Happy Place
Chloe Kelly: “I was riddled with anxiety!” My experience with hair loss and panic attacks
15 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, a huge welcome to Happy Place with me, Fern Cotton. This is the show that doesn't need you to keep putting on a brave face. Today I'm chatting to Chloe Kelly.
I went to see a specialist and she was amazing and she told me that I had alopecia. That was a tough time because you care about your appearance a lot. You care about, yeah, when I step onto the pitch, how I look. And I remember my first game at Arsenal in the morning of the game, trying to cover my bald patches on either side of my head.
And I was like, wow, I'm out of an environment where it's made me feel so low. But now I can see how it did affect me. And yeah, it wasn't a nice place.
Guys, as we are approaching Christmas, I am starting to run out of steam and wind down like an old dying battery.
Chapter 2: What challenges did Chloe Kelly face with anxiety and hair loss?
That's where I'm at. But quite happily, I weirdly love all of this time of year. You know, like some people go, oh, I'd love to go to the Caribbean or something like that. You couldn't pay me to go away right now. I love it getting dark at four, bring it on. I mean, if I can, the pyjamas are going on at five past. I love the excuse to sort of do nothing when it gets dark and just hibernate a bit.
I am so here for it. And also because I'm a Virgo, I did all my Christmas shopping in November, like an absolute nerd. So I'm just sort of I'm chilling. I'm not chilling because I'm also working and I've got children. But you know what I'm saying? Like the pressure seems to be dwindling. And I like that feeling.
I am ready to bring out the mulled wine and the multi box of chocolates and just guilt free get stuck in to all of it. and watch Home Alone, which is the only must. It's a non-negotiable. I'll try and squeeze in the holiday too. But Home Alone 1, if I haven't seen that by around this time, there's something seriously wrong. So that's where my head's at.
Chapter 3: How did Chloe's environment impact her mental health?
And that's where I shall meet you today for this gorgeous episode of the podcast. This is a big one, guys. There's some exclusive stuff. In this chat that I feel like, again, you know I love doing this podcast, but I feel honoured that our guest today felt like Happy Place was a safe space where she could talk about things that were very, very new to talk about.
So, Chloe, my God, it has been quite a year for her. She had an absolutely huge summer. She really was the woman of the Euros. As I say in this chat, when I watched the Euros this year and also in 2022, I had goosebumps over my whole body watching these extraordinary women achieve unbelievable things on the world stage. And I just felt such a fire in my belly about all of it. And I'm not...
necessarily a football fan, but I will watch the Lionesses and I feel so deeply proud watching them. But there have also been some real lows behind the scenes for her too. In January, she left Man City to go to Arsenal. And from this chat, it sounds like a change in environment is exactly what Chloe needed for her mental health. We talked about just how low she got.
She was losing her hair, having panic attacks, being sick, all really scary stuff. And for a long time, she didn't want to accept how much she was suffering. So there are some really good lessons in here around acknowledging what you're going through and gently starting to galvanise and move through it.
Also, maybe you're someone who's trying to support someone you love for a rough time right now. It was so lovely to hear Chloe talk about the little gestures from her friends and family and husband that made a massive difference to her. All right, here we go. This is the show. door to properly shut. This is only my second podcast. What? Wait, your first one was Jamie Lang? Yeah.
I listened to that one. Before the wedding.
I enjoyed that actually.
It was so good. It's always so interesting to interview lionesses. We've had several of you on now and it's just been the most amazing cultural shift seeing women's football get to its rightful place for people to be talking about it en masse, for it to be mainstream, for young girls everywhere to be inspired in this way.
just it's a beautiful thing yeah it's so special I'm grateful for the position that we're in the ones that came before us to to leave the shirt in a better place for us and now our job is to do the same for the future generations but to be part of special teams is incredible and
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Chapter 4: How did Chloe cope with panic attacks and anxiety?
The finishers group, as you call it, the ones that weren't starting the games, we had a really good group of we'd go out and train and work hard and we'd enjoy that competitive side so that when we can go on the pitch, we're all ready, we're all ready for a moment. So I think that was really important throughout the tournament is just staying ready for a moment that you're called upon and
We are all able to do that as the finishers. And I think every tournament, that's what Serena's able to do, get the finishers to be in a really good place when the moment is called upon for them to do so.
Yeah, well, it's got to be enjoyable and there's got to be switch-off moments. Otherwise, you would quite literally go mad or you would burn out. You can't sustain that. I mean, you would then sort of straight into the next Euro competition afterwards in 2025 again. We all know that you won that again. And it was just the most incredible moment to see that happen.
We had Serena on the podcast again, maybe a few years ago now. And she seems to lead in a very specific way that just works. And it really works for you as a group. And it seems to be that her directness really helps and really works. But also the communication behind the scenes is really, really important. How have you found that dynamic?
Yeah, an incredible coach. You can learn so much from Serena in terms of what she's achieved in her career, managerial career, previously coming to the England team, but also the staff members around her.
We have so many great staff members that people probably don't see that background work that goes in, but the directness of her, knowing your role, being able to play that role to the best of your ability and I think that can change during tournaments. So it's knowing that. And I think that directness of knowing exactly what your job is to do. This is your strengths. This is what we can work on.
And I think that's how, yeah, she gets the best out in the players. But especially me, just knowing that role is to do this. And when you come on, this is...
and that can change so knowing that yeah you're hungry for that but I accept my role and I'll do that to the best of my ability but I think Serena's a coach where you can pick up the phone and give her a call and and have a chat but also she's someone that will be very direct and not just tell you what you want to hear but tell you what you need to hear so I think as a coach that I've really enjoyed working under and she's been successful so I think she's yeah incredible manager.
yeah you don't want people skirting around a big issue when it needs to be brought up or some a truth that needs to be told in an environment like this you need to cut to the chase I'm imagining and just know the thing yeah exactly in tournament football especially but I think she knows how to get the best out of her players and you can see we all just enjoy playing under her and it's a good group of girls that they're incredible I spend a lot of time in my room to be honest because I like to switch off away from football I FaceTime home I FaceTime my family and
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Chapter 5: What role did changing environments play in Chloe's recovery?
Yeah, it's so brilliant.
Yeah.
Was she instrumental in getting your confidence back? Because certainly after you've had a big injury, like an ACL injury, and you haven't played for a while, I'm imagining you lose confidence to some extent. You know you can play. You know you're an international elite athlete. That is in your bones.
Chapter 6: What steps did Chloe take to address her anxiety?
But of course, when you've had time out or you're recovering... You're going back to square one in terms of levels of fitness perhaps or even integrating back into a team when you haven't played for a while. How was that sort of cultivating your confidence and getting it back on track?
Honestly, I'd never played under Serena pre-injury. So she came in when I got injured. So I'd never played under her going into the summer. So selecting me for the tournament and selecting me in the pre-camps leading up to it gave me confidence because I'm like, okay, she believes in me. She believes in what I did previously to my injury.
And she believes that if I'm able to do that, then I'm in a good place. So Just being selected gave me confidence and then on out I was able to learn from others in training, get fitter, get stronger throughout the summer and I think that's allowed me to just improve as the tournament went on because I had more training in my legs. I think my first game back in the team was April at City and
So it was, I didn't have a lot of game time before the tournament. So it wasn't a point of trying to get confidence in games. I think my confidence came from just a selection. And then throughout the tournament, learning and being around your teammates gives you confidence. But also I think the competitive side when you're in tournament is my first major tournament that I'd been at. It was like,
no, I really want to do my best for the team. And you're representing your country at home, Euros. You just want to do everything you can possible to win. So I think I was just a sponge. I remember sitting down with Jill and Demi and just trying to learn as much as we could, me and Lauren Hemp, and asking questions of Jill's first tournament, Demi's first tournament.
And I think that was a real learning for us. We're learning as we go because it was our first tournament for the likes of me and Lauren Hemp.
Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, when you're playing football or indeed any sport at this level, of course, there are massive highs and massive lows.
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Chapter 7: How did Chloe's family and friends support her during tough times?
That goes with the territory. I'm pretty sure every sports person out there will have experienced both. It's just a given. And so much of it is mental. Like we can focus on the physical aspects and everything. how you train and how your body will respond to that and how often you're playing.
But actually the mental side of it is a whole other bag of onions and something that I guess, again, dependent on the team around you, the manager, how you deal with the mental health side of it is going to be a bespoke situation depending on what you're going through and what you're feeling. And you've been pretty open about the downs and the times that you have struggled mentally.
Where are you at now mental health wise?
I'm feeling in a good place. I'm really happy. January was obviously a real turning point for me, coming back to London, coming back home to my family where I grew up and coming back to a club that I love in Arsenal. I'm forever grateful for the club. I'm forever grateful for Rene Slagers and giving me an opportunity to find happiness. But
I'll be honest, I was in a really dark place and I was for a while, to be honest. I think January was a turning point for me. But yeah, I struggled a lot and I was riddled with anxiety. I didn't really want to go out a lot at any opportunity. I'd be like, Scott, can you even go to the shops, go to Tesco? So I think that was tough for me. And seeing myself, because I think I'm quite outgoing and
and things like that but i think that's when you come away from sport and you're like this is affecting my mental health a game that i love so much but actually it's affecting me in in so many other ways that's when you're like wow like i need to focus on myself here and being able to speak up in january and and be able to come back to london and find happiness i think
For me, it was about to take a step away from the game that makes me so happy. But you look after your body, you look after your legs when you recover from training. But actually, that was fine. It was my head that was struggling. I was struggling mentally. So yeah, to take a step away from the game was what I needed. But it wasn't that.
It was I needed to take a step out of an environment and go to an environment which made me happy. So yeah. For sure, I feel in a good place now, but I'll never forget the times where I did struggle and to struggle, I think it made me realise how good the highs felt as well.
So you appreciate them a lot more and the summer and the Champions League win, I think that allowed me to enjoy even more because I know how much mentally it took to get to that point and the people around me that got me out of that and
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