When it comes to hismental health struggles,America’s Got TalentjudgeHowie Mandelhas a lot in common with his daughter Jackie Shultz.
For Shultz — who is mom to Abbey, 6, and Axel, 5, with husband Alex, and like Mandel struggles with an intense fear of germs and getting sick — the pandemic only exacerbated existing issues.
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“It was really, really hard,” she recalls. “My anxiety sometimes leads to depression. I went through the extreme and I just locked myself in.”
Continues Shultz: “I’ve been isolated and scared for a year and a half and now that things are starting to open back up, I’m really not at the same place that most people are. I’m working with a therapist to get back out into the world.”
Howie Mandel.Shayan Asgharnia
Still, having a father who understands what she’s going through is “helpful,” says Shultz. Diagnosed in his 40s, Mandel opened up about his mental health issues in 2006.
“My dad is very open about going to therapy and erasing the stigma,” says Shultz. “Whenever I was upset or sad or having a bad day, I knew I could reach out.”
RELATED VIDEO: Howie Mandel on How His Family Gets Him Through Mental Health Struggles: ‘That’s the Sunshine Worth This Pain’
But things weren’t always ideal in their relationship.
“As a teenager, [our issues] kind of ripped us apart,” says Mandel, who was so fearful of germs in the house that he had a guest house built to stay in in case a family member was sick.
Shayan Asgharnia
Says Shultz: “There were a lot of control issues about me being safe, like, where was I, what did I get into, what did I touch? He was strict. And there was a lot of hovering. We had trouble getting along in those times.”
Howie Mandel and daughter Jackie.Howie Mandel/Twitter
Now, happily, “we couldn’t be closer,” says Mandel. In fact, he and Shultz host a podcast,Howie Mandel Does Stuff, launched during the pandemic.
Listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Dayfor more on PEOPLE’s interview with Howie Mandel and his daughter Jackie Shultz.
source: people.com
