"Blues Clues" host Steve Burns got candid about his struggle with depression while filming the popular children's show.

"I didn’t know it yet, but I was the happiest depressed person in North America," the former kids’ show host told Variety. "I was struggling with severe clinical depression the whole time I was on that show. It was my job to be utterly and completely full of joy and wonder at all times, and that became impossible."

"I was always able to dig and find something that felt authentic to me that was good enough to be on the show, but after years and years of going to the well without replenishing it, there was a cost," the 49-year-old continued.

Burns became the host of the animated series in 1996, at the age of 22, going on to earn a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2001. When he exited the show in 2002, he explained on the show that he was going off to college and that his younger brother would take over.

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"My strategy had been, ‘Hey, you got a great thing going, so just fight it!’ Turns out, you don’t fight depression; you collect it," Burns said candidly. "After I left 'Blue’s Clues,' there was a long period of healing. It wasn’t until the death of my father that I really started to take things seriously, and my life became so much more manageable."

"It made me think about things I hadn’t thought about, like legacy and the value of the things we’ve left behind," he shared. "It forced me to reevaluate and take much more seriously my mental health. And New York City never was much good for my mental health."

The show originally debuted on Sept. 8, 1996 and featured Steve, the character played by Burns, navigating his animated house and solving low-stakes mysteries with his animated pet dog, Blue. 

In 2021, to mark the show’s 25th anniversary, Burns returned with a video message shared to the Nick Jr. Twitter account. The heartwarming message saw him address his absence from the series. 

"You remember how when we were younger we used to run around and hang out with Blue, and find clues, and talk to Mr. Salt, and freak out about the mail, and do all the fun stuff? And then one day, I was like, 'Oh hey, guess what? Big news… I'm leaving,'" Burns recalled on Twitter.

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"Can we just talk about that?" he asked his grown-up fans in the style he used to address the camera with on the show. "Because I realize that was kind of abrupt. I just kind of got up and went to college. That was really challenging by the way, but great, because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time, and now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do." 

He continued, "Look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time. And it's just… it's just so amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues, and now it's what? Student loans, and jobs, and families, and some of that has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know.

"I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years I never forgot you. Ever. And I'm super glad we're still friends…"

Burns reprises his role in the movie "Blue’s Big City Adventure," which premieres on Paramount + on Friday. 

LSU superstar gymnast Olivia Dunne appeared to be moving on from the controversy surrounding the criticism over the way she attains name, image and likeness deals last week.

Dunne posted a video on TikTok with a simple message to end the drama once and for all. 

"If you don’t like me, that’s fine. But, you know, watch your mouth," Dunne lip-synced in a video in which she is seen in her Tigers gymnastics attire.

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She captioned the video: "Only taking steps forward."

The issue was blown up in a New York Times column last week. The column highlighted how Dunne and some other female collegiate athletes used sex to push their brand and gain deals. Dunne has millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram and posts about her moves on the uneven bars as well as other social posts in her day-to-day life. Legendary Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer also had critical remarks about Dunne.

Dunne, a junior going into the 2023 season, has one of the largest social media followings of any collegiate athlete, male or female, across any sport. She reportedly earns around $2 million with various sponsorships such as the activewear brand Vuori, American Eagle and Planet Fuel. Dunne is also signed to one of the biggest agencies in WME Sports.

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VanDerveer, a staunch supporter of women’s rights who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, said she saw the trend as a "step back" for female athletes.

"I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back," she told The New York Times in a recent interview. "We're fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics.

This is a step back," she added.

Dunne told the paper she is proud of what she has been able to accomplish with the floodgates opening for NIL deals.

"Seven figures," she said. "That is something I'm proud of. Especially since I'm a woman in college sports. There are no professional leagues for most women's sports after college."