Perez Hilton checked himself into hospital for ‘severe depression’ before suicide attempt

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

Perez Hilton checked himself into a hospital for “severe depression” shortly before his suicide attempt, Page Six has exclusively learned.

In a lengthy and gut-wrenching interview, the celebrity blogger’s younger sister, Barbara Lavandeira, described her brother’s state prior to his Aug. 4 self-harm incident at his new Miami home following “an extremely difficult year” of life-threatening health issues.

About two weeks before that day, Lavandeira, 42, said Hilton — born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. — approached her and their mother, Teresita Lavandeira, to speak privately.

“He told us that a few days earlier, he had felt empty, hopeless and like he was a burden on everyone. He then admitted that one night when he couldn’t sleep, he had taken the remaining painkillers from his surgery in March. He said he just wanted to sleep,” Barbara recalled, adding that the confession “broke [her] heart.”

She “thanked” Hilton, 48, for being “strong enough” to confide in them but also “told him that he needed proper psychiatric help.”

According to Barbara — who lives in California but was visiting with her daughter when the tragedy unfolded — Hilton “agreed,” and she took him to the hospital that same day.

“He went voluntarily,” she shared. “After several days of evaluation and treatment, the facility determined that he could be discharged.”

The days that followed gave Barbara hope that things were improving.

“That weekend, Mario seemed so much better. He looked better, too. We spent time together as a family, and he started looking up coping mechanisms and grounding techniques he had learned during his short stay [in the hospital],” she told us.

On Aug. 3, Hilton “returned to his regular therapy sessions.” The next day, the day of his suicide attempt, he “completed an intake call for an intensive outpatient program and was supposed to begin outpatient group therapy the following week,” Barbara explained.

“Later that same afternoon, our lives changed forever.”

When Barbara found her brother in his bathroom “standing in front of the shower, naked, cut up, covered in blood, with a box cutter in his hand,” she “grabbed the car keys and yelled for [her daughter, her nephew and her nieces] to run to the car.” (Teresita was not home at the time.)

She then called 911, but before police and emergency medical technicians could arrive, Hilton went live on TikTok. The horrific video quickly made its rounds online.

While she’s still “trying to make sense of it” all, Barbara acknowledged that “there could have been so many things involved, including severe depression, the lingering effects of his hospitalization and sepsis, not sleeping, possible medication reactions and the combination of prescription and over-the-counter medications he took that day.”

During our candid conversation, Barbara detailed the severe medical woes Hilton experienced earlier this year.

“This past March, while he was living in Las Vegas, he was hospitalized for close to a month. Doctors initially didn’t know what was wrong. His body became septic, he coded and he nearly died several times,” she explained.

“He underwent abdominal surgery, had fluid drained from around his lungs twice and then had to recover from surgery and begin physical therapy.”

The situation became even more complex when doctors “discovered a large blood clot in his leg” during a follow-up appointment.

Although Barbara gave us “a very simplified version of everything that happened,” she lamented that it “placed an enormous amount of stress on both his body and his mind.”

She continued, “He couldn’t sleep while he was hospitalized [in March]. He couldn’t eat. He didn’t know whether he was going to survive. After he was released, he began struggling with depression, anxiety, stress and overwhelming thoughts.”

According to Barbara, there were clear “signs that he was struggling,” and the family was “taking them seriously.”

Under the care of both a therapist and a psychiatrist, Hilton was “trying to get better,” his sister insisted.

The terrifying ordeal in the spring was so “incredibly traumatic” for Hilton — who was born and raised in Miami — that he decided he “wanted to live somewhere with a larger support system … [and] be closer to family, cousins and friends.”

During this time, the media personality also “reconnected with his faith and became convinced that moving to Miami was the right thing to do.” Barbara said she and Teresita — who had been living with her son and his three children in Las Vegas since their move from Los Angeles in 2023 — agreed that relocating “would give him a fresh start.”

In June, Hilton, his 72-year-old mom and his kids — son Mario Armando III, 13, and daughters Mia Alma, 11, and Mayte Amor, 8 — moved back to his hometown.

“Sadly, what should have been a happy new beginning became another source of stress for him,” Barbara told us.

“Soon after arriving in Miami, Mario started having doubts. He worried that moving had been a mistake, a financial drain and an impulsive decision. He wondered whether he should have stayed in Las Vegas, and those thoughts wouldn’t leave his mind.”

Though being closer to family “helped in some ways,” Barbara noted that her brother “was still struggling.” So she and Teresita “convinced him to speak with a therapist, and after some hesitation, he agreed and began therapy a couple of times a week.”

A few weeks later, Barbara shared that Hilton — who was “depressed” and “anxious” but doing his best to “get better” — met with a psychiatrist, who prescribed him “a low dose of an antidepressant.”

“During the month and a half he had been in Miami [before the incident], he had good days and bad days, but there were plenty of happy moments,” she assured us.

“He took the kids to museums and restaurants. They went to the zoo and the beach, visited family and spent time together. We laughed together and tried to help him settle into his new life.

“Things seemed to be looking better. He was still seeing his therapist, and his antidepressant dose was going to be increased. He still wasn’t feeling great, but it seemed like he was trying to make the most of it.”

Barbara was careful to not speculate on “what could have led him to that point” because she’s “not a doctor” and doesn’t “know exactly what happened inside his brain,” but she’s sure of one thing: “My brother was not well that day. He needed help, and he still needs help.”

For further updates on Perez Hilton from his family, please go to perezhilton.com.

This is the second article of a four-part series. For part one, click here.

If you or someone you know needs help in the US, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.