grew up together and later fell in love. In June 2005, Ryan married Nina, and the couple have three children: a son, Ryan Jr., and two daughters, Grace and Ourania.

After Ohio State won the national championship on Jan. 20, Ryan's family joined him for the celebrations.

Ryan Day's wife Nina addresses hateful messages she received after Ohio State lost to Michigan in November 2024

Ryan Day with his wife Nina (center) and their children - Source: Getty

A few days after Ryan Day's Ohio State was crowned national champions, his wife, Nina, spoke about the hateful text messages she received from some Buckeyes fans when the team lost 13–10 to Michigan in November.

"They told me multiple times to have Ryan follow in his father's footsteps and kill himself," Nina told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's very disappointing to me what some people are capable of, but you look at the news and you look at our society as a whole.

People are very mean. They're very negative. They're nasty. I'm not saying everybody is, but there's definitely a percentage of people that are just ruthless in their hate."

Nina also said that her family was considering moving away from Columbus due to the vile and hateful abuse.

After losing to Michigan, the Buckeyes failed to make the Big Ten championship game. However, Ryan Day's Ohio State made the most of the College Football Playoff. They beat Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in the finals, ending their 10-year drought for a national title.