Gymnast McKayla Maroney Opens Up About Not Wanting To Live
By Whitney Vasquez on March 9, 2021 at 6:05 AM EST
Gymnast McKayla Maroney is an open book with her fans. The 25-year-old Olympian has shared stories about her mental health struggle in the past but she's never opened up like this. Just weeks after her hospitalization, the gold medalist took to her social media and got candid about a dark time in her life that got so rough she
did not want to be alive at times.
McKayla Maroney presented the serious conversation in an Instagram post on Tuesday, March 9 while discussing her problems with acne.
The former "Final Five" team member is used to being in the spotlight but years ago, she was struggling with the pressure of facing the public while having major breakouts. This, along with several other things, caused her mental state to get so low that she "just felt so stuck," to the point where "I wanted out."
Dropping several current photos showing the progress she's made with her mental health and skin, McKayla Maroney glowed while catching the sunshine in several close-up car selfies. Scroll to keep reading.
Sparkling from the inside out, it's clear to anyone who comes across the pictures that McKayla Maroney has done a complete 180 from those darker days. The Olympian did not hide the acne shots from her fans. She included those too and discussed her mental health growth.
"I was really not doing well at that time, so I was also kind of a mess in general," she captioned the selfies while revealing she'd take pictures of her skin constantly. "I will be honest though, that time of my life was pretty dark." Keep scrolling to read her message.
Getting real with her followers, McKayla Maroney dropped the bombshell. "I was not wanting to be alive sometimes just because things felt so bad. In the thick of it I didn’t see how things could turn around for me. I was seriously struggling with my health, mental health, my skin, my personal life."
Turning her focus on those who are struggling, McKayla Maroney reminded them "don’t give up on yourself ever. Things take time." The star credits persistence to her mental health change, adding that her new life is "a miracle."
