The 'Leader of the Pack' star says, 'I went into a big depression. I lost a lot of weight. And I felt that I lost the most important thing, which was my family.'
- Nov 16, 2012
AceShowbiz - Cesar Millan revealed his suicide attempt ahead of the premiere of his new TV series "Leader of the Pack". In a TV special subtitled "The Real Story", he said he tried to take his own life after his dog Daddy died and his wife of 16 years asked for divorce.
"It was hard, because I wasn't expecting it," the 43-year-old dog trainer remembered the hard days. The "Dog Whisperer" star added, "I went into a big depression. I lost a lot of weight. And I felt that I lost the most important thing, which was my family."
Cesar actually had already talked about the dark episode on his life earlier this year on his website, but he left his suicide attempt out of it. "I felt defeated, a big sense of guilt and failure," he wrote. "I was at the lowest level I had ever been emotionally and psychologically."
He has now found a new love in Jahira Dar and plans to pop the big question sometime soon. "It's a surprise," he gushed. "I am a traditional guy, so I like to do the whole parent thing. I know they are going to say yes, but I like the whole Cinderella story."
Cesar also has another pit bull named Junior with him, though he says the dog will never take Daddy's place. "Daddy was my Tibet, my Himalaya, my Gouda, my Buddha, my source of calmness," the reality TV star said lovingly of his deceased pet.
A Mexican native, Cesar came to the United States when he was 21. Unable to speak English, he lived on the streets for two months before getting a job as a dog trainer and being employed by Jada Pinkett Smith before she was married to Will Smith. She helped him get an English tutor after learning he wanted to be on TV.
"I think my life has everything, you know, it has comedy has drama has action," he states. "I don't know about the ending yet. I'm just glad I can tell the story. Hopefully people get inspired, they get motivated. It doesn't matter where you come from. Really what I would like for people to get out of this is just to not lose hope, no matter what happens. You should never lose hope."
The "True Story" special will air on Nat Geo Wild on November 25 this year, and "Leader of the Pack" will follow in January 2013 on the same network.
