‘I had to see a therapist to beat my fear of death’ – Vogue Williams shares her fear of dying on Ryan Tubridy podcast

The podcaster and former model said going for counselling helped her conquer her feelings, which she said were taking over her life.

Williams (38), who is co-host of the hugely successful My Therapist ­Ghosted Me podcast with comedian Joanne McNally, was speaking to Ryan Tubridy on his own new podcast The Bookshelf.

She told the former Late Late Show host of a phase she went through a year ago when she was “thinking about death”.

“I had to go see a therapist about it. I was like, ‘I can’t stop thinking about death’. It was every old person I walked past in the street. Still now the odd time when I see an old person I’m like, ‘Oh, Jaysus’,” she said.

“I know it’s insane. I feel so sorry for them because they must be so scared. I would literally go to bed at night thinking about my own demise, and it just kind of came from nowhere. And I needed to figure out what to do, so I started to read books to confront death.”

The presenter also told how reading has helped her with anxiety and has convinced her of an afterlife, adding that the book Many Lives, Many Masters, written by psychiatrist Dr Brian Weiss, who investigates past lives, had changed her life and helped her overcome her fear of death.

She said the book gave her “a level of comfort that there was something else”.

“I actually believe again in life after death and one part of it was souls reconnect in another life. I was worried about my kids but you stay in the same circles – so I’m going to see you in the next life, Ryan,” she said.

However, the Portmarnock native, who recently moved back to Dublin with husband Spencer Matthews and their three children after living for several years in London, admitted she doesn’t believe in “manifesting” and has never read a self-help book.

Tubridy mentioned actor Barry Keoghan, who said he wrote a list of goals for his career and has gained worldwide fame since first appearing in the Irish crime drama Love/Hate, Williams said she started rewatching the series with her husband. “He actually understands the Irish accent now but he thinks everyone is from Cork – he’s like, ‘Are they all from Cork?’. ‘No, that’s inner-city Dublin!’,” she said.

Williams also spoke about the importance of reading to her children, swapping books with her mother and how losing a parent had affected her life.

On his new podcast, Tubridy speaks with his guests about their lives through the prism of three books: their favourite childhood book, the book that made them cry and the book that changed their lives.

The Bookshelf is out every Tuesday on audio platforms and YouTube