The 'Praising You' singer reflects on her early career, talking about her mental health struggle and how she used her relationships to make her feel less lonely.
- Jul 20, 2023
AceShowbiz - Rita Ora had her first panic attack while waiting to meet the then-Prince Charles. The "Praising You" singer, 32, who tied the knot with filmmaker Taika Waititi, 47, last year, also admitted she has used dating in the past to feel less lonely and said she was eating and drinking "really bad" before she was struck by a bout of anxiety that caused her to get the shakes.
"My twenties felt like I was kind of alone, so I was looking for things in the wrong places. With love, sometimes it wouldn't be good for me and people would tell me and I wouldn't listen. I was eating really bad and I was drinking," Rita - whose exes have included Calvin Harris and actor Andrew Garfield, both 39 - told the "Diary of a CEO" podcast.
Rita added about having her first anxiety attack at a Prince's Trust event in 2016 while she was waiting in a line to meet the then-Prince Charles, "I went into that bathroom and my hands were tingling and I was having the craziest panic attack. That was the first time, when I was 25."
"I thought my legs were going to give way, I didn't know what was going on. I'd met our now-King before, I was performing that day as well, I don't know what happened. I went out and stood in that line. I met Charles and I was just not there."
Rita has recently been opening up in interviews about how she feels content since getting married - and admitted she wrote her new track hungover the day after her wedding.
She told Capital Breakfast when asked if her "You and I" love song was written the day following her nuptials, "Yes, I was very hungover… the producer that I wanted to work with was only available the day after I got married."
"And I was thinking, 'Ahh, I can't cancel it.' And so I walked in. I said, 'Listen, I just got married and I'm really hungover. I don't know how this is gonna go down. But I don't want to miss this session. So let's do it.' "
"And he was like, 'Okay, well, let's just sing about you getting married.' I said, 'Alright, cool, let's write an ultimate wedding song. And actually, that's my favourite song on the album."
Rita's new album is also called "You and I", and she said when asked what Taika thought about her getting to work 24 hours after they tied the knot, "I snuck out. I think I only got like two, three hours of sleep. And then I went in and I actually referenced all my favourite love songs within this love song."
"So it was trying to make the ultimate love song. So actually, it worked wonders because there was no filter. When you're hungover you just sort of like say what you want."
Rita also said her record is about "finding yourself, self-discovery and self-love" and is "reintroducing myself to the music business."
There is also a song on the record dedicated to her mum Vera, who was treated for cancer - a disease also survived by her husband's mother.
