The 'X Factor' alum feels the need to confront his father and mother about their decision to give him up as a child and how it caused him decades of 'trauma.'
- Nov 8, 2022
AceShowbiz - James Arthur told his parents how being put into foster care caused him decades of "trauma." Filming a new documentary "James Arthur: Out of Our Minds", which will air on BBC Three on November 13, the singer, 34, delves into the impact of his mum and dad's decision to give him up as a child.
His depression and anxiety grew so crippling that he struggled to leave his bedsit and he ended up feeling suicidal after he left foster care and found fame.
James told The Sun about his upcoming documentary, "I decided that to tackle my mental health issues. I had to start by going back to my hometown to revisit my past, and the separation from my parents."
But he added about speaking to his parents, "We've not gone there fully. I need to talk to my dad. With mum, I don't know if I've ever got closure from her - to hear her say 'sorry' without hearing a 'but….' "
The former "X Factor" winner added he has "felt a lot of resentment" towards his mum and dad and did his best to keep them away. But he has now moved back to his hometown of Redcar in North Yorkshire after feeling "isolated" living in southern England.
James added to The Sun he hopes the move allows him to feel closer to "who he is" as he will be surrounded by people who knew the "weird little ADHD kid" he was.
The singer's mum Shirley split from his delivery driver dad Neil when James was aged two and both remarried new partners the following year. After Shirley's partner and James' stepdad Ronnie Rafferty "disappeared," it left her raising four children alone and, a year later at an emergency social worker meeting, his parents admitted they couldn't cope and, aged 14, James was sent to live with a foster family.
James' life of living in a bedsit in his 20s on antidepressants changed when he appeared on "The X Factor". But after topping the charts, James was embroiled in controversy over a homophobic slur on Twitter and was dropped by Simon Cowell's Syco label in 2014, yet two years later James managed to resurrect his career, resigning with SyCo and mounting a charts comeback.
