The saying goes that comparison is the thief of joy, but perhaps there should be a corollary to the axiom: Therapy is the enabler of joy.

On-air host Kayla Nicole, who previously dated Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on and off for five years, told People that she started talk therapy in the midst of “a major breakup and major life change” last summer.

“It’s one thing to be physically fit, but it’s another thing to be mentally fit,” she said.

The fitness influencer told the outlet that while she was hitting the gym regularly, she was “miserable on the inside.”

“It was like I was working out, I was in really great shape, but I felt like shit and I was sad, and I was having a hard time getting out of bed,” she said. “It got to the point where I was like, ‘Okay, what else can I possibly do?’ So I started to go to therapy.”

“I went through this major breakup, major life change, and I had lost a substantial amount of weight within a very short amount of time,” she said of her life before addressing her mental health. “I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating. I was really abusing melatonin to sleep at night.”

Kelce has been in the news not only for his football career, but for being linked romantically to pop superstar Taylor Swift. Nicole, too, has been receiving attention as his most recent ex-girlfriend, whether she wants to or not.

Nicole recently posted a video of herself reading an open letter on her Instagram account where she didn’t specifically name Kelce or Swift, but offered words of encouragement to others who may find themselves facing “backlash and embarrassment.”

“You do not have to engage. You do not have to respond,” she said in the video.

Discussing her therapy journey with People, Nicole said she uses what she began learning in therapy over a year ago when encountering headlines about her famous ex now.

“I’m so thankful for therapy because had I not done that, I don’t know how I would be reacting in the moment right now. No clue,” she said. Asked what she would tell herself, if she could give a piece of advice to 2022 Kayla Nicole, she said, “Buckle the fuck up, sweetie. You thought the worst had already come, but buckle up and take all of the tools right now and put them in your bag because you’re going to need them.”

Vanity Fair has reached out to representatives for Swift and Kelce for comment.