A woman who lost an ex-boyfriend to suicide has launched a men's mental health app - with £20k of her own money. Claire Anstey, now 44, was left devastated after Aaron Kinnaird, 30, took his own life in 2004.
She says it turned her world upside down and, as a way of grieving, she became an advocate for men's mental health. Now, Claire has designed the Wisdom Gym - an app designed to help men with their mental health.
She said: "The suicide rate has been sharply rising all over the world for the last decade. So I gave up my job and made it my mission to create an easy format for men to help them thrive, and keep their mental health in check."
Claire was on the way back from New York when she found out Aaron had died. They'd remained close friends even after they had broken up.
And Claire claims Aaron had just asked her if she wanted to get back together with him. She was waiting to tell him in person that the answer was yes, she says - but sadly never got the chance.
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Claire, from Beckenham, south-east London, was heartbroken and began working with charities to help protect men's mental health. She said: "Hearing about Aaron's suicide crushed me.
"Days before he'd asked if I wanted to get back together, and I never got to tell him 'yes'. He was struggling with the everyday stresses of normal life, for example, work, money and relationships, and in the end, it was all too much for him."
In 2006, Claire got involved with CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, and organised a charity comedy event, called 'Stand Up To Stop Suicide' the next year. Various famous comedians performed at the Clapham Grand, and the event raised over £30,000.
Claire then decided to dedicate her life to improving mental health full-time and quit her job as an ITV presenter in 2015 to retrain in hypnotherapy. She's now fully qualified - and has invested £20,000 of her own money in designing and launching the Wisdom Gym.
The app allows men to access on-demand workouts for mental health based on their feelings. Claire has hired six therapists who can be booked for one-on-one sessions via the app, and users can remain completely anonymous.
She says the concept is to give men a safe, comfortable space to improve their mental health - without being forced to speak out about how they feel. She said: "The approach of telling men to reach out and be vocal about their issues doesn't seem to be working. The suicide rate is still rapidly increasing.
"The Wisdom Gym offers a way for men to get help privately, and anonymously if they prefer. On the app, there are a range of videos that can be accessed on demand, each based on different moods.
"I have employed a group of therapists who created the classes, and are available 24/7 for guidance and advice. I feel like this is a real opportunity to make a dent in this crisis, and I hope The Wisdom Gym can help guys like Arron with their mental health before it's too late."
