Bridgerton actress Ruby Barker has criticised Netflix and Shondaland for their lack of support during two psychotic breaks that occurred after appearing on the popular period drama.
The 26-year-old portrayed Marina Thompson, a distant cousin of the Featheringtons who falls pregnant from a secret relationship. She was a series regular in season one and a guest star in the second.
Ruby explained that her mental health began to decline whilst filming the drama. "When I went into hospital a week after shooting Bridgerton Season One it was really covered up and kept on the down-low because the show was going to be coming out," she told the LOAF Podcast.
"During filming I was deteriorating. It was a really tormenting place for me to be because my character was very alienated, very ostracized, on her own under these horrible circumstances."
The actress continued: "Not a single person from Netflix, not a single person from Shondaland since I have had two psychotic breaks from that show have even contacted me or even emailed me to ask if I’m okay or if I would benefit from any sort of aftercare or support. Nobody."
Ahead of the show's premiere, Ruby explained she was overwhelmed by the "drastic" change to her life as the show garnered attention. "My life was changing drastically overnight and yet there was still no support and there still hasn't been any support all that time. So I was trying really really hard to act like it was okay and that I could work and that it wasn’t a problem," she said.
"It's almost like I had this metaphorical invisible gun to my head to sell this show because this show is bubbly and fun. I don’t wanna come out and poo-poo on that because then I might never work again!"
Ruby referred to her mental health struggles in an Instagram post back in May 2022, in which she said she was "really unwell for a really long time" and had been "struggling since Bridgerton".
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"I was raged-filled, angry, all this intergenerational trauma bundled up inside me," she told her followers. "I was carrying the weight of the world on my back and now I am at the point where I have a diagnosis, I am drawing a line in the sand."
At the time, she thanked Netflix for casting her in Bridgerton and "saving her", but has now called out the streaming service for failing to support her.
HELLO! has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Ruby's comments come ahead of the release of Bridgerton season three, which is set to premiere in 2024.