Drag Race UK season 2 star Bimini Bon-Boulash has opened up about their secret addiction and mental health battle.
In the latest episode of their Pieces with Bimini podcast, the 31-year-old drag queen has shared their journey with “addiction, depression and anxiety”.
And, after admitting there were times when they “didn’t want to be here any more”, the star has now accepted they have a problem and they are getting professional help.
Bimini opens up about mental health struggle
Posting a clip of the podcast, filmed in December, on social media, the star – real name Tommy Hibbitts – admitted: “I’ve never spoken about what’s been going on personally for me the last four years. I’ve been on a journey of acceptance and letting go and the only way I feel like I can truly do that is by speaking about my struggles with mental health, addiction, shame and guilt that has kept me on a rollercoaster.
“I have to let go of the past so that I can move forward and continue to fulfil all my dreams whilst reminding myself that I’m deserving of it all.”
They added: “This episode has been on my mind for years but it’s never felt like the right time. 2024 was a turning point for me and my confidence and health but I could never truly be happy until I let go of the past. It was hard to film. It’s real, raw and vulnerable but I’m ready to do this. 2025 we’re healing baby.”
‘Ashamed’
In the podcast, the Drag Race star admitted to feeling “ashamed” about their mental health struggles and, as a result, kept it a secret for years.
“I can’t be in that cycle any more and I need to break it. I think the only way to do that is to be fully accepting of my journey and what led me to it and how I got there and how people around me were affected,” said Bimini, as they struggled to hold back tears.
I’m getting mental health help from doctors and I’m starting back in therapy.
Revealing they’ve been officially diagnosed with anxiety and depression after falling into a “shame cycle”, Bimini admitted: “I’m getting mental health help from doctors and I’m starting back in therapy.”
Drag Race star admits addiction battle
Bimini explained that they struggled with substance use on and off in their early twenties. They’d managed to get sober for a year before Drag Race in 2021, but were left feeling like they “didn’t deserve” the success that came with the show.
“I felt so much pressure, almost like a fraud and I didn’t deserve it. I slipped back into a cycle,” Bimini shared. “There has been some incredible amazing opportunities and I’ve got to do some things that I can only ever have dreamed of, but over those years I’ve battled with addiction, depression and anxiety and it’s been a continuing cycle.
“I’ve really struggled to accept and admit it and I felt so much shame.”
‘Friends weren’t looking out for me’
Their mental health struggles were heightened by worries about their career, a merchandise scandal and friends gossiping about their “trouble with drugs”.
“There was a lot of gossip within the community about what I was going through and my troubles with addiction and my troubles with drugs. And they were from friends that I felt really hurt by,” they added.
“Friends that weren’t looking out for me because they would rather talk about what I was going through than directly ask me if I needed help. And do you know what? I’m not saying that they’re to blame. I don’t think I was ready to admit things that at the time anyway.”
The star added: “There’s been times where I didn’t want to be here any more. But I’ve managed to get through and get to this point.
“I need to let go of all of that pain and all of that trauma that I’ve built up over the years and no longer blame myself. No longer blame anyone else. I have a substance abuse disorder and this is something that is ongoing. And it’s something that I am trying my hardest to battle with and deal with,” they said.
Bimini added: “I will get there, and I know I will. I can’t keep continuing that cycle, and that pattern, and it needs to break. And the only way to do that is to admit that I have a problem. And there’s power there.”
You can stream the full episode of The Pieces of Bimini on Spotify.
Read more: RuPaul hits back over Drag Race star’s vile ‘crematorium’ remarks following The Vivienne’s death
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The drag queen is ‘starting back in therapy’
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