Growing Up Chrisley star Nic Kerdiles opened up about surviving a suicide attempt in a lengthy video with Savannah Chrisley and her dad, Todd Chrisley, by his side for support during the late hours of Wednesday, February 2.
The former hockey player, 28, acknowledged that his story was not “easy” to talk about but hoped it “could help somebody else.” Todd noted the scary incident happened within the “last 48 hours.”
“I’m super grateful to be here today,” Nic began. “I recently went through COVID as well, and now, reading a lot more about it, I kind of understand why this situation might have happened that occurred the other night.”
He continued, “Some of the things I have from COVID I’ve been on medication [for]. I decided to mix alcohol with it to a point that I don’t remember anything that happened that night.”
Savannah, 24, shared several statistics about anxiety and depression being on the rise amid the pandemic, adding, “Not only has the disease truly impacted us, so has mental health.”
Nic explained that he was “blacked out” from the combination of his medication and alcohol but “luckily” had plans to get a haircut from his friend Chad.
“If he wasn’t there, I don’t know if I would still be here today to be completely honest,” the realtor said. “I had a gun by me, and I don’t know where I was at in my mental state, but between the depression, anxiety, the COVID effects, the medication, the alcohol I did something that I never thought I would ever do.”
The Texas native noted he was “grateful” to Savannah, Todd, 52, and Chad for their support, and he hopes to “become a lot better” and help others by sharing his story.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Later in the clip, Todd said Nic’s medication, which he did not call out by name, was known to cause depression and anxiety. “In 2020, there was a study done that showed the side effects were all psychological,” Savannah added.
The Sassy By Savannah founder acknowledged that “it’s OK not to be OK,” adding, “That’s something I feel like I’ve told Nic for a little while now … it’s OK to talk about your feelings, it’s OK to ask for help.”
Todd also expressed his admiration for Nic. “I love you to this day, and son, I will always love you. I don’t care if you marry my daughter. I don’t care if y’all date,” the Chrisley Knows Best star said. “I don’t care if you are ever boyfriend and girlfriend. I love you for you because you’re a good kid with a great heart and you don’t deserve the glass bowl or the fishbowl lifestyle that you’ve inherited because of us.”
Savannah and Nic started dating in 2017 and got engaged the following year. The duo called off their wedding in July 2020 and announced their decision to split two months later. However, the reality starlet told Life & Style in August 2021 that they “are together” but “figuring things out.”
Life & Style reached out to Nic, Savannah and Todd but did not hear back by the time of publication.