Andrew Gillum talks alcohol addiction & rehab- no explanation for being found with gay male escort- @andrewgillum
Gillum, posted an 11-minute video on Instagram, to discuss his battle with depression and alcoholism after having announced in March that he would be stepping back in order to “seek help, guidance and enter a rehabilitation facility.” The former mayor of Tallahassee — who was the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida in 2018, is married and shares three children with his wife, R. Jai,. He was found drunk in a hotel room on March 13 with a male escort/porn actor who had overdosed on drugs.
“My stuff had to be public and cause great embarrassment and rumors, some false, some true, the shame that I felt from all of that … was tearing me up,” Gillum, 40, said of the incident and its aftermath. “I needed real help to try to unpack that.”
“I totally underestimated the impact that losing the race for governor had on my life, and on the way that those impacts started to show up in every aspect of my life,” Gillum said Monday, adding that he didn’t want to talk about the loss because it was a “constant reminder” of his own failure.
“I am thankful to so many of you who have wished me well during this especially challenging time,” he captioned his video post on Monday. “I wanted to provide a personal update on how I have been doing. Take good care of yourselves during this season and I will see you on the other side. Warmest, Andrew.”
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I am thankful to so many of you who have wished me well during this especially challenging time.