James Middleton reveals the idea for his new project came to him during a therapy session as he opens up on depression battle

James recalled a conversation he had with his therapist...

(Image credit: Getty)

James Middleton has opened up about his battle with mental health once again.

The businessman and entrepreneur is the younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton – and if he’s known for anything else, it’s his love of pooches.

James is the proud owner of a number of four-legged friend and regularly shares adorable photos of his pack online.

Now, the future Queen consort’s brother has revealed he’s launching a dog food company, named after his beloved dog, Ella.

A photo posted by on

Sharing the news of the launch on Instagram, James explained that his new dry dog food provides all the nutritional value of raw food.

Confessing that it was his battles with mental health that spurred him on in the career venture, James wrote, ‘I remember sitting in the therapist's chair with Ella by my side having taken a leave of absence from my company Boomf to focus on my clinical depression, with tears in my eyes I said “what am I going to do next”, I had zero confidence & I felt like a complete failure.’

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Crediting his therapist for helping to realise he needed to branch out into his new project, James added, ‘The therapist said, 'Do something you love - you love your dogs and have so much confidence around them so why not try and include them in your next venture' and so the journey of Ella & Co begins. I am extremely proud to be launching @ella.co - this is not just a business, this is my heart & soul, I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.’

Swooning over his gorgeous pup Ella, he went on, ‘Ella has been my inspiration & I want to do everything I can to give back to her and the rest of my wonderful dogs for everything they have done for me over the years. The first step in my journey: creating the perfect balanced diet.

James has opened up in the past about his mental health demons, highlighting that it was his pets who got him through the dark times.

Caitlin Elliott
News Editor

Caitlin is News Editor for woman&home, covering all things royal, celeb, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Caitlin started on local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree. She also worked in Fashion PR as a Press Assistant for Arcadia's Topshop before becoming a part of the Now team. Caitlin went on to add the likes of Woman, GoodtoKnow, WhatToWatch and woman&home to her writing repertoire before moving on to her current role.