Sophie Turner says Joe Jonas saved her when she was mentally unwell

'Game of Thrones' star Sophie Turner who recently opened up about her mental health issues has credited husband Joe Jonas for supporting her through the difficult time. Read who sits on the Iron Throne in 'GoT' finale episode here. 

The 23-year-old actor has spoken up about battling depression and an eating disorder, reported E! News.

In a new candid interview, she noted that at one point, she lost so much weight that her menstrual cycle was disturbed.

Sophie said she first met Joe when she was 20 and "was going through this phase of being very mentally unwell."

She went on to share how Joe stressed on the importance of self-love.

"He was, like, 'I can't be with you until you love yourself, I can't see you love me more than you love yourself,' " Sophie said.

"That was something, him doing that. I think he kind of saved my life, in a way," she added.

Sophie was 13 years old when she starred in her first onscreen acting project 'Game of Thrones' and was 15 when the show debuted in 2011.

She said that she wished she never had her adolescence 'displayed in public'. Sophie was also struggling with body image.

The actor stated that she was 'desperately unhappy' and a 'complete mess,' and even considered suicide at one point. At the age of 19, the star sought therapy.

"Suddenly, everyone's metabolism slows down at 17,18 and then that's documented. My skin and everything and people commenting on it. I was too aware of my body at a young age. And it just kind of took over my mind, it was all I would think about. Calorie counting, everything. Oh, I'll just eat nuts today. I stopped having my period for a year, that's when I decided to have therapy. I just think it's so important everyone should have a therapist, honestly," she said.

Sophie also recalled how her body kept changing with her age and how film and television studios pressurised her to lose weight.

She said she sought therapy, adding, "Everyone needs a therapist, especially when people are constantly telling you that you're not good enough and you don't look good enough. I think it`s necessary to have someone to talk to and to help you through that."

In her interview, Sophie also revealed that at some point in their relationship, she and Joe broke up for one day.

"It was the worst day of our lives. For a second, we both had cold feet, then 24 hours later we were both, like, Never mind," she said.

Sophie had told Marie Claire Australia, earlier this month, "I have experienced mental illness firsthand and I`ve seen what it came to do to the people around [the sufferers] as well."

In April, Sophie told Dr Philon in his podcast `Phil in the Blanks` that negative comments about her character on social media caused a decline in her mental health, following 'five or six years' of battling depression, and added, "I used to think about suicide a lot when I was younger."

Despite its dark side, social media has also helped Sophie find happiness. She met Joe in 2016 after he contacted her through DMs.

They first sparked romance rumours in November 2016 when they were spotted together at a pre-MTV Europe Music Awards event.

They made their relationship Instagram official by the following January. In October 2017, the power couple got engaged.

Earlier this month, they surprised their fans by tying the knot in Las Vegas after the 2019 Billboard Music Awards.

Sophie who played Sansa Stark in the HBO show `Game of Thrones` will next star in the superhero film `Dark Phoenix`, which releases on June 7, this year.