Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks media day Sept. 29 – full interview
Giannis Antetokounpo was still in Greece on Bucks Media Day Sept. 29. He has Covid-19. He spoke to reporters through a live video stream in the media room at Fiserv Forum instead (and the video locks up towards the end).
Writing a poignant piece on social media, Mariah Antetokounmpo vulnerably shared the intimacies of her postpartum mental health journey “in hopes of helping someone else who may be struggling” with whatever they’re going through.
Mariah’s postpartum story — which she shared on two text slides on Instagram on Sept. 28 — centers on postpartum depression, or PPD.
“While childbirth was the most physically painful thing my body has endured, battling my mental health has proven just as challenging,” wrote Mariah, the wife of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two have four children together: Liam, Maverick, Eva and Aria, who was just born last spring.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in eight women with a recent live birth reported symptoms of postpartum depression. The rate of depression diagnoses at delivery was seven times higher in 2015 than in 2000, a CDC analysis found.
“Sharing my experiences is one step in my healing journey,” Mariah wrote. “This is one of the first times I’ve even admitted to the silent battles I’ve been fighting — but this honesty feels freeing. I’m not who I used to be, but I’m on my way to becoming who I’m meant to be.”
While Mariah survived PPD with her and Giannis’ first-born, she wrote, she “truly wasn’t ready for what was to come” with her fourth baby.
“The anxiety started before I even gave birth,” she wrote. “Despite having no symptoms, my brain was somehow convinced I had a terminal illness that would prevent me from seeing my kids grow up. My panic attacks worsened, and my reliance on the internet as a diagnostic tool sent me into the darkest of spirals. I have an incredible village in my corner, but I felt too afraid and ashamed of this side of myself to reach out.”
Baby No. 4, Aria Capri, had a smooth birth and was healthy, Mariah wrote. She described the weeks that followed as fun and chaotic, adjusting to having four kids.
Mariah wrote that Aria “is the sweetest little angel I’ve ever laid eyes on,” a perfect fit into the family’s “crazy little bubble,” and that her constant smiles and giggles bring Mariah pure joy.
“But whether it was the blissful honeymoon stage of welcoming a new baby ending, or the immense (and quick) changes happening within my family, my mental health took a turn — and the dark thoughts started creeping back in,” Mariah wrote.
She shut out everything and everyone out, finding solace in isolating herself and hiding “what was really going on.”
But, she “held it together” the best she could for her kids and husband — she credits them for keeping her afloat. While she was showing up and caring for them, she wrote, she wasn’t herself and her mind wasn’t present.
“It’s a scary and lonely feeling to be physically there, but mentally somewhere else,” she wrote.
While she loves her village, she avoided opening up to them — not wanting to add weight to people already carrying their own. Instead, she masked her pain and hid her tears for several months.
“Though I’m still struggling, I now have faith that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she wrote.
In sharing her story, Mariah highlighted what she learned from this season of her life:
To be vulnerable with those who love her without feeling like a burden, regardless of what they may be going through. Whatever pain weighs heavy on your heart matters.She can’t do everything on her own and can ask for help.To nurture her mental health because it’s just as important — if not more — than physical health.Prioritize herself without feeling guilty to be the best wife, mom, daughter, sister and friend she can be.
“If my story resonates with you, please know: you are not alone,” Mariah wrote. “There are people in your corner — some you may not even know yet.
“Let’s work together to uplift those around us. You truly never know what someone is carrying inside.”
Mariah Antetokounmpo’s history of helping others
In a spring interview, Mariah told the Journal Sentinel that giving back has “just always been a part of who I am.”
“I find joy in helping others and uplifting others,” she said.
In 2021, after struggling with her “confidence as a mom,” feeling “inadequate” and “isolated” during the coronavirus pandemic, Mariah launched the then-apparel brand, Sincerely, Mariah, which featured uplifting mantras to “spread more positivity because I know more people are going through similar situations.”
Mariah has been a passionate supporter of Milwaukee Diaper Mission. Later in 2021, Mariah and her husband put on a diaper drive with MDM to celebrate the birth of their second son. Since then, it’s become an annual event, called The BIG Give Back, which was most recently held in September.
While pregnant with Aria, Mariah came up with the idea to throw a community baby shower. The Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation teamed with Kids Impact Community and Babbling Babes to bring to life April Showers of Love, a maternity, baby and toddler gear donation drive to help expecting or growing local families in need.