Jeff Garlin Reveals He Planned to Kill Himself After "The Goldbergs" Exit: "I Had a Nervous Breakdown"

Jeff Garlin is telling the hardest story of his career, and he’s not leaving anything out. On Ted Danson’s“Where Everybody Knows Your Name”podcast, the comedian said he had a nervous breakdown and planned to kill himself after being written off“The Goldbergs”in 2021 amid a misconduct investigation. He told Danson he called“Curb Your Enthusiasm”co-star Susie Essman and said he would be dead by noon, which triggered his ex-wife, girlfriend Sari Tracht and a close friend to intervene and get him into treatment.

Garlin chose a facility in Cincinnati over one in Beverly Hills, and while he was there he learned dialectical behavior therapy and was treated for bipolar disorder, which he says went undiagnosed during his years on the ABC sitcom. Five years after the worst stretch of his career, he says he feels“really good”and is promoting a new book. His former co-star Wendi McLendon-Covey has disputed his account of his on-set behavior, so the story comes with real tension between the mental health conversation and the workplace allegations.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. Have you ever had a late-in-life diagnosis change how you understand your own past? Tell us in the comments.