Justin Verlander Says Kate Upton Helped Him With Depression: ‘Who Knows If I’m Even Here If It Wasn’t For Her’

Justin Verlander says that his wife, model Kate Upton, was instrumental in his battle with depression.

In a recent interview, Verlander said that his battle with depression began after his career was riddled by pain and injury that sent him into a downward spiral. Justin claims that while many people blamed his then-girlfriend at the time for his poor performances, she was actually the glue that was helping to hold Justin together, according to the Daily Mail.

“She was instrumental in me not…like, jumping off a bridge. I was depressed and kind of just upset at the world and trying to hide my own sh**. She was what I needed, Don’t like to talk to people about being hurt. As athletes, you’re not supposed to. It’s an excuse. … But she was someone I could talk to. I mean, basically a therapist.”

Kate helped Justin through all of his worries including whether or not he believed that he could play baseball again as well as other worries about his career. Kate also recalled the struggles that she saw Justin go through during his injuries.

“It was so emotional. He was in so much pain, and he was just trying to find the best path back.”

During his recovery from countless injuries, Kate was always by Justin’s side, even during the not so glamorous times. When Verlander was recovering in the hospital, his parents were joking with him about one of the side effects that he had encountered from the surgery — constipation. Once Upton heard that, she did research on Google to find ways to prevent constipation and returned to the hospital with pills and some holistic solutions.

“His parents say that was the moment they knew they loved me,” Upton says.

Verlander and Upton became engaged in 2016 and they later tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in November of 2017. Then, in the middle of July, Upton revealed to fans on Instagram that she and Justin were expecting their first child together. That photo gained the couple a ton of attention from Upton’s 6 million plus followers with 416,000 likes in addition to 4,000 comments. Most of the comments were fans who were wishing the couple the best in their journey to become parents.

“Why am I seeing this 10 days later omg congratulations to you and Justin I am so happy for you two. Kate you’re going to be an amazing mom.”

“Awwww!!!! Congrats my dear, no doubt you will be one ammmaaaaazing mom,” another chimed in.

Upton has yet to officially reveal her due date.