Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton checked himself into a hospital for “severe depression” just weeks before the traumatic incident that led to his hospitalization on August 4, his younger sister has revealed in a detailed interview.
Barbara Lavandeira, 42, described how her brother—whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr.—confided in her and their mother about two weeks before the crisis, explaining that he had felt “empty, hopeless and like he was a burden on everyone.” She recalled that he admitted to taking remaining painkillers from surgery performed earlier in the year one night when he couldn’t sleep, saying he “just wanted to sleep.”
Alarmed by his confession, Barbara thanked him for being “strong enough” to open up but told him he needed professional psychiatric help. When he agreed, she took him to the hospital that same day. “He went voluntarily,” she explained. “After several days of evaluation and treatment, the facility determined that he could be discharged.”
The days following his hospitalization gave Barbara hope. “That weekend, Mario seemed so much better. He looked better, too,” she said. “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.”
On August 3, Hilton returned to his regular therapy sessions. The following day, he completed an intake call for an intensive outpatient program and was supposed to begin outpatient group therapy the following week. By the afternoon of August 4, Barbara said, “our lives changed forever.”
When Barbara discovered her brother in his bathroom standing naked, covered in blood, with a box cutter in his hand, she grabbed car keys and yelled for her daughter, her nephew, and her nieces to run to the car. She then called 911 and made arrangements for her friend to take the children away from the scene. Before police and paramedics could arrive, Hilton went live on TikTok, broadcasting what appeared to be self-harm to viewers who were alarmed and calling for emergency help.
While acknowledging it remains difficult to comprehend what happened, Barbara pointed to multiple contributing factors. “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 said.
The events leading to August 4 had been extraordinarily difficult. In March, while living in Las Vegas, Hilton was hospitalized for close to a month with life-threatening complications. He developed sepsis—a severe condition—after taking flu medication without food, which caused an ulcer that perforated. “Doctors initially didn’t know what was wrong,” Barbara explained. “His body became septic, he coded and he nearly died several times. He underwent abdominal surgery, had fluid drained from around his lungs twice and then had to recover from surgery and begin physical therapy.”
During a follow-up appointment, doctors discovered a large blood clot in his leg, requiring additional intervention. The ordeal left both his body and mind traumatized. “He couldn’t sleep while he was hospitalized. He couldn’t eat. He didn’t know whether he was going to survive,” Barbara said. “After he was released, he began struggling with depression, anxiety, stress and overwhelming thoughts.”
In June, seeking a fresh start and wanting to be closer to family, Hilton moved back to Miami with his mother, Teresita Lavandeira, and his three children: son Mario Armando III, 13, and daughters Mia Alma, 11, and Mayte Amor, 8. He had announced the move in a YouTube video, describing Miami—where he was born and raised—as his true home and saying that his spiritual experience during his illness had convinced him the relocation was divinely guided.
However, what should have been a hopeful new beginning became another source of struggle. “Soon after arriving in Miami, Mario started having doubts,” Barbara revealed. “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.”
To help her brother, Barbara and their mother convinced him to see a therapist, and after some hesitation, he agreed to attend sessions twice weekly. A few weeks later, he met with a psychiatrist who prescribed him a low-dose 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,” Barbara said. “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.”
Barbara was careful not to speculate about the exact circumstances that led to the crisis, noting she is not a medical professional. But she was certain of one thing: “My brother was not well that day. He needed help, and he still needs help.”
The family released a statement saying Hilton’s condition remains serious but stable and that he will require surgery in the coming days due to significant blood loss and additional injuries sustained during the incident. His treatment and recovery process is expected to be lengthy. His children are in the care of their grandmother, and the family has requested privacy during this difficult time.