Woman has a powerful message after partner kills himself while battling depression and drug addiction
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: An emotional young woman, whose partner died by suicide, spoke about his struggles with drug addiction and depression. Leigh Hinkley, 30, of Melbourne, was a loyal family man who loved to make others happy. However, nobody could fathom what was going on under his pleasant demeanor.
On February 21, Hinkley, a father of two young boys, three-year-old Patrick and six-month-old Harrison, ended his life by suicide. Due to men's difficulty expressing their emotions, Whitley Fleet, his partner of eight years, spoke about the value of ensuring that family and friends are doing OK.
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'My world has been tipped upside down'
Hours before his body was discovered in Melbourne's southeast, Fleet was the last person Hinkley spoke to. "It's something you don't wish on anyone. My world has been tipped upside down," Fleet said, per the Daily Mail.
A week earlier, Fleet noticed some troubling signs that Hinkley was not himself and tried to get him to open up. Fleet said, "I was the last person Leigh spoke to. He had sent me a goodbye message," which she added was incredibly distressing. She then explained the whole call, "I spoke to him on the phone to tell him that everything would be OK and asked where he was."
Fleet continued, "But he refused to tell me where he was and just kept on saying he was sorry. That was pretty much it." She said that Hinkley was compassionate and always up for a laugh or a joke. For many years, he fought drug addiction and mental health difficulties intermittently. She said, "He would hide it from me or lie about it and would never express to me or anyone of how he was feeling," she said, per the Daily Mail.
'You never will understand how much I love you'
A heartbroken Fleet concluded, "In the end, the depression was too much for him to face and it tipped him over the edge." Just hours before his death, Hinkley shared a terribly distressing message on Facebook. He wrote, "You never will understand how much I love you Whitney even so I've hurt you, lied to you, stolen from you, I destroyed everything. I'm sorry you never deserved that. I love you Bubby. I can't live without you."
A powerful message
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Fleet is focussing on raising her sons and making sure they know it was okay to express what they feel. "I want them to grow up being able to tell me how they're feeling and that they don't have to hold it in all the time" she said. She has asked people to seek help when things get out of hand. "Get help and reach out to anyone. Mental health is a huge issue, particularly with men, who find it hard to express their feelings," Fleet concluded.