‘I’m struggling’: Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm reveals parenting ‘breakdown’

Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm has taken to TikTok to plead for help from fellow mums after she confessed she was on the verge of a “mental breakdown”.

The swimmer has been open about the challenges and joys of motherhood before, and has now shared some struggles she is facing with her son’s poor sleep.

“If you are a mum, I need your help,” Seebohm said in the video.

The retired gold medallist admitted she was “struggling” with her young son Sampson not sleeping through the night.

“I have never had problems with Sampson’s sleep,” Seebohm said.

“He had always been a great sleeper. But recently he has decided to not be a great sleeper.”

In what many parents would relate to, she said her young son — who she co-parents with former partner and reality star from Married At First Sight Ryan Gallagher — would only sleep if she was lying beside him.

“I’m just really struggling and I’m literally going to have mental breakdowns,” she said.

“I need some me time and he needs to sleep.”

She said her son was also refusing daytime naps and sometimes would not sleep before 9pm at night.

Lengthy comments of advice were posted in response, including from a sleep consultant on effective methods to get a fussy baby to bed and a fellow mum sharing her own experiences.

In a follow-up post, Seebohm shared a heartwarming video of Sampson discovering his very own “big boy room” for the first time.

Seebohm and Gallagher shared the news of Sampson’s birth in September 2023, just a few months after sharing news of their engagement.

Their split was announced in November last year, with the two co-parenting their son.