"After Vanessa lost Kobe Bryant, I was like 'Can we please help you?'" - When Michael Phelps' wife was concerned about losing swimmer to depression

Michael Phelps' wife Nicole once revealed that after basketball legend Kobe Bryant lost his life in a helicopter crash, she began highly concerned about the swimmer's mental health struggles. The 23-time Olympic gold medal winner has struggled with depression since his first retirement following the 2012 Olympics.

Phelps was the most decorated Olympian in history when he announced his retirement following the 2012 London Games. However, the American swimmer struggled with depression in the following years and faced a DUI arrest in 2014.

The 39-year-old hadn't left his home for several days during that year and had begun experiencing suicidal thoughts. While the DUI arrest sparked his road to recovery, and he returned for a final appearance at the 2016 Olympics, the mental health struggles, although less severe, continued for him.

Phelps' wife, Nicole was supportive of him during the period. However, when Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a tragic crash in 2020 outside Los Angeles, she began frightened about what her life would be without the swimmer.

"After Vanessa [Bryant] lost Kobe, all I could do was look at Michael and be like, 'Can we please help you? Because if I lose you, I don't know what I'm gonna do'. Michael is the most amazing father and partner I could have ever asked for," she said in an appearance on Today show in 2021.

She further acknowledged that they were growing together through tough times and called the swimmer "the most incredible human being." Nicole married Phelps in 2016 and the couple shares four sons: Boomer, 8, Beckett, 6, Maverick, 5, and Nico, who was born on January 2024.

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“I am extremely thankful that I did not take my life" - Michael Phelps

The Match 10 - Source: Getty

Michael Phelps faced his worst phase of depression following the 2012 London Olympics when he didn't want to be alive anymore. He began taking drugs and alcohol and later speaking at the annual conference of the Kennedy Forum in 2018, he confessed that he was trying to run from his problems.

“I didn’t want to be in the sport anymore … I didn’t want to be alive anymore," he said (via CNN).

“It would be just me self-medicating myself, basically daily, to try to fix whatever it was that I was trying to run from," Michael Phelps added.

However, Phelps felt better when he began seeking help and talking about his problems. The 39-year-old expressed gratitude for not having taken his life.

"That’s the reason why suicide rates are going up – people are afraid to talk and open up...I am extremely thankful that I did not take my life," he added

The 28-time Olympic medalist now spreads awareness about mental health issues and has helped many people including Olympian Shaun White with their struggles. Phelps said helping save the lives of others was "light years better than winning the Olympic gold medal" for him.