How ‘Summer House’ star KJ Dillard’s mental health struggles affected Dara Levitan relationship

KJ Dillard revealed his mental health struggles caused his girlfriend and “Summer House” co-star Dara Levitan to end their relationship briefly.

Speaking to Carl Radke on Tuesday’s episode of “More Life with Carl Radke,” the Bravo newbie explained that “pre-show, nothing was really going on” for him.

“Modeling was slow. I’d taken a break during the summer to focus on the show,” he explained, noting that this left him in a “terrible place” financially.

“Me and Dara were struggling because I was taking out what I was going through out on her. I wasn’t even aware of it,” the reality star recalled.

Despite taking medication for his anxiety and depression, Dillard explained that he “didn’t realize” he was also battling undiagnosed borderline personality disorder — a diagnosis he revealed during the first part of the “Summer House” reunion aired last week.

As Dillard hit “rock bottom,” Levitan ended their relationship “because she had to.”

“Dara, I think, was gonna hang on … but that wouldn’t have been good for either of us,” Dillard explained.

“I needed the time, because after the hospital, I went to recovery … and that’s when we broke up,” he added, referring to his late 2025 hospitalization over self-harm.

However, the Bravolebrity admitted that the break-up was for the best, noting that dating in recovery “would have been a mess.”

“I would have been focused on saving the relationship rather than focusing on my health,” he mused. “Recovery changed my life.”

While on the podcast, Dillard also made it clear that Levitan is still his “lil thing.”

“We do a good job at not letting [the public] tear us apart. It affects us individually, of course, but the relationship, we both know what we want and what we’ve gone through together,” he explained.

Calling his relationship with Levitan “some love story s–t,” Dillard insisted that the pair isn’t going to let “outside influence affect that.”

Meanwhile, just last week, the duo sent fans into a frenzy when they unfollowed each other on social media.

Dillard also deleted all photos of Levitan off his Instagram page and posted a series of cryptic messages on Threads, including one that simply read, “Welp.”

But a few days later, he dropped a music video for his song, “My Lil Thing” — proving the online chatter was promotion for the track.

“She’s my lil thing / Stick around and give her a wedding ring / Stick around and give her a second name,” Dillard rapped in the music video, in which Levitan was front and center.

The lyrics also referenced meeting during Season 10 of “Summer House,” with the artist singing, “From the Hamptons to the city, every weekend getting litty.”

In March, Levitan proved she was still head over heels over Dillard when she gushed over romance in an interview with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea.” 

“There was something different about [Dillard] for me he was a little bit more soft-spoken, he led forward with, like, this very kind, warm energy,” Levitan — who previously dated the controversial West Wilson — revealed to hosts Evan Real and Danny Murphy. 

The television personality shared that she and Dillard had a lot of similarities, which allowed her “lover girl” side to come out.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.