Carl Radke had two conversations with the Summer House production team before making the decision to get sober.
“I absolutely was sat down by production executives two different times — in 2018 and 2019 — and the suggestion was, ‘You should go to rehab. You should take a look at your drinking and also drug use,’” Radke, 41, told Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler during the Tuesday, March 17, episode of their “MeSsy” podcast.
Radke explained that he “was never comfortable publicly admitting” at the time that he had more than just an issue with alcohol.
“I loved to drink, but when I drank, I had to do an upper or some sort of cocaine or Adderall,” he said. “One of the producers actually was like, ‘Carl, is it just your drinking, though?’ And the way she said to me in that meeting, it was like, ‘She knows.’ I didn’t realize at that time everybody knew.”
“The More Life with Carl Radke” podcast host explained that admitting his cocaine use publicly felt like “another level” for him.
“It’s embarrassing,” he admitted. “You’re a degenerate, you’re a piece of s***, you’re all these things. But it was important for me to admit that, because that actually was a bigger issue.”
Radke initially got sober in 2020, but started drinking again before production on Summer House started in summer of that year. When his brother, Curtis, died from a drug overdose in 2021, the Bravo star got sober for good.
During Tuesday’s podcast episode, Radke explained that he “struggled hardcore” with cocaine use. But when he was drinking it was “whatever I could get my hands on to get off of the mountain and then to get back up the mountain.”
Summer House’s Carl Radke’s Battle With Addiction in His Own Words
Radke said that the “conversation” surrounding his behavior started during Summer House season 1, which aired in 2017.
“[I] had some really bad moments that were off camera,” he recalled. “Then, I was really good at apologizing and taking ownership, but then getting right back in the same cycle.”
Radke remembered that the cast of the first and second season — which consisted of Radke along with Kyle Cooke, Lindsay Hubbard, Stephen McGee, Lauren and Ashley Wirkus — were familiar with “the Carl apology tour.”
“I’d crazy shit the night before. The next day, I’d feel so bad,” he said. “I’d be so anxious and depressed because of how I acted the night before, but I would go around and make sure I apologized and tried to clear the air, but then I do it all over.”
Radke added, “I’m very lucky. I had good friends that, I think, saw what I needed.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
