NWspecial report

R

ehabhas long

beena rite

of passage for

many celebs.

However,

while most seek help for

substance abuse or mental

health dramas, there’s a

newissuepushingmanyof

them,inparticularreality

stars,intotreatment– the

inability to deal with the

end of their 15 minutes

of fame.

Indeed, as the 2018 cast

of Married At First Sight

can probably attest, with

each new season interest

quickly fades in the last.

Reality stars in the US

and UK are facing the

same ugly truth. Thus,

Dr Reef Karim set up

a facility in Beverly Hills

three years ago to treat

celebs struggling to chase

ormaintainfame.The

psychiatristandaddiction

specialistsayshispatients

genuinelyfoundfame

to bejustasdestructive

as anymajoraddiction.

Dying for fame

Today the centre’s

services, which cost from

$8,000 to up to $28,000

for a 30-day programme,

are in high demand. And

with good reason.

As the recent death of

UK Love Island contestant

Mike Thalassitis

demonstrated, the

world of reality TV

is under scrutiny

more than ever

before. Since

theex-footballer

tragicallytook

hisownlifein

Marchatjust 26 yearsof

age,questionshaverightly

beenraisedaboutwhether

young,vulnerablepeople

are really being given the

after-care they need once

thrown into the spotlight.

Giving a eulogy at his

funeral, Mike’s Love

Island co-star Montana

Brown said, “I can see

a lot of reality faces in the

room, please do not let

thispassyouby. It’s so

hard, the

rejection,

the comp-

etitiveness,

the need to

constantly

look like

you’re OK

onsocial

av

n

REALITY STA

R

The

secret reha

DR REEF

KARIM

MIKE

THALASSITIS

36 NWonline.com.au