Davina McCall became emotional as she shared a deeply personal story on how a simple parenting mistake triggered painful memories from her childhood when she was abandoned by her own mother.
The 58-year-old TV presenter, who has been open about her past struggles, admitted that she had been an hour late to pick up her youngest daughter, Tilly, from nursery. This seemingly small error brought back memories of her own abandonment, causing her to break down. Speaking on therapist and best-selling author Marisa Peer’s podcast Your Mind, Your Rules, Davina recounted how she had arrived to find that Tilly had already been taken home by another parent.
“I went to pick her up at 12pm, but it had already finished at 11am,” Davina said. “The nursery teacher said, ‘Oh, Nicola picked her up.’” Overwhelmed, Davina sat in the car and started crying, unable to see clearly enough to drive. She explained how she ended up at Nicola’s house, desperately asking if Tilly was okay, even though Nicola reassured her that the little girl was happily playing in the garden.
Marisa Peer, a world-renowned therapist, explained that the feelings Davina experienced were linked to childhood trauma. “She was fine because she wasn’t you, she wasn’t abandoned by her mother, but you felt it because you had felt it,” Marisa explained, emphasizing how children often internalize the belief that abandonment is their fault. This sense of self-blame can carry on into adulthood, shaping their relationships and emotional well-being.
Davina’s emotional journey didn’t end with her recent podcast appearance. She shared that growing up, she had been told her mother, Florence, was going skiing, but she never returned. “I was never 100% sure that I was going to get collected from the airport,” Davina recalled. “My mum wouldn’t be there. And then there would be phone calls…and then there would be somebody coming.”
The trauma of being left behind at such a young age shaped Davina’s self-esteem for years, leading her to struggle with feelings of emptiness. This emotional void, which she later referred to as her “colander,” eventually contributed to her heroin addiction in her early 20s. “When I was high, I’d feel safe. And then it would trickle out,” she explained.
Her healing journey was slow but transformative. She recounted how, during her recovery, her sponsor gave her a small mirror and encouraged her to say “I love you” to herself each night. “I picked it up and looked at myself. I burst into tears,” she shared, revealing that it took a month of repetition before she could say, “I like you.” It wasn’t until years later that she could say “I love you” to herself unconditionally.
Davina’s emotional reflection on her struggles and recovery has resonated deeply with her fans, showing the long road to self-love and healing after deep-rooted childhood trauma.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
