President Joe Biden revealed he contemplated suicide after his first wife, Neilia Biden, and their infant daughter died in a car crash.
During a surprise interview with Howard Stern on Friday, April 26, Joe, 81, recalled how his mental health declined significantly after the tragic incident.
“You don’t have to be crazy to commit suicide. If you’ve been to the top of the mountain, you think it’s never going to be there again,” Joe explained. “In just a brief moment, I thought about going to the Delaware Memorial [Bridge] and jump.”
Joe ultimately walked back the decision because of his sons, Beau Biden and Hunter Biden. “I had two kids,” he said. “It wasn’t like I got to commit suicide. It was like I had been to the top of the mountain and it’s never going to happen again. You’re never going to be OK.”
Joe said he also thought about numbing his pain with alcohol at the time. His family history with alcoholism, however, stopped Joe from drinking.
“I used to sit there and just think I’m going to take out a bottle of scotch,” he added on Friday. “I’m going to just drink it and get drunk.”
The president has previously opened up about how the support of his family helped him through the grieving process. In December 1972, Neilia, who was 30 at the time, and 13-month old Naomi were struck by a tractor-trailer and killed. The couple’s sons, Beau Biden and Hunter Biden, were also in the car but survived the accident.
“I had an overwhelming advantage in the loss. I had a really close family that was there,” Joe said on a July 2023 episode of the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast. “When I got home from the hospital, my sister [Valerie Biden] and [her] husband already gave up their apartment and moved in. [They] helped me raise my kids.”
Joe was also thankful for brothers Jim Biden and Frank Biden for remaining by his side.
“They were there for me. That was a gigantic difference. My best friends in my life are my sister and brother[s]. I had an enormous advantage,” he continued. “When you see people who are going through something tough, it does matter if you reach out.”
In 2015, Joe publicly mourned his son Beau, who passed away at the age of 46 following a battle with brain cancer.
“People would stop and throw their arms around me [at the church],” Joe noted in July 2023. “Because if they know you know the pain, they feel they get some solace in it. It’s not always easy, but it matters just to reach out.”
Joe found love again after the death of his first wife with Jill Biden, whom he married in 1977. The pair expanded their family with daughter Ashley Biden in 1981.
“My best friend is my wife,” Joe gushed on the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast. “A woman who has probably had more to do with my success is my sister, Valerie, and my brother Jim. I think that’s the place I go most [for support].”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
