RIO FERDINAND ON HOW HE CONFRONTS MENTAL HEALTH

It's OK to be vulnerable. I've had to have open conversations with my kids as my family has been through a lot

- JACKIE ANNETT

As top-flight footballer in a macho world, Rio Ferdinand knew all about hiding his emotions but the TV pundit we see on our screens today is a far cry from the alpha male player who prowled the pitch as a fearless defender for Manchester United and England.

The dad-of-five, who played in three World Cups, now confronts his vulnerabilities head-on - and is keen on getting the message across to his children that it is OK to open up about mental health.

Rio, who acted as a mum and dad to three of his children after his wife Rebecca Ellison died of breast cancer at just 34, has hit amazing heights and plunged the depths of despair as he loved, lost, grieved and found love again.

And in an emotionally raw interview ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, which starts on Monday, he says: "It's OK to be vulnerable.

"I've had to have open conversations with my children, because my family has been through quite a lot. Sometimes parents come across as unbreakable. Dads can come across as a bit macho and mums as bionic women, who juggle everything.

"But if I had any advice for parents it would be that showing vulnerability in front of kids could really help them with their mental health."

When Rio, 45, lost Rebecca in 2015 they had been together for 15 years and married for nine.

In his book Thinking Out Loud: Love, Grief and Being Mum and Dad, he opens up about the depression and suicidal thoughts that he experienced, revealing that he turned to whisky and brandy to cope with the shock. But today he is speaking as part of a McDonald's campaign to inspire open and honest conversations about mental wellbeing within families.

The fast food giant has removed the iconic smile from millions of its Happy Meal boxes, to show kids that it's OK not to be cheerful all the time.