Michael Phelps, the most successful Olympic athlete of all time, said in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he was suicidal following his arrest for drunk driving.
Phelps was arrested in 2014 after he was pulled over for drunk driving and blew a BAC of .14 — which is well over the legal limit of .08. The athlete then spiraled through what could only be described as depression as media attention began to pile on. (RELATED: Michael Phelps Arrested For DUI)
From the Sports Illustrated interview:
News organizations were camped nearby, looking for a glimpse of Phelps, who did not leave the town house for four days. “I was in a really dark place,” Phelps says. “Not wanting to be alive anymore.”
Phelps entered rehab at The Meadows, a private rehab facility in the desert of Arizona, and described it as “probably the most afraid I’ve ever felt in my life.”
The Olympian exited rehab after 45 days, and is primed and ready to compete in his last Olympics in 2016.