Jeff Garlin is opening up about a painful chapter behind his departure from “The Goldbergs,” and the years it took to feel like himself again. The 64-year-old comedian revealed that he experienced suicidal thoughts during the turmoil surrounding his 2021 exit from the ABC sitcom. Speaking with Ted Danson on Wednesday’s episode of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” Garlin recalled reaching out to his “Curb Your Enthusiasm” co-star Susie Essman during the crisis. His loved ones then helped him find treatment. Now, nearly five years later, the actor says therapy, support, physical activity, and creative work have helped him reach a more content place.
Jeff Garlin Reveals He Had A ‘Nervous Breakdown’
Garlin’s conversation with Danson went well beyond his comedy career. During the podcast interview, the actor described experiencing a serious mental health crisis around the end of his time playing Murray Goldberg. “I had a nervous breakdown,” the actor told Danson.
Garlin said he was considering taking his own life and contacted Essman to tell her what was happening. She reached out to people close to him, including his former wife, Marla, and his girlfriend, Sari. His friend Brad Morris also became part of the effort to get him help. “He’s one of my best friends,” Garlin said of Morris, explaining that he “watched me while they were looking for a place for me to go.”
Garlin Sought Treatment Away From Hollywood
Garlin ultimately went to a treatment facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I went to Cincinnati because I was serious. I’m not going to some rehab in Beverly Hills. F-ck that, man.”
While there, he underwent dialectical behavior therapy, commonly known as DBT, and received treatment for bipolar disorder, which he said had gone undiagnosed during his time on “The Goldbergs.” The treatment marked the beginning of a longer recovery process. Garlin explained that feeling better did not happen immediately after leaving the facility.
Garlin later publicly disclosed his bipolar disorder diagnosis in 2022, sharing a candid Instagram message about the difficulty of managing it. “Bipolar is a motherf-cker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can,” he wrote at the time.
He described that post as “the first time that I’ve opened up about” his diagnosis.
‘The Goldbergs’ Departure Followed An HR Investigation
Garlin left “The Goldbergs” in December 2021 after playing the family patriarch since the series began in 2013. His departure followed a reported three-year human resources investigation into allegations about his verbal and physical conduct on set. The decision for him to leave was described as mutual between Garlin and Sony Pictures Television.
In a Vanity Fair interview published before the departure announcement, Garlin acknowledged the repeated HR inquiries. “There has been an HR investigation on me the past three years. HR has come to me three years in a row for my behavior on set.” He also denied that he had been fired at that point. “No, I was not fired from ‘The Goldbergs.’ I have not been fired from ‘The Goldbergs.’”
Garlin disputed allegations concerning physical behavior, telling the outlet, “I have never physically come at anyone, for any reason, so that I find terribly confusing and untrue…”
His former co-star Wendi McLendon-Covey later described his departure as “a long time coming.”
Jeff Garlin Says Feeling Better Took Years
For Garlin, recovery involved building a routine with several different sources of support. “So it took me a while and I started doing AA, dialectical behavior therapy, continued my regular therapy, started boxing, getting myself physically healthy, doing things creatively that I found interesting, à la the book.”
That creative outlet became “Best Seat in the House: Moments No One Asked Me to Capture…But I Did Anyway,” released September 15. He described working on the book as “a rebirth thing,” connecting the project to a period of renewed creativity.
Even with those changes, Garlin emphasized how recently he began feeling genuinely well. “I’m just now feeling really good. Just now. Maybe the book coming out, but around now, really. It was a dark thing,” he said.
Garlin Explains Why He Is Sharing His Story Now
Garlin said he has reached a “content” point in his life and wants people to understand that a public image built around humor does not reveal everything someone is experiencing. “The point is…for people who do what we do, we get just as dark as you do. We have bad days just like you do.”
He also expressed gratitude to the family and friends who “have been so supportive of me.”
Since leaving “The Goldbergs,” Garlin has continued working, including appearances in “Babylon” and “Never Have I Ever,” alongside his more recent creative projects.
