Ricki Lake recalls efforts to 'save' ex-husband Christian Evans from 'psychotic breaks' before his death

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ricki Lake has courageously shared the extensive efforts she undertook to support her ex-husband, Christian Evans, through his mental health challenges before his heartbreaking suicide in 2020.

The former talk show host candidly discussed her extensive efforts to support Evans, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, through his "psychotic breaks" before his suicide in 2017.

Ricki Lake shares heartbreaking struggles to help ex-husband Christian Evans

“I didn’t understand what bipolar disorder meant at first,” Ricki Lake said according to People, while sharing her experiences with death doula Alua Arthur at the annual End Well symposium on November 22.

She added, “I know he suffered from depression and had a lot of pain. We were together four years before he had his first psychotic break. It was almost more shocking seeing him turn into another person than his ultimate death.”

“I went to great lengths to save him; I did everything I could in my power to bring him to the doctor to get him help, and it was really challenging,” the 56-year-old went on to say. “He had his second psychotic break two years after the first and ultimately took his life in [February] of 2017.”

Lake and Evans began their relationship in 2010 following an introduction by a mutual friend, according to People.

“He was super magical, and he was madly in love with me and I with him,” she spoke of their relationship, noting that their initial encounter was unconventional, involving a "medical journey" with ayahuasca.

Ricki Lake reflects on efforts to save ex-husband Christian Evans before his death

Ricki Lake and Christian Evans got engaged in August 2011 and eloped the following year. Lake and Evans parted ways in 2014, yet they stayed close until his passing. Lake expressed that she felt like a failure because she couldn't "save" him.

“I’m a manifester, I get s**t done,” she said. “And when it came to fixing him, I couldn’t fix him, I couldn’t save him.”

Lake has remarried Ross Burningham, yet she honors Evans' memory by continuing to speak about her late partner.

“What I can say is through loving and losing him, I’m the best version of myself because of the way he loved me,” she said.

“I feel like I’ve learned so many lessons, so much about I love, and how we’re still connected and that they’re not gone,” Lake added. “But he had to leave for me to have this beautiful, abundant life that I appreciate every day. I wake up in gratitude and am so appreciative of this life I had with him and now without him.”