In 2018, it appeared that former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum had everything going for him.
Despite losing an extremely close race for governor in Florida, he had his entire political career ahead of him. With the backing of the Democratic Party, Gillum seemed poised for another run in the near future. However, those hopes came crashing down quickly this spring.
In March, Gillum was reportedly found in a Miami Beach Hotel room with a man named Travis Dyson. The two were reportedly passed out with large amounts of money in the room and suspected crystal meth use abound. Shortly thereafter, Gillum entered a rehabilitation facility and began therapy for depression.
Four months later, Gillum has briefly returned to the public eye to open up about the early stages of his journey. In an 11 minute video posted to Instagram, Gillum discussed the shocking incident, his rehab and his family.
“My stuff had to be public and cause great embarrassment and rumors, some false, some true, the shame that I felt from all of that … was tearing me up,” he said.
“I needed real help to try to unpack that,” he added.
At one point, he praised his wife, R. Jai Gillum, for being an ally during this process. He said that she “knows that I am and knows what I am not.”
“She chooses to love me anyhow,” he added.