Barry Du Bois, the TV personality known for his role in the show Living Room, recently opened up about the challenges and hardships he has faced in his life. In a candid podcast conversation with Georgia May, Du Bois shared his experiences with depression, grief, and the difficulties he and his partner Leonie encountered while trying to conceive over a span of ten years. This journey included multiple miscarriages and a shocking cancer diagnosis.
Despite achieving financial success and security in his mid-40s, Du Bois revealed that his depression was spiraling out of control due to various family tragedies. He became emotional when discussing his idyllic childhood and the loss of his mother to cancer. At the time of his mother’s diagnosis, Du Bois had a successful building and renovating company, was confident, and had a strong belief in his abilities. However, he struggled with the stress and anxiety that arose from events beyond his control, such as his mother’s illness.
Du Bois expressed his sense of responsibility for the things going wrong in his life, particularly the personal difficulties within his extended family. The pain of witnessing his mother suffer from cancer deeply affected him, as it became intertwined with his memories of her last decade. He reflected on how cruel life could be to someone so perfect.
During this challenging time, Du Bois found himself becoming increasingly emotionally entangled. He felt responsible for the inability to fix these painful situations and blamed himself for the suffering of his loved ones. These feelings intensified when his wife experienced multiple miscarriages before undergoing IVF, which also resulted in 12 additional miscarriages and the discovery of cancerous cells on her cervix.
The emotional burden created by these experiences took a toll on Du Bois’ mental health. He found himself descending into a dark tunnel where he believed his loved ones would be better off without him. Despite achieving financial success, he felt an overwhelming sadness while sitting in a luxurious penthouse and driving a sports car.
In an attempt to escape his emotional turmoil, Du Bois decided to liquidate his assets, retire, and sail around the world on a yacht. However, his wife Leonie refused to let him embark on this journey alone. She reassured him of her determination to have a child with him through surrogacy, and they welcomed twins, Bennett and Arabella, in 2012.
Unfortunately, Du Bois’ rollercoaster of a life didn’t end there. He was diagnosed with cancer two years prior to the birth of his children, and it went into remission before resurfacing in 2017. Du Bois, now 62 years old, recently shared that his cancer, a highly aggressive form called plasmacytoma myeloma, is not considered curable.
Despite the hardships he has faced, Du Bois has learned to be resilient and hopes that by sharing his emotional journey, he can help others going through tough times. He believes the purpose of life is to fulfill oneself and inspire others to love and share, creating a better world for future generations.