Olympic swimming icon Adam Peaty stars on cowl of Men’s Health UK

Adam Peaty graces the cover of the next edition of Men’s Health UK ahead of the Paris Olympics – and admits he was ‘within a hair of giving it all up’ during his depression. 

The three-time Olympic gold medallist stars in a range of snaps with his range of accolades and tattoos across his body.

In a new interview he opens up on his battle with depression and burnout, where he found answers in his lowest moments, and his refreshed approach to life – in and out of the pool.

Peaty captured the hearts of the nation earlier this year when he revealed how he had endured ‘three years of hell’.

That period of intense trial came amid battles with depression and alcoholism and splitting with his girlfriend. 

Peaty booked his place at Paris after winning the British 100m men’s breaststroke title with his quickest time since 2021. 

Opening up on his challenges, he told Men’s Health UK: ‘I got to a place where I didn’t want to look at a pool. It took me a long time to get over that period…It was only last year that I started to face what I’d been going through in a healthy manner. 

‘The answers can’t be found in a nightclub, or some of the stuff that I’d been doing. It had to be found in true accountability, tough and deep conversations with people around me. 

‘It requires so much maturity to face yourself in the mirror and admit that your behaviour is not acceptable. 

‘I was within a hair of giving it all up. What was I going back for? Pride? It took a while to find the answer. But I wanted to teach [my son] George and any other children I have in future that you don’t give up when things get hard or the world feels like it’s against you. 

‘You give up when the time is right. I can take losses, but I couldn’t take regret. Regret would eat any man inside out.’ 

His comeback marks a remarkable turnaround as he admitted in April that he ‘didn’t want to see a pool again’ after being ‘broken’ by the sport, turning to drinking and partying as an escape.

In 2022 his three-year relationship with Eirianedd Munro ended after he appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing – as did his eight-year unbeaten streak in the pool, and he took a mental health break after the Commonwealth Games.

Add a broken foot and a facial gash after a bust-up with a team-mate you see how Peaty, who is now dating Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly, went through an ordeal. 

He said: ‘I think something, or someone, or God was telling me to slow down. I think that injury was a sign to stop. I was meant to recalibrate my life, but being the person I am, I nailed it even harder. 

‘I was in the gym longer than I was in the pool. It was bonkers. I burned out in March last year. I had no answers to what I was trying to find. I’d have to change my whole life if I had any aspirations to qualify for the Olympics again.” 

He previously told Mail Sport how his Christian faith and going to church had improved his mental health.

And Jesus Christ is at the centre of Peaty’s cover image, as he wears a crucifix around his neck and shows his tattoo of the cross just below his chest, with the words beneath reading:’Into the light’.

‘I’ve learned to appreciate the moments of greatness for myself,’ he said after qualifying for the Olympics with a time of 57.94 seconds.

‘For me, that was a great swim, executed well – but the most promising thing is that I’m finding peace in the water now, instead of anger and just fighting it, and trying to win like that.

‘I’m finding a new version of myself which I’m really liking, and I think that’s a version that can do really well at the Olympics.

‘This is a real win for my team, my family and myself. We have come through the past three years of hell.

‘I didn’t want to see a pool again. The sport had broken me. I didn’t know what route to go down and so many things got in my way. But now I am waking up each day and enjoying my job. Who knows what the ending is going to be but I am having fun along the way. It may not end up as a fairytale, but it might.’

After being named in the squad for Paris 2024, he said: ‘It [depression] is like a meter, you are constantly in check, and that can lead to a very lonely path because it pushes everyone else away.

‘I am definitely a man of faith.

‘It was not really until I went back to church when I was burning out that there was a community that was there no matter what, but also a community from all walks of life, from all parts of the earth.

‘I was like it puts it a lot more into perspective and I actually feel at home here, there are not many places on earth where I feel at home, feel warm and feel welcome, understand not only to be a better athlete, but a better person, a better father, a better partner, a better friend or family. 

‘That’s what it is about now for me.’

‘The full interview and video are available to Men’s Health Squad members now on the MH app, or read it in the magazine from 25th June.’