RTE star Carl Mullan has lifted the lid on his “exhausting” experience with parenthood that left him seeking therapy.
The 2FM host and his wife Aisling Mullan are doting parents to three kids, Daibhi, three, two-year-old Eala, and their newborn daughter, Beibhinn.
Carl has been open about his experience with becoming a first-time dad and often shares snippets of his busy home life on social media.
However, in a recent chat with his former 2FM pal, Doireann Garrihy, the 35-year-old opened up about how having their second child changed their whole life.
The star spoke about his struggle with hosting the 2FM breakfast show from 6am to 9am, while also doing night feeds with a newborn.
He told Doireann: “I had a few months when I wasn’t doing the breakfast show and you actually don’t realise how much it takes out of you.
“I understand there are people with much more important and strenuous jobs. The thing I find difficult about the breakfast show is not the early mornings, it’s the fact you have to be on.
“But I’m very lucky that it has now coincided with having babies, because genuinely we are up at that time anyways.”
The TV star expressed his gratitude in having the “privilege” to be able to pick up his son from play school.
The Dublin native said: “Like some people are working from 9.30am and might not get home to 6pm and then have 45 minutes with their kids before bedtime, like that’s hard. So I’m very lucky that my job gives me that flexibility.
However, the doting dad confessed that he struggled massively when he went from having one child to two.
He said: “The lack of sleep kicked in and I just started to crumble.”
Carl told how Doireann had recommended a therapist to him and he wondered if he was “having a total dip”.
He explained: “I was experiencing life but I felt like I was kind of in a daze just watching it go by and you get so frustrated because it’s supposed to be the most beautiful time in your life.
“I had young kids at home I was in my dream job and I thought what the hell is wrong with me.”
‘EXTREMELY HARD’
Doireann remarked: “Yeah that’s tough, you’re thinking, ‘But I’m supposed to be happy?’.”
The former Dancing With The Stars winner told how his therapist had explained that his low mood was due to “exhaustion”.
Carl confessed that he has done a lot of work with his therapist since becoming a dad-of-two and added: “I’ve learned self compassion and that’s really important.”
The popular presenter noted how society paints a “bulls*** picture of parenthood”.
He continued: “They say it’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life and of course it is its so joyful but there are extremely hard parts to it.
“There’s an expectation fed to parents on how they should feel and its a dangerous thing because if you don’t feel it then you feel really guilty.”
