Derry Girls star reveals why she went ‘no contact with her family’

Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O’Donnell has opened up about how a bout of ‘intense therapy’ resulted in a spontaneous move to Barcelona and cutting ties with her family.

The 39-year-old screen star won hearts over playing the bold, brash and brutal Michelle in Lisa McGee’s hit comedy set in Derry during the Troubles and has since gone on to star in shows like Screw and Leonard and Hungry Paul.

The actress, who is imminently starring in Rebel Wilson’s new Girl Group, recently uprooted her life in Ireland for a fresh start in Spain and spoke about what led her down this path.

Speaking on a new podcast, Jamie-Lee was asked why she decided on Barcelona to which she admitted she didn’t exactly know and just decided to ‘trust the universe’.

‘I was wrapping up therapy back home,’ she explained, before quipping: ‘I finally did some therapy, which I know is pretty big deal for an Irish woman.’

The joke elicited a laugh from Dish from Waitrose hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Harnett.

However, the TV icon called the experience ‘great’.

She continued: ‘I just had to figure some stuff out. You know, you kind of get to a certain point of your life or your career or whatever and then you’re like: “Oh, that is a problem. I need to figure that out.”

‘You when you’re like: “Lah lah lah, it doesn’t matter. It won’t affect me”, then you’re like: “It’s affecting every single thing I do.” So, I did therapy which was pretty intense. It’s been really tough, to be honest’

After wrapping therapy up she decided ‘now was the right time to have a good big start for’ herself, so she sold her house and headed to sunny mainland Europe.

‘I’ve always been hyper independent and if I wanted to do something I’d done my research and then just did it…’

Although Angela wondered if she was still easily able to visit family in Ireland and vice versa, Jamie was quick to explain her situation.

‘Well, that’s part of the therapy; I had to go no contact with my entire family. It’s just one of those things, and the more I’ve talked about it and been honest about it, I’ve seen it’s not the most unusual thing for adults, and it’s just the way it is,’ she shared.

Ultimately, she concluded that ‘Barcelona was the perfect place for a new start’.

Although this is the first time she’s publicly opened up about distancing herself from her family, she has spoken about her therapy journey before.

In an interview with Hotpress in December last year, she shared: ‘I was doing therapy for a while back home, trying to unpack a lot of stuff from my childhood.

‘It was sort of running after me for a while – like, I suppose, a lot of people. It was a few years, trying to figure it all out, and come to terms with everything. I finally felt like this year was the time to put it to bed for now, and start looking forward.’

Metro has reached out to Jamie-Lee O’Donnell’s representatives for further comment.