Kristoff St John, who has starred on ‘Young and the Restless’ since 1991, has been hospitalized after allegedly trying to kill himself
Soap opera actor Kristoff St John has been hospitalized for a three-day psychiatric evaluation after he allegedly sent an ex-lover photos of himself holding a gun to his head.
Sources told TMZ that that an ex of the ‘Young and the Restless’ star called the police on Thursday evening after he sent her the photographs, in which he allegedly threatened to kill himself.
Police allegedly confiscated two guns from St John and he has been ordered to undergo a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation, sources tell TMZ.
A representative for boxer Mia St John, the 51-year-old actor’s ex-wife, told TMZ that she was not the ex to whom he sent the photos.
His son with Mia, Julian St John, died by suicide on November 23, 2014. Julian was 24 years old.
A 2013 profile of Julian and his art in the Huffington Post revealed that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18, and that he had battled severe depression and drug addiction as a teenager.
That same article also said that his mother suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
St John has played Neil Winters on the daytime soap opera since 1991. At center is Shemar Moore, who played Neil’s half-brother, Malcolm, and went on to star on ‘Criminal Minds’
St John is pictured in 1993 with his son, Julian, who died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 24. Julian had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18
St John is pictured in 1993 at center with his first wife, boxing champion Mia St John, at right. The former couple are the parents of Julian. St John has been married and divorced twice: first to Mia, and later to Allana Nadal
Kristoff St John, in a May 2015 interview with ETOnline, discussed how his son’s death was ‘every parent’s nightmare’.
His son, at the behest of the St John family, was placed in La Casa Psychiatric Health Facility in Long Beach, California.
Kristoff and Mia, in a lawsuit that was settled in July 2017 under undisclosed terms, alleged that the facility had a number of problems.
Their lawsuit had claimed that workers ‘regularly skipped mandatory check-ins and observations of Julian’ and then ‘falsified documents in order to cover up the claimed neglect.’
Kristoff St John told ETOnline: ‘[Julian’s] life will not be in vain. His life will be vindicated, and I will campaign until the day that I die to bring justice to my son.’
St John is pictured with his daughter Lola at left (mothered by Allana Nadal) and his daughter Paris at right (mothered by Mia St John)
St John’s most recent tweet, a retweet of celebrity doctor Drew Pinksy’s retweet of Mia St John’s tweet about helping people with mental illness, is from October 12.
He wrote: ‘MY TWITTER FRIENDS! Please retweet this and show support for: #MentalHealthAwareness #Mentalhealth #love #support #together’
One day prior, he tweeted an Instagram of his that reads: ‘Waking up to see another day is a blessing. Don’t take it for granted. Make it count and be happy you’re alive.’
St John has played Neil Winters on ‘Young and the Restless’ since 1991. Winters began as an businessman whose story line primarily revolved around his tumultuous relationship with his on-again, off-again wife, Drucilla, and his battles with his half-brother Malcolm (portrayed by a pre-‘Criminal Minds’ Shemar Moore).
St John has won two Daytime Emmy awards for his 26-years-and-counting performance.
St John’s most recent tweet was a retweet of a retweet of his ex-wife’s tweet about mental health awareness
St John also retweeted an Instagram with the hashtags ‘#life #brief #makeitcount’
Previously, he had appeared on ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘Happy Days’ and had starred in another soap opera, ‘Generations’.
St John has been married and divorced twice. His first wife was Mia St John, 50, a boxing champion. They had two children: Julian, deceased, and Paris.
He later married Allana Nadal. They have a daughter named Lola, and have since divorced.
If you or anyone you know is in need of confidential support, call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 or visit its website here.