Businesswoman Petra Wolsey - wife of the Merchant Hotel boss Bill - has revealed her "terrifying" battle with severe postnatal depression that left her "borderline psychotic" and forced the couple to split for a time.
In an exclusive interview with Northern Woman magazine, the glamorous marketing director of the family's Beannchor hotel group described how she was plunged into profound depression after the birth of her daughter, Caoilinn, five years ago.
"I suffer from depression anyway, but this was the most severe I ever experienced," said Petra (42).
"When Caoilinn was born, it was easily the most terrifying experience of my life. I was getting borderline psychotic, in that I was having hallucinations, things were shivery, very unpleasant. Colours were a bit off, it was very strange.
"I was a lost soul. I felt like a small child dropped into a terrifying adult world, with no tools to cope.
"I was totally out of control."
Petra and Bill have just opened the hip new £4m Bullitt Hotel in Belfast city centre and are one of Northern Ireland's most successful power couples.
But Petra's struggle with depression put tremendous strain on their marriage. "It was very tough for Bill, too," she said. "It took him a while to realise that I was falling apart at the seams and we went our separate ways for a while. It was a crisis but we found our way back to each other."
Petra said it took her 18 months to recover, but admitted that she still struggles with depression, preferring a holistic approach to the condition, rather than medication.
"I'd rather deal with it through healthy nutrition - although I still have my bad habits, believe me - and acupuncture.
"In the back of my head, I have this mindset to put one foot in front of the other, to take one day at a time - or more so, one minute at a time - to get through. It's not a very nice head space to be in but it's workable."
Petra, who met entrepreneur Bill when she began working in one of his bars, is stepmother to his two sons from his first marriage, Conall (32) and Luke (29).
And she revealed that she gets on well with Bill's first wife Linda, who often babysits Caoilinn.
"I adore Linda - she's fab. She's a real character, we're good friends," said Petra.
Petra, who's 20 years younger than Bill, also told Northern Woman that the couple like to unwind by riding their Harley Davidson motorcycles and relaxing at their home in France.
"There's nothing I like better than getting out with him on our motorbikes - I've a Harley Davidson," she said.
"We're fair-weather bikers.
"We just cruise along - no, we don't race each other - and go for an ice-cream on the odd good summer's day."
Meanwhile, Petra is discreet about the VIPs, celebrities and pop stars that have stayed at the Merchant Hotel, located in what was once the Ulster Bank HQ building. But she mentions in passing the "fabulous" Shirley MacLaine, "lovely" Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and also Gabriel Byrne, who said The Merchant is his favourite hotel in the world.
Belfast Telegraph
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