MASKED Singer star Charlie Simpson said he nearly had a mental breakdown before leaving Busted.
The pop legend, recently unmasked as Rhino, told HOAR he was “so unhappy” in the band back in 2006.
The singer, 37, said that he “broke down” months before he finally decided to leave the popular boyband.
He previously opened up about his reasons for leaving the group and said: “I was going to leave a lot earlier than I did but I had lots of commitments and didn’t want to let anyone down.
“I was living two lives with two different bands and it just got too much.
“Nine months before I left Busted I was in Germany and I broke down.
“I nearly had a mental breakdown.
“I asked my manager to not book anything else, so that I could leave Busted as soon as I had a completely free schedule.”
He was part of Busted from 2000 to 2005 when he left to pursue a solo career after also playing in Fightstar.
The British rock band, formed in 2003, composed of Charlie as lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist, Alex Westaway as guitarist and co-vocalist, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi.
Charlie admitted that he was “unhappy” and was desperate break away from Busted.
“I only really told my family and close friends but I think Matt and James had an idea I was unhappy,” he added.
“At the time the real life I was leading was with Fightstar.”
Charlie was unmasked as Rhino on the ITV singing competition at the weekend.
He had been long-rumoured to be hidden under the elaborate costume, with fans previously saying it was “obvious” due to his distinctive gravelly singing voice.
Over the course of the show, Rhino performed Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Into You by Ariana Grande and Use Somebody by Kings of Leon.
In the final episode, they performed Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi, and Labrinth’s Beneath Your Beautiful with Harlequin (aka Gabrielle, who took part in the 2021 series).
The clue package gave hints to the number 3000 (like Busted hit Year 3000), and a school tie (from their music video for What I Go To School For).
After votes by the audience, Charlie was sent through to the final round with Phoenix, as Natalie Appleton was unmasked as Fawn.
For their final song, they performed Try by Pink, and in the final vote, was finally crowned champion, beating out Ricky Wilson, who was hidden behind Phoenix.
