He’s won four Super Bowl rings and spent decades as the loudest, funniest voice in the room. But Terry Bradshaw says the man America watches on Sunday mornings isn’t always the man who wakes up on Monday.

In a candid conversation, the NFL legend revealed how his wife, Tammy, helped him understand what he’d been battling for years, and why putting a name to it changed everything.

“It comes on through years of talking about it to doctors,” Bradshaw said on a Fox Sports show. I do know what triggers it mostly, but sometimes, just last week, I’ll give you a good example. It’s a beautiful day in St. Jo, Texas, where we live, Tammy and I sink, and I’m like, ‘Oh God.’ And so I automatically, for some reason, isolate myself.

And there’s a rocker on the back porch, and I went out there, and I sat in it, and here comes Tammy. And she gave – this is not – it is funny, and it’s cute. And she gave my depression a name, and she calls him Roy. And she says to me, ‘Is Roy showing his ugly head? And I say, ‘Yeah.’ And then we start talking about it. I’m telling you it’s the greatest gift in the world to have someone you can share that with.”

Terry Bradshaw’s NFL career started in 1970 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and throughout his playing career, Bradshaw experienced severe anxiety, panic attacks after games, and intense emotional volatility. However, the football culture of that era heavily stigmatised vulnerability.

Quarterbacks were expected to be unshakable, meaning Bradshaw felt forced to bury his struggles, noting, “You didn’t talk about it” in the locker room.

However, in the late 90s, following his retirement from football, the launch of his broadcasting career, and the emotional toll of his third divorce, Bradshaw reached a breaking point and could no longer “bounce back”.

He suffered from insomnia, unexplained weight loss, and frequent crying spells, and after consulting three different doctors, he was formally diagnosed with clinical depression and Attention Deficit Disorder.

Terry Bradshaw also noted that admitting he was “really f**ked up” and asking for professional help was one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

However, when his wife, Tammy, came into Bradshaw’s life after his third divorce, the NFL legend’s life changed.

On July 8, 2014, after 13 years together, the couple decided to get married during a private trip to Hawaii. Today, the couple manages a blended family, including Terry’s daughters Rachel and Erin and Tammy’s daughter Lacey. Meanwhile, Terry has admitted that building a life with Tammy is the achievement he is most proud of.