Max George was hospitalised due to severe depression after The Wanted broke up

The Wanted’s Max George revealed he suffered from debilitating depression after his band The Wanted went on an indefinite hiatus back in 2014.

The 32-year-old admitted he had brain scans in hospital because he became so unwell- but had no clue his physical symptoms were about by mental illness.  

Talking to Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle on their Private Parts podcast, Max said: ‘I had a three month period in my life where I couldn’t leave my apartment without being sick. 

‘My head was spinning. I couldn’t walk. So I ended up in hsopital having scans on my brain and it was all down to being depressed.’

Max was devastated when The Wanted ended due to what Max calls a ‘bust up’ at the record label, but said he moved to LA very soon after and immediately got a part as Clint in Glee. 

He had only meant to get a part in one episode but couldn’t believe his luck when he got to star in a whole series. 

But when that came to an end, things came crashing down. 

Max said: ‘There wasn’t anything specific, I felt like I was in a rut about what to do next, but I felt lucky, I have a great family, I got Glee and moved to LA… 

‘But nothing worked. The doctors put me on stuff [medication] over there. It helped – but I came off it because I didn’t want to take something for six, seven or eight months and not be fine without it.

‘I remember, the first morning it happened. I woke up and had felt fine the day before. My jaw seized up. I thought I had done something in my sleep. 

‘But the next day it was the same and my doctor said there was nothing wrong with it. So I started thinking there must be something wrong in my head.   

‘I came home for Christmas and got more opinions from doctors, brain scans. Nothing showed up, so they agreed it must be anxiety, depression. 

He continued: ‘I couldn’t do any exercise without being sick. Then three or four months into it, I woke up and my head was completely clear. 

‘I couldn’t believe it had gone. I cried to myself because I felt like me again and I felt like I could go back to living my life.’ 

Max said his illness must have been a reaction to what had been going on in his life, which he hadn’t yet processed. 

He said: ‘I must have been down about The Wanted. But I didn’t have time to think about it. Then Glee ended so I had to process that and the two collided. 

‘I didn’t understand what was causing it or what was wrong. How can I do something about something when I don’t know what it is?

‘I was a heavy drinker, so I stopped drinking. Stopped drinking coffee, but nothing worked. I still get episodes where I feel anxious but I deal with it better now.

‘Stace [Giggs, his girlfriend], knows it. It happens physically with me. I get red hives on my back.’

Max said he’s in a much better place now, saying: ‘So many things have made me happy for a long time.

‘Family, being comfortable within yourself. You have to know your limit. Looking back, I wrecked myself for quite a long time. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t have a beer in my hand. So don’t overdo it.’  

The Wanted enjoyed fast success – ten top ten singles in three years, a top single in America, their song, Glad You Came was even covered on Glee.

Max said the band had ‘become his life.’

He said: ‘I was so in love with being in the band. I became aloof and was so focused on it. Plus, I was drinking every day and touring. That’s all you do.

‘To have that taken away was like an addiction – cold turkey.’   

Listen to the full podcast hereL https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/private-parts/