Willie Aames totally charmed our yoga pants off on Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp, with his amazing positive attitude, neverending energy and laser focus. But after he beat out all the other D Listers to win the weight loss competition, things took a bit of a downturn in Willie’s life. The former child star (and our personal 80′s crush) has admitted that he attempted to take his own life after his wife of 22 years, Maylo Upton, asked for a divorce. His relationship crumbling was the final devastating blow for Aames, who had also recently declared bankruptcy and had his car repossessed. The actor left his home in Kansas and ended up renting a room in Los Angeles, where he fell off the wagon after 20 years of sobriety.
“I stole a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the guy I was renting the room from. I’d been sober for 20 years when I took that first drink. I was also taking antidepressants and antianxiety pills. It got so bad, I put a knife to my throat and cut myself in six places. The police came, put me in handcuffs and whisked me away. I was completely devastated… I kept asking, ‘What did I do wrong?’”
Willie landed in the psych ward at the University of Southern California, where we hope he’s on the mend. Perhaps reviving his role as the muscular and heroic Bibleman could reinvigorate his career?
