Sam Smith has opened up about an “awful” ski accident earlier this year that left them unable to walk for a whole month.
The Gloria singer was speaking on the BBC’s Sidetracked podcast with Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw when they recalled an accident on the slopes which left them with a serious knee injury.
“I completely ripped my ACL,” the five-time Grammy winner told the hosts. “I was an idiot and went on a black slope on the second day. I got taken down in a blood bag. It was the worst.”
Sam explained that the ACL ligament in the knee is “in between your bones and helps you jump and spring around”.
“It completely ripped and I decided to go down the non-surgical route, but I couldn’t walk for a month on this leg and it was awful,” they continued.
“It was the first time I’d ever not been able to move and I was holding onto a bit of weight. I was very anxious. I’d been struggling with anxiety for years. I used it as an excuse to get my shit together.”
The Unholy singer went on to detail their recovery process, which included icing their knee every morning and becoming more in tune with their circadian rhythm.
Sam’s account of the injury seems to explain why they were spotted walking around a New York City neighbourhood in a leg brace while using a cane in January this year.
They appeared to be in much better health by May, when Sam and their partner Christian Cowan made their first public appearance as a couple at this year’s Met Gala.
Speaking to Vogue, fashion designer Christian revealed he’d designed both his and Sam’s outfits to fit the night’s “Garden Of Time” theme, which included matching metallic roses.
“We’re both queer and British so an English rose I thought was perfect,” he said. “And early on, in our [relationship], I gave Sam a metal-plated rose...”
Sam recently revealed to fans that they can expect a re-recorded version of 2014 hit Stay With Me with new lyrics to feature on the 10th anniversary edition of their iconic debut In The Lonely Hour.
The new version will feature updated lyrics to reflect Sam having come out as non-binary in 2019.