Melissa Rivers revealed Saturday that her relationship with her mother, the late comedy icon Joan Rivers, was “extremely difficult” following the 1987 suicide of her father.
In an interview with People magazine, Melissa said her family has faced unspeakable grief since then and her relationship with her mother has fallen apart.
“Suicide is a very complicated issue for survivors,” said Rivers, 56. told people About the broken relationship she had with her mother.
“It was very painful. It was very difficult.”
According to the publication, Joan told People magazine in 1993 that Melissa blamed her when her husband of 22 years, Edgar Rosenberg, suffered from depression after a heart attack in 1984 and committed suicide by prescription drug overdose.
“We tried to move on with our lives, but we were both so hurt and unable to support each other,” the “Fashion Police” star told the magazine at the time.
But with enough time and therapy, the two women found their way back to each other.
“I needed therapy. It took time,” Melissa revealed. “I was in a complete crisis and I'd gotten myself into an abusive relationship, so I asked her for help and she helped me. It took another major crisis for us to get out of that one.”
The couple used their suffering to campaign to eliminate the stigma surrounding suicide among bereaved families.
“We really did our best to get our name out there in suicide prevention,” Melissa explained, “Suicide wasn't being discussed at the time. This was 1987 and people still thought of it as something shameful or something that happened within families. Nobody knew what to say.”
The two would later co-star in the fan-favorite “Fashion Police.”
Rivers, known for her bold, uninhibited comedy, later paid tribute to Rosenberg, mentioning Melissa. 1990 acceptance speech when she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.
“To my daughter Melissa: The last two years have been so hard,” Joan began. “Two years ago, I couldn't find work in this industry. I couldn't find work. My income was down to 1/16th of what it was before I was laid off. And people told me I'd never work again.
“And, you know, my husband has had a breakdown. I am so sad that he is not here. My husband, Edgar Rosenberg, always said, 'things can get better,' except for one awful moment in a hotel room in Philadelphia when he just forgot about it. This is really for him. He has been with me from the beginning and I am so sad that he is not here now.”
Melissa continues to work in suicide prevention and serves as co-chair of Didi Hirsch Health Mental Services, she told People magazine.
“I've spent a lot of time trying to eradicate that stigma,” she said, “and I'm always available for anyone going through the same thing. I'm just gonna be totally honest with you, it sucks.”
“… To be honest, it sucks. There's nothing good coming out of it right now. It's going to suck for a while, but we'll get through it.”
Melissa She told People magazine in January Joan would hate today's cancel culture, but she would love a weight loss drug like Ozempic.
“She would have been so excited to embrace her body. In fact, she would have been really happy,” she said.
“She would have thought Ozempic was the best thing since sliced bread,” Melissa joked. “The things she hated most were food and exercise, so if she could find a way to avoid both? Great.”
Joan He died in 2014 at the age of 81.After complications from routine throat surgery.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or Suicide Prevention Lifeline.org.
