Ruby Barker Shares Mental Health Battle and Hospitalization

Bridgerton star Ruby Barker is sharing her mental health journey in hopes of helping others.

In a video posted to Instagram on May 26, the British actress informed her followers that she’s been in the hospital to focus on her mental health and that she’s “been struggling since Bridgerton.” 

“I am better,” she said. “I’ve been really unwell for a really long time, and I just want to be honest with everybody. I have been struggling. So, I’m in hospital at the minute, and I’m going to get discharged soon and hopefully get to continue with my life.”

Barker, who plays Marina Thompson on the Netflix series, noted she’s going to “take a little bit of a break.” She encouraged any fans struggling with their mental health to seek help.

“Stop being so hard on yourself,” she said. “People used to always tell me not to be so hard on myself, and I never really, really knew what that meant. What does that really mean stop being hard on yourself or to love yourself?….You hear these buzzwords, catchphrases and the world can be such a confusing place. And you’re trying to do you at the same time as having all these existential threats. You know, it is mad out here….And sometimes, you just gotta take a break and you gotta say, ‘I can’t do this right now. I need support.'”