Beautiful Minds
sam frost
Why the mental health advocate refuses to let her past define who she is
She’s been Australia’s sunny sweetheart ever since she landed on reality TV series The Bachelor in 2014. But don’t underestimate Sam Frost. Her girl-next-door charm belies a steely resolve to overcome life’s hurdles. A woman fiercely driven to succeed at whatever she turns her mind to. Reality TV star – tick. Radio show host – tick. Actress on Home and Away – tick. And perhaps most important of all: powerful mental health advocate – a big tick. “When you’re presented with opportunities, all you can do is put your head down, work as hard as you can and stay grounded,” Frost, who turns 31 on April 4, tells WHO. And that’s what she’s done.
Last year, she launched the mental health platform, Believe by Sam Frost, which she set up with her sister Kristine, to encourage people to share their stories. Often, she says, those battling mental illness feel isolated and alone. They wanted to provide “a safe place” where people can go “to feel understood and know that they’re not alone.”
“People just want to feel connected,” Frost explains. “We want to feel like people understand our pain. And I want to help.”
Frost is candid and honest about her lifelong struggles with depression and anxiety, which bubbled to the surface after two reality show break-ups – first with The Bachelor ’s Blake Garvey in 2014 and then The Bachelorette winner Sasha Mielczarek in 2016 – and the intense scrutiny she faced when she took on a radio show with Rove McManus. “For me, depression has been something that I’ve battled my whole life and I think that’s certainly heightened when you go through something publicly and you just feel that immense pressure,” she says. “You can feel it in your chest.”
Back then, she was young and vulnerable and she let the critics get under her skin. “I used
