Married At First Sight Australia star Jessika Power reveals ex-boyfriend attempted suicide while on phone to her

Married At First Sight Australia star Jessika Power has revealed her late ex-boyfriend tried to take his own life while on the phone to her and was left in a coma for a week before he died.

The reality star, who is famed for starring on season six of MAFSA down under, opened up about why she feels it’s important to reduce the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and shared her own experience of those close to her.

Speaking on the Private Parts podcast – hosted by Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle – Jess recalled being on the phone to her ex when he attempted suicide.

He later died after spending a week in a coma, with Jess admitting that ‘for a long time’ she blamed herself for his death.

She told Jamie: ‘Obviously for a long time I took a lot of the blame on to myself, but then I realised there were so many more demons in his life for that to happen.’

Jess explained: ‘The worst bit about it was he was in a coma for a week, so he didn’t just pass away. Seeing him, the gel was still in his hair from that night, and then the funeral – I was treated like a widow in a sense because we’d only just broken up.’

Wanting to help others that may have gone through similar or to encourage other men who may be struggling with their mental health to reach out, Jess continued: ‘It was really rough and it was terrible, but it’s why I use all these things things now and my amazing platform to speak about men’s mental health.’

‘It doesn’t make you any less of a man not to be ok, don’t suppress how you feel, seek help,’ she urged others.

It’s a topic that is all too close to home for Jess, as she revealed that her brother, Rhyce Power, has previously tried to take his own life four times.

‘All these people see my brother on a TV show and think he’s so good-looking, he must have everything in the world, he comes across so confident… but he has internal battles as well,’ Jess pointed out, as she shared his story.

‘The hardest thing for me – and I would go to heaven and hell for my brother – but the hardest thing is that he only trusts me, he only comes to me, it’s been like that for a long time,’ she said.

‘I just have to constantly build him up, remind him that it’s ok not to be alright. I’ve been laying in bed sometimes and I’ve had my brother knock on my door… he would lay on me and just cry. I just let him cry.’

Jess added that she’s also keen to highlight how the internet can promote an ‘unrealistic image’ to young women and says she wants her followers to understand that social media isn’t a true reflection of someone.

‘The internet isn’t real… stop trying to achieve this unrealistic image, it’s not real, it doesn’t exist, just be happy,’ Jess said.

Her comments come after she opened up about her own struggle with addiction, following her split from MAFSA co-star Dan Webb.

Jess explained in an interview with Metro.co.uk that trolling she received from starring on the reality series in 2019 took a toll on her mental health.

‘I was at a really low point, I actually got a really bad Xanax addiction. I was drinking a bottle or two of white wine a day on Xanax. It was really bad,’ she said.

‘I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad things. Honestly that was the hardest time I’ve ever been through, and the one time I couldn’t bring myself out of it. It was pretty scary.’

Season six of MAFS Australia saw Jess enter the experiment with Mick Gould, with the pair tying the knot on meeting each other for the first time.

She went on to become one of the series’ most controversial characters, thanks to her dinner party showdowns and her secret affair with Dan, following his late arrival.

Married At First Sight Australia is available to stream via catchup on All 4.

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