TOWIE star Junaid Ahmed had revealed his secret mental health struggle as he was forced to take drastic action.
In new audio exclusively obtained by The Sun, the ITVBe star reveals he was subject to extensive death threats by trolls online.
Junaid, 28, has been engulfed in various rows on the long-running reality show including with the likes of Harry Derbidge.
However, in a new interview on the Secure The Insecure podcast, the reality star admitted the character that viewers see is not necessarily reflected in his personal life.
He told host Johnny Seifert: "In the past week or so, like, I've been getting death threats like there's no tomorrow, and like... Just abuse and everything.
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"And it's been hard, I am a very happy go lucky type of person, and I do have this very big heart, and I'm just very passionate about my friendships.
"Just take a second to realise that what you're watching is a very, a very small part of me, not my whole character.
"You see different parts of my personality, but you're seeing me at my most vulnerable time, when I'm the most angriest with my friends, I think I've had to come off social media a bit recently, just because it's a lot, like it is a lot."
The star first joined The Only Way Is Essex in 2022 for the 29th instalment of the hit franchise.
But he now admits that he has been forced to take drastic action to protect himself after recent appearances.
"I've had to block over 160 accounts in 24 hours, just because of the amount of abuse that I've been sent," he admitted.
"I understand I put myself out there on the public platform and I understand people are going to have their opinions and people are entitled to their opinions. I put myself on a national TV show."
The star even claimed that he sought mental health counselling with the psychologist over at ITVBe.
"I had like two days where I just stayed indoors all day. I couldn't face going out or anything," Junaid admitted.
He added: "Like, I spoke to the psych as well at TOWIE. And just really overwhelmed with it all. And then I started going out a few days ago."
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