Mutya Buena says she felt ‘embarrassed’ to be suffering from postnatal depression while in the Sugababes

Mutya Buena has revealed that suffering with depression, after becoming a mother made her feel “embarrassed”.

The singer, 37, from London, explained how the fame of being part of the ‘Sugababes’, which was one of the UK’s biggest girl groups in 2011 impacted her mental health.

She told the BBC Sounds ‘When I was 25’ podcast that she struggled with her body image and remembers being called “crazy fat” and “ugly”.

Mutya said she began to feel even worse, when she fell pregnant with her now 17-year-old daughter, Tahlia-Maya Buena.

“I just didn’t feel good. On top of that, having baby blues with the girls, it didn’t make me feel good. I felt like I had this baby belly. I felt crazy fat,” Mutya said.

“I didn’t feel like my normal self”.

Mutya believes that women need time to pull themselves together after having a baby, but she didn’t get to have that.

Her daughter Tahlia was born in March 2005, just seven months before the band released their fourth album ‘Taller in More Ways’. It reached number one and went double platinum in the UK.

She announced two months later that she would be leaving the group due to “personal reasons” and went on to reveal that she was suffering from postnatal depression.

Postnatal depression is a common type of depression that some parents experience after having a baby.

Mutya admitted that dealing with motherhood and being in a hugely successful pop group, while trying to hide her depression made her feel “really emotional”.

She said at the time it was “taboo” because mental health wasn’t publicly recognised, like it is today.

Mutya said: “Suffering with depression was the hardest because you have to then own up to what you’re going through.

“For ages, it felt embarrassing. You don’t tell people you have depression because then they look at you different. Talking about it makes you look crazy.”

The singer revealed that she would sit in the dark with her curtains closed all day, before deciding she needed to do better for her daughter and herself.

She added that she has learnt how to pull herself out.

In June, the original Sugababes members, Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keish Buchanan announced that a 17-date tour would be happening later this autumn. It will be the first time the band plays on a tour in over two decades.

In 2021, they re-released their original debut album One Touch with plans of new music coming.

If you are suffering from mental health issues, there is support available. Here are organisations that you can contact for help: mind.org.ukSamaritans.org.

Mutya Buena

Singer

Mutya Buena was born in Kingsbury, London and attended Kingsbury High School. She knew at a young age that she wanted to be a singer.

Her father was Filipino with partial Spanish descent and her mother was of English and Irish descent.

In 1998, she would go on to form Sugababes alongside original members Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan.

In 2000, they released their debut album One Touch. It reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart eventually earning a gold certification.

Three songs in the album reached top 20 and the song ‘Overload’ was nominated for a BRIT award for “Best British Single”. However, the group didn’t reach expectations of London Records and was dropped.

Their next album in 2002, Angels with Dirty Faces reached number two and went triple platinum.

• Age: 37
• Born: May 21st 1985 in London
• Lives: A house in London
• Relationship: Single
• Wealth: Estimated net worth of $8 million

Connections

Siobhan Donaghy

Siobhan, 38, was a British singer and songwriter for the Sugababes and worked very closely with Mutya Buena when she was part of the band.

She was a founding member of the band, but left in 2001 to release her debut solo album Revolution In Me.

In 2012, the trio confirmed a reunion was happening but couldn’t release under the same name due to legal issues with the management company.

It took seven years for them to finally be able to legally own Sugababes.

Keisha Buchanan

The 37-year-old was a British singer and founding member of Sugababes, alongside Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy.

In 2009, Buchanan left the group but not by choice. It was believed that former founding members of Sugababes had forced her to leave, after rumours of catfights and disagreements had been happening off-stage.

It later came to light that the two had no involvement in Keisha’s removal, sparking rumours that management was responsible for the change.

She was replaced by former-Eurovision entrant Jade Ewen.

Keisha returned in 2012 for the band’s reunion.

Jay Barrymore

British Actor Jay Barrymore and Mutya were dating from 2003 and 2005.

He is famous for his role in ‘Have Your Cake and Eat it (1997)’.

Not much is known about Jay Barrymore’s and Mutya Buena’s relationship other than the two had a daughter, Tahlia who was born on March 23rd 2005.