Perez Hilton’s sister gives update on celeb blogger’s injuries, details his ‘long road’ of recovery

Warning: The content below contains graphic details.

Perez Hilton (real name: Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr.) remains hospitalized after his devastating suicide attempt on Aug. 4 — and his physical and mental road to recovery is expected to be a long one.

In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Hilton’s sister, Barbara Lavandeira, gave an emotional update on her beloved brother’s health following his alarming TikTok livestream.

“Mario remains hospitalized and continues to receive medical treatment for his injuries. His physical and mental recovery is going to take a lot of time, but we remain hopeful,” Barbara told Page Six Wednesday in her first and only interview since the heartbreaking incident. “He has no access to a cell phone, social media or the internet. Everyone’s focus is on helping him recover physically and making sure he receives the mental and emotional care and support he needs.”

While Barbara refrained from providing specific details on Hilton’s injuries or treatment — as they are “private medical matters” — she did give an update on the wounds he sustained from self-harming while live on TikTok.

“He did sustain cuts to his face and other areas, but it’s still far too early to know the extent of any lasting damage or scarring,” she shared. “What I can say is that he has a long road ahead of him, both physically and mentally.”

When asked if Hilton, 48, remembers the harrowing incident, Barbara said their “visits and conversations with him” have been “limited.”

“I don’t want to speak for Mario about what he does or doesn’t remember,” she said. “He’s with medical professionals, and right now the focus needs to remain on his treatment and recovery. There’ll be time for those conversations when his doctors believe he’s ready.”

As for when Hilton will be able to return home to his family?

“We honestly don’t know. His physical and mental recovery is going to take time, and we’re following the guidance of his doctors,” Barbara told Page Six. “I don’t want to offer a timeline or make promises about when he might come home. Right now, the most important thing is that he receives the treatment he needs and isn’t rushed through any part of his recovery.”

While the focus has been on helping Hilton recover, Barbara and their mother, Teresita Lavandeira, are also taking care of the blogger’s three children — Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, 8 — who were at their father’s Miami home before the incident.

“Our main priority is making sure they are safe, supported, and surrounded by people who love them. They’re trying to process something no child should ever have to experience,” Barbara explained.

“They love their father, and the goal is for Mario to get well and be able to care for his children again when he is healthy and able to do so safely. In the meantime, our mother is caring for them, and our entire family is helping provide the love, stability, privacy and professional support they need.”

As Page Six exclusively reported, Teresita filed for temporary custody of the children on Aug. 7, with Hilton “voluntarily” consenting to the custody request.

“Mario’s children have never been taken away from him in the past. Neither my mother nor I are trying to take them away from him permanently now,” Barbara told Page Six, in response to the “false information circulating” regarding custody.

“We are seeking a temporary legal arrangement so our mother can make the necessary decisions for them while Mario receives treatment and recovers.”

During the interview, Barbara continued to address how Teresita has been navigating her son’s recovery and caring for her grandchildren.

“She’s experiencing the heartbreak of watching her son go through something no mother should ever have to witness, while also trying to remain strong and provide stability for his children. She loves Mario, and she loves her grandchildren,” she shared. “Right now, she’s doing everything she can to support all of them while processing her own pain and fear. We’re all trying to support her, too, but this has been incredibly difficult for her.”

As for Barbara herself, she is “still trying to process everything” from that devastating night.

“I keep going over that day in my head and wondering whether there were warning signs I missed or something more I could have done. I’m also trying to help my mother, my nephew and my nieces adjust to this new normal, if we can even call it that,” she explained. “We’ve been having open conversations, spending time together, praying and connecting with cousins and friends. We’re taking things one day at a time because that’s all we can do right now.”

“Something like this would ordinarily be an intensely private family crisis. It should have been a time for us to process what happened, focus on getting Mario the help he needs, support the children, and begin trying to heal,” she continued.

“Instead, we’re trying to do all of that while navigating the public attention and scrutiny surrounding one of the most painful experiences our family has ever been through.”

Hilton’s family has been updating caring fans on his condition through his blog, Perezhilton.com, and his social media accounts.

Barbara admits that while Hilton is focused on his recovery, he’s “left big shoes to fill” regarding his website.

“His absence will definitely affect how much news we’re able to publish, but we’re focused on continuing operations and covering as many of the biggest entertainment stories as we can while he’s unable to participate in creating content,” she told Page Six. “For now, we’ll continue sharing our content across the website’s social media accounts, including links to that content on Perez’s personal accounts.”

“Mario created his website alone and has dedicated much of his life to it,” she continued. “It’s his passion, so once he’s healthy and ready to return, any long-term decisions about the website, his social media platforms, and their future direction should come from him.”

Barbara is grateful to Hilton’s fans who have supported her brother during this difficult time.

“What I can say on behalf of our family is that we’re deeply grateful for every kind message, prayer, and expression of genuine concern. The support has meant more to us than I can properly express,” she said, adding, “When Mario is ready and his doctors believe it’s appropriate, anything he wants to say should come directly from him.”

Elsewhere in Barbara’s first interview since her brother’s suicide attempt, she detailed the gut-wrenching moment she discovered Hilton harming himself.

“August 4th will forever be one of the darkest days my family and I have ever experienced,” Barbara said of the evening Hilton livestreamed acts of self-harm on TikTok, resulting in his hospitalization for life-saving treatment.

“That afternoon, Mario was in his bedroom with the door closed and locked, which wasn’t like him. His door was almost always open,” Barbara explained. “When I knocked, he said he was fine, but I could barely hear him. After I knocked a few more times and asked him to open the door, he stopped responding. I tried calling his cell phone in case he couldn’t hear me, but he wouldn’t answer. Something just felt wrong.”

When Barbara managed to enter the bedroom, she discovered he was locked in the bathroom and unlocked the door, coming face-to-face with her injured brother.

“When I opened the door, my nightmare became a reality. Mario was standing in front of the shower, naked, cut up, covered in blood, with a box cutter in his hand,” Barbara courageously shared.

“What I can say with certainty is that I didn’t recognize my brother when I looked at him. I saw it in his eyes. They didn’t look the same. Then, a split second later, he smiled at me. It felt like I was staring at someone else.”

Barbara fled the home with Hilton’s three children and contacted authorities.

“Eventually, I was able to go back into the house while I waited for the ambulance and place towels over Mario to help stop the bleeding. He had already lost a significant amount of blood, yet he was somehow still able to speak, although his voice was very faint,” she recalled to Page Six. “The ambulance took him to the hospital, and I stayed behind to speak with the crisis team that arrived.”

Also in the interview, Barbara detailed the weeks leading up to Hilton’s suicide attempt — including his hospitalization for “severe depression.”

Two weeks before the self-harm incident at his Miami home, he approached his mother and sister, who was visiting from California, to discuss receiving help for his mental health issues.

“He told us that a few days earlier, he had felt empty, hopeless and like he was a burden on everyone,” she said. “He then admitted that one night, when he couldn’t sleep, he had taken the remaining painkillers from his surgery in March. He said he just wanted to sleep.”

Barbara was referring to when Hilton was hospitalized in March for taking flu medicine on an empty stomach. He developed an ulcer, perforation and sepsis. He spent three weeks in the hospital.

One month later, he underwent emergency surgery for a blood clot.

Barbara agreed to take him to the hospital that same day, as he “went voluntarily.” He was discharged after several days of evaluation and treatment.

“That weekend, Mario seemed so much better,” Barbara recalled. “He looked better, too. We spent time together as a family, and he started looking up coping mechanisms and grounding techniques he had learned during his short stay [in the hospital].”

Hilton “returned to his regular therapy sessions” on Aug. 3. The following day, the day of his suicide attempt, he “completed an intake call for an intensive outpatient program and was supposed to begin outpatient group therapy the following week.”

Sadly, their “lives changed forever” later that afternoon.

Barbara acknowledged “there could have been so many things involved, including severe depression, the lingering effects of his hospitalization and sepsis, not sleeping, possible medication reactions and the combination of prescription and over-the-counter medications he took that day.”

As for why Barbara spoke to Page Six, she explained, “Mario has always been an open book. He’s a public personality and someone who has shared so much of his life online.”

“I’m talking now for everyone who cares about him and has been sending their best wishes, but also because of all the rumors, false reporting, fake exclusives and made-up quotes going around,” she continued. “I can only share what I personally witnessed and experienced, but I want people to hear directly from someone who was actually there.”

For further updates about Perez Hilton from his family, please go to perezhilton.com.

This is the third article in a four-part series. Click here for part one and part two.

If you or someone you know needs help in the US, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.