“I didn’t want to be here,” the 52-year-old former reality star said of her low point, before revealing how much she’s spent on medical expenses so far.
TW: This story discusses suicide.
Brandi Glanville is opening up about the financial and mental struggles she’s endured amid her mysterious health issues.
While sitting down with Us Weekly, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum credits her children — Mason and Jake, whom she shares with ex-husband Eddie Cibrian — for keeping her “here.”
“I’ve never felt suicidal before, [but earlier this summer], I didn’t want to be here,” the 52 year old said. “And if it wasn’t for my kids, I don’t know that I would be here.”
After filming The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Ex-Wives Club in Morocco in 2023, Glanville fell into a state of depression.
“Almost immediately upon landing, my phone started blowing up about these articles that were incorrect and not true about what happened in Morocco with Caroline [Manzo], and I immediately took on a ton of anxiety,” she told the publication. “And I was just trying to get my head around what was happening and why it was happening. I was on the couch in a fetal position for four months.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum, Manzo filed a suit in July 2024, alleging not only that Glanville had assaulted her during filming for Housewives spinoff Ultimate Girls Trip in January 2023, but that production encouraged it.
As Glanville attempted to reenter the world and socialize again, she says she then started to notice “crazy lumps” on her face.
“My face started moving around and doing things. I started to lose my eyesight in my left eye. It’s insane,” she added. “At first, my face was blowing up and getting really swollen. Then it started sinking in, and I felt like something was just eating me from the inside. I’m like, ‘It’s eating my flesh.'”
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Along with the toll on her mental health, her face issues have caused financial strain to the reality star’s life.
Glanville admitted to seeing 21 doctors, claiming her insurance company “didn’t believe” her situation, which forced her to pay out of pocket. In total, she says she’s spent $130,000 on medical bills.
“My insurance was like, ‘Nothing’s wrong with you. It’s just inflammation and old filler,'” she added. “I’m paying the minimum on my credit cards. I’ve exhausted my savings. At my age, I feel like such a loser in a way, because I was taking care of everything,” she said.
“I was together. I had great credit. Now I’m scared about every little thing,” she said.
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In December, 2023 Glanville went public with mysterious skin issues. In April, she was hospitalized due to worsening symptoms. “My head and neck would not move for four hours this morning. I could not get out of my bed,” she wrote on X at the time. “I called 911, had a lovely trip in the ambulance, now I am at this amazing place after sitting in a wheelchair in the waiting room for four hours.”
After a number of different doctors and treatments, Glanville revealed on Instagram this week that she just started working with a new doctor — Michael R. Scoma, M.D — “who specializes in infectious diseases” to “help me try to figure out what is going on inside.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress.
