Kirsty Gallacher's brother-in-law Russell Brand has been a "pillar of support".
Kirsty Gallacher
The 44-year-old TV presenter admitted that she struggled to cope following the death of her father Bernard in 2013 and the breakdown of her marriage to Paul Sampson in 2014 and says Russell - who married her sister Laura in 2017 - has been a tower of strength.
She told Closer magazine: "One of the reasons I left Sky Sports was because I wanted to be more creative and more in control of my work. Russell has been a pillar of support. He gave me some encouraging words of motivation to follow my dreams and focus on what I wanted. At first, I didn't listen but then I took the leap of faith and it made me happy.
"And now I obviously say to him 'you were right' because I'm in a good place now after a very difficult journey. You can hit rock bottom like I did and then turn things around for the better."
Kirsty also revealed she still turns to Russell for advice.
She said: "Russell always gives me such great advice. He said to me 'You just need to be on your own for a while. And I didn't listen to him and that point and I just went 'Oh I'm not sure I do'. But he was right."
And Kirsty admitted she found it difficult to be separated from her sons Oscar, 13, and Jude, 10, while she battled Covid-19.
She said: "When I got Covid in March, I was very unwell. I literally had a month of hell with hot sweats and chills, palpitations, loss of taste and sickness. It was very frightening.
"And for me, the hardest thing about the pandemic has been the loneliness. I've been on an emotional journey but I feel I've come out stronger than ever.
"My kids are my whole world and to not have them with me when I felt so unwell was horrendous. It was such a hard time for me mentally and physically. I kept worrying if they were OK."
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