He was an incredibly damaged human being, from his father leaving when he was 7 and then his mother being bi-polar and an alcoholic. Yet somehow, he rose to become one of America’s biggest entertainers — and today, everyone knows his name… Check comments ⬇️

He entered rehab twice for his substance issues: first in 2002, which didn’t help, and again in 2005 at Betty Ford.

”The second time was at Betty Ford, which was not a lot of fun. I was drinking too much,” he told Parade in 2018.

”I said, ‘This time I’m going to stick it through for a month.’ It was one of the best things I ever did.” By 2023, he had quit drinking completely. ”I stopped a couple of years ago,” he said. “It wasn’t a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I’d had enough.”

Romantic relationships brought their own challenges. Married four times, his early unions ended in heartbreak or financial loss. His first wife, who also acted as his manager in the ’70s, allegedly tried to take everything from him while he was hospitalized after a near-fatal motorcycle accident.

”When I finally understood what was in that deal, I said, ‘No f**king way—I’m in a hospital bed and you’re shedding crocodile tears and bringing me a contract that completely screws me?’” he recalled.

Inside his brain disorder

Later, while married to another wife, he discovered that her brother, whom he had appointed as manager, had stolen nearly $30 million of his earnings. He sued and recovered a fraction but said the betrayal was more emotional than financial. Subsequent marriages were less financially devastating but still complicated, including a divorce that cost him a Manhattan townhouse worth millions.