JLS star JB Gill's 'stressful' time in band led him to farming amid mental health concerns

"I do know personal friends who struggled with the negativity that surrounded being enclosed and not being able to get out and about," he lamented."I definitely do think accessing outdoor space and the countryside and being able to be immersed in nature does have its benefits."Certainly mentally - I've seen that firsthand over the last two years."Kind-hearted JB was sure to invite his family members over during the pandemic, using safe measures."We invited our parents and of course we were very cautious because they were potentially at high risk so we didn't actually see them," he explained."[However] they had the benefit of being able to come here, park up the car and go for a walk and then go home - and that was invaluable."It was nice to be able to have [the farm] and share it with our extended family and friends."Meanwhile, his two children with dancer wife Chloe also benefited from all the extra open space - even if home-schooling during a pandemic was tough.JB is keen for eight-year-old son Ace to become a footballer, having seen his aptitude for the sport.It follows his own experience in regional rugby leagues as a child - and if it hadn't been for a traumatic injury, he believes he could have made the Premiership."Do I want my children to go into sport?

For sure [but] it's a very much an individual thing in the sense that you have to really want it," he said."There'll be lots of kids, especially in football, who'll go on and want to play professional football, but it's not just a case of 'Oh, this is what I want to do'.

You have to put the time in and start from quite young."JB added that the recent women's football final victory was a "great achievement" which would "solidify their place in the world's sporting.