At 36, Laure Manaudou is the proud mother of three children. His eldest of 12 years, Manon was born from his relationship with the swimmer Frédérick Bousquet. After having rebuilt her life with the singer Jérémy Frérot, Laure Manaudou then gave birth to two other children. If Lou was born in 2017, his little brother was born in January 2021 but we do not know his first name which has never been revealed.
Very discreet about her private life and her role as a mother, the former sportswoman has just made unexpected revelations about the postpartum depression that affected her after the birth of her third baby. “I felt overwhelmed, suffocated. It was too much actually. It was oppressive” she confessed during an interview with Brut, relayed on Instagram. “I realized that it was much more difficult for the last, and I didn’t know how to manage like the first two”.
The one who has always had a mind of steel, notably forged thanks to her career as a swimming champion, had a hard time realizing that she was suffering from depression. I did not understand myself. As an athlete I’m supposed to be tough. And for me in my life it was: I will be strong in everything“she explained. “I was tired, I was upset. I felt like I didn’t know how to take care of my son, when it wasn’t the first, but the third. […] I realized that I was not well, I saw everything in black, it took up all the space and I was negative, whereas at the base I am not like that”.
In total lack of sleep, the mother of the family ended up cracking up: “I was yelling at my husband at night when I’m very calm and not yelling. […] And there were a lot of tears because there was misunderstanding, nervous fatigue and it was: ‘but why is this happening to me?'”.
Laure Manaudou facing the taboo of depression
The former champion admits that she did not dare to discuss it: “I did like everyone else, I didn’t call anyone. […] I don’t even know if I told my husband, because for me it was ‘I’m strong, I’ll do it on my own’. But in any case it was really not wanted not to warn anyone. We don’t dare ask and we may also take time to realize that it’s a real depression because we’re constantly being bombarded with the baby blues. But the baby blues don’t last more than ten days.”
“It is not possible that so many women are in depression like that and that they are not helped, it is not possible. […] When we give birth we are told that it will be cool, it will be beautiful, that there will be breastfeeding or bottle feeding, which we have the right to choose. But we are not told about our changing body, the kilos that may remain, mood, fatigue. All this physical and hormonal change is a tsunami!” she added.
ES