Kendra Wilkinson reveals her heartbreaking truth. "I was dying of depression" in a Candid PEOPLE Interview. "I was in a state of panic. I didn’t know what was going on in my head and my body or why I was crying. I had hit rock bottom," she confides to PEOPLE in her initial interview since being hospitalized following a panic attack in September of 2023."I was reaching the end of my life, and I entered a state of psychosis. I felt like I wasn’t strong enough to live anymore."
Two decades have passed since Kendra initially gained fame at 18, becoming one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends on the reality series Girls Next Door. However, at 38, Kendra Wilkinson is just starting to confront the repercussions of her time in the infamous Playboy mansion.
Reflecting on her 20s, Wilkinson acknowledges the challenges she faces. "It’s not easy to look back at my 20s. I’ve had to face my demons," shares Wilkinson, who, accompanied by her ex-husband, former NFL player Hank Baskett, returned to the hospital a week after her Sept. 6 emergency room visit where she was hospitalized. During her hospitalization, she was prescribed the antipsychotic medication Abilify (Aripiprazole). She candidly states, “Playboy really messed my whole life up." “I was on drugs at age 15 and I had a lot of issues,” she says. At 18 years old she moved into the Playboy mansion and jumpstarted her career on E!'s 2005 hit reality show, which documented her relationship with Hefner — who was 60 years her senior “I really got into deep regret [afterwards]... deep. I struggled with depression before and at the mansion. I drank a lot. I was there for the partying, okay, let's just be real. I was not there for Hugh Hefner to be my boyfriend."
Kendra married football player Hank Baskett on June 27, 2009, at the Playboy Mansion. In 2014, allegations surfaced that Baskett had allegedly cheated with a transgender model while Wilkinson was eight months pregnant with their second child. Which led to their divorce in 2018. She adds "It devastated me because I cared for him deeply, and I never truly understood the essence of marriage and love. I didn't experience a household filled with the warmth of marriage and love," she expresses regarding their separation. "That's why I've refrained from dating; I'm still grappling with the aftermath of my divorce. It played a significant role in my battle with depression. My love for Hank remains, and it always will. Frankly, he's the most incredible father I could have ever hoped for."
After getting help, Kendra Wilkinson feels she should help others who might be struggling.
"Depression is something that doesn't just go away. It's something that stays with you through life. You just have to learn to work with it and accept it. And it's a part of me," she says. "Therapy helped me build tools. Now I have the strength — I have what I need to overcome my depression."
Kendra further addresses her journey in battling mental health: "I’m so proud of myself for battling this and finding the solution and getting the treatment I needed. And it's one step at a time," she shared, taking a deep breath. “I survived.”
Comentarios