‘Mean Girls’ heartthrob Jonathan Bennett opened up about his mental health, why it’s a ‘roller-coaster’ for him, and how he stays balanced in the face of extreme pressure.
Jonathan Bennett shot to fame when he played Lindsay Lohan‘s love interest Aaron Samuels in the 2004 hit comedy Mean Girls. Since then he’s appeared in dozens of movies, released a book, gotten engaged, and even made history, along with his fiancé Jaymes Vaughn, as the first gay couple to be featured on the cover of The Knot.
But, in spite of all his success, the 39-year-old still has hard days. “I go through a roller coaster with mental health,” he told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “I mean being an actor, that’s already a roller-coaster and then when you add in how busy we are with all the things that we have going on.”
“I would like to say that I practice good mental health habits every day,” he continued, “but in reality I don’t. And I think that’s something I want to make sure that I do more of. Things that really are good for my mental health, like I love cycling. When I do my spin bike it really changes the way I feel for the day.”
“To each their own when it comes to mental health and what works for them, but for me what I’ve learned is exercising is something that really helps my mental health,” Jonathan shared. “And as much as I’d like to say do it every day, I don’t. So I think a great thing for me for Mental Health Awareness Month will be to try and exercise at least once every single day, to try and help keep my mind right.”
Another daily activity that Jonathan uses to boost his mental health is meditation and he revealed that he loves the Calm App. “I love a good guided meditation. Tamara Levitt on Calm, her voice is so soothing, she can calm anyone down,” he enthused.
“If you have never done meditation I would suggest getting the Calm app and starting with the Daily Calm,” he added. “It’s a 10 minute guided meditation with Tamara and it is so good. Her voice is exactly what you want to hear when you’re doing a meditation.”
As fans of Jonathan know he came out in 2017 and announced that he was in a happy relationship with Jaymes, 37. And, although the journey wasn’t easy Jonathan is now reaping the rewards of living his truth.
“Being afraid to come out, to being a closeted gay teen heartthrob for decades, I never thought in a million years, I would be on the cover of the biggest wedding magazine in the world with my fiance. Living loudly and proudly,” he beamed.
And Jonathan has a message for anyone struggling to be true to who they are. “I would say to them, you’re never too much, and you’re always enough. Just you being you, in this moment, is all you need to be.”
Jonathan and Jaymes are planning their upcoming wedding for Spring 2022. In the meantime they’re busy running their LGBTQ+ travel company, OUTbound Travel. And, they can be seen on the cover of The Knot Summer 2021 issue, on stands now.