Perez Hilton’s sister, Barbara Lavandeira, revealed that he was hospitalized for “severe depression” weeks before his troubling livestream.
“He told us that a few days earlier, he had felt empty, hopeless and like he was a burden on everyone,” Lavandeira said in an interview with Page Six published on Thursday, August 13. “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.”
At the time, Lavandeira appreciated that Hilton, 48, was “strong enough” to confide in his family, and Lavandeira told him he needed ”proper psychiatric help.” Hilton allegedly agreed and Lavandeira took him to the hospital right away.
“He went voluntarily,” she told the outlet. “After several days of evaluation and treatment, the facility determined that he could be discharged.”
After being released from the hospital, Hilton “seemed so much better,” according to Lavandeira.
“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 recalled, adding that Hilton also “returned to his regular therapy sessions.”
Lavandeira shared that on the day of his livestream, Hilton “completed an intake call for an intensive outpatient program and was supposed to begin outpatient group therapy the following week.” She added that there were several factors that may have contributed to Hilton’s mental health crisis.
“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,” she told the outlet.
Earlier this month, Hilton livestreamed via TikTok while allegedly performing dangerous acts of self-harm. A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade police confirmed to Us that law enforcement officials received calls “regarding an individual who was live-streaming acts of self-harm on social media” and were then dispatched to Hilton’s Florida home for a “possible suicide” attempt.
The video went on for 10 minutes before it was removed. (A spokesperson for TikTok explained that a moderation error caused a delay in its removal and confirmed that Hilton’s account was subsequently banned for violating the app’s terms of service.)
Hilton has since remained in the hospital. According to an August 8 update from Hilton’s family, the blogger “experienced significant blood loss and sustained additional injuries,” which required surgery.
Us confirmed on Wednesday, August 12 that Hilton’s mother, Teresita Lavandeira, filed for temporary custody of his three children: Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, 8. Hilton “voluntarily consented” to the request amid his hospitalization, per documents obtained by Us.
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