Ronnie O’Sullivan’s wife opens up about the “soul destroying” pain of watching him battle his “demons” over a rollercoaster career – as the snooker star claims his father has been released from prison after being charged with murder “helped” get back on track

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s wife has spoken out about the “soul destroying” reality of watching “demons” dictate her husband’s mood during a turbulent snooker career.

O’Sullivan is one of the best athletes of his generation, and yet in his upcoming Amazon Prime documentary: Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of EverythingIn one scene, the snooker star sits down with his wife Laila Rouass to talk about his struggles away from May.

Rouass sits down after O’Sullivan lost 6-4 to Neil Robertson at the 2022 Masters and explains how “hard” it was to watch her husband endure an emotional rollercoaster.

“I want you to do what makes you happy,” she says. “I’m not telling you to stop or move on.” I would never put you in that situation.

“I agree. I just think it’s about management. There’s so much self-criticism involved and a lot of time to think.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan (left) and his wife Laila Rouass (right) tackled his “demons” in his upcoming new Amazon Prime documentary Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything

The superstar has spoken openly about his turbulent family life and his determination to move on

O’Sullivan, who speaks so candidly in the film about topics such as his father being sentenced to life in prison for murder, chimes in: “But I think I’m a lot more comfortable with it now than I ever was before.”

“If I hadn’t stopped earlier when I was really uncomfortable, why would I stop now when I’m more comfortable with it? It’s like I’ve overcome my demons in a way.”

Rouass is able to elicit a poignant and honest statement from O’Sullivan about how snooker has taken as much from him as it has given.

“I think that’s your mood today,” she replies. “If you look at it in a romantic way.” But the reality is that it’s hard to watch someone go through that emotionally. Then the questions come into play.

“Jesus, why is he doing this? Why does he let this be done to him?’ It’s so soul destroying. But that’s because I think you really love it, as much as you might hate to admit it.”

Both confirm that the release of his father, Ronnie O’Sullivan Snr, had a positive impact on him.

His wife says the release of his father (left) from prison has allowed O’Sullivan to concentrate on snooker

In a new documentary, O’Sullivan describes his father’s farewell message as he went to prison

O’Sullivan was just 16 when his father murdered Bruce Bryan – Charlie Kray’s driver, brother of the notorious gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie – in one Chelsea Nightclub.

His father was released from prison in Derby in 2010 and Rouass believes the closure allowed her husband to reach a turning point in snooker.

“It helped. “It helped to have him out there and know he was OK,” O’Sullivan added.

“I have served my time. He did his time. We did it together. Now he’s outside. He is happy. Phew, all right, I can just play snooker now because I want to play. I just work on things for myself. This is actually good for me.’

“It’s just a matter of keeping track,” Rouass added. “Otherwise it’s like self-sabotage or self-harm that you’ve engaged in.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything premieres exclusively in cinemas across the UK on Tuesday, with a live question and answer session with O’Sullivan, executive producer David Beckham and director Sam Blair, hosted by Alastair Campbell.

The documentary will then be released on Prime Video in the UK and Ireland on Thursday before opening in select cinemas across the country on Friday.