EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa reveals secret health battle and says she’s had therapy for 14 years

EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa has revealed that she has been battling anxiety and has been in therapy since she was just 17 years old.

The 31 year old actress, who returned to the BBC soap earlier this year after taking a five year break, has praised therapy for helping her get through tough situations in her life. In a recent interview, she said: “I’ve had it since I was 17. You want someone to talk to . . . so I’ve always been really open to it and it’s always been part of my life. I dip in and out of it whenever I need to.”

The mum of two who plays Lauren Branning, left Albert Square and relocated to Paris to stay with her cousin Penny, who is Jack’s daughter. But after pining for her ex Peter Beale, who she has a son with, Lauren decides to fly back to the UK but is arrested in a shock drug twist.

Speaking to The Sun, Jacqueline, who is married to former TOWIE star Dan Osborne, added: “I get anxiety. Sometimes I’ll be in my bath and think, ‘Isn’t it crazy that I’m in a bath, in a bathroom, in a house, on a street, in a town, in a city, in a country, with water around me then I’m on a planet and then I’m in a galaxy.”

She continued: ” I worry about whether I said the wrong thing to blah blah this morning. That’s probably not even thought of in their head. You worry about things that probably don’t even exist in the real world. And I realise that I’m just a dot on this planet and there’s so much more and that always brings me back down. It just makes me think, ‘This too shall pass, you’re going to be OK’. That really helps me. Because I feel like we’re the main characters of our life and our story but we’re not the main characters in the world. We’re not in a movie.”

During her time playing Lauren, Jacqueline has been involved in a few heavy storylines. One of which was her addiction to alcohol which saw her nearly die from alcohol poisoning. Speaking of her return to EastEnders, Jacqueline said: “It’s strange because being back at EastEnders feels exactly the same and really different all at once! It’s amazing to be back, and personally, it’s been the perfect time for me to return.”

And she told the Mailonline: I’ve loved every minute so far, and it feels like coming home. What’s different is that there’s a whole new Square set, as it’s been rebuilt since I worked here before, and there are a bunch of new people to get to know.”

She added: “I feel like I’ve bonded with them already, and it’s only been a little while, but it’s amazing how quickly you feel like family with people here.” And opening up on her character’s relationship with Peter Beale, who is the father of her son Louis, she explained: “They are co-parents, and they have a son together, so the relationship is amicable. I think there is a lot of love there, and I don’t think Lauren will ever lose that because Peter is her first love.”