Tragic Details About Howie Mandel's Life

When it comes to celebrities who've reinvented themselves, few have proven to be as adept at it — or successful — as Howie Mandel. The Canadian star began his career in stand-up comedy back in the late 1970s, best known for his outrageous signature bit in which he placed a rubber glove on his head, pulled it over his nose, and then inflated it with his nostrils to hilarious effect. 

Mandel proved he wasn't a one-trick pony when cast as a physician in the hit medical drama "St. Elsewhere," playing Dr. Wayne Fiscus for the entirety of the show's six-season run. After a stab at film and a short-lived daytime talk show, Mandel's career hit a rough patch during the first half of the 2000s. He briefly turned to real estate when tickets to his shows weren't selling. "I just felt beat-up," he told Esquire of that dark period. Mandel made the comeback of comebacks when he unleashed a whole new persona: game show host. He became emcee of the briefcase-opening hit "Deal or No Deal." These days, Mandel can be seen judging talent on "America's Got Talent" alongside fellow judge Simon Cowell, having joined the show in 2010.

Amidst all that success, though, Mandel has suffered some truly sad circumstances, ranging from his ongoing issues with mental health to a terrifying accident involving his wife of 40-plus years. Here is a closer look at some tragic details about Howie Mandel's life.

Growing up in Toronto, Howie Mandel was surrounded by a family of neat freaks. As he wrote in his 2010 memoir, "Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me," his mom had an ever-present can of Lysol on hand, ready to disinfect furniture, while his grandmother covered sofas and chairs in plastic — and would even wax her home's veranda, despite it being made out of concrete. 

While coming of age in such an environment undoubtedly gave him a heightened sense of the germs surrounding him in everyday life, a childhood vacation in Florida left him with a long-lasting fear that he would carry for the rest of his life. As he wrote, a sandfly laid eggs in his leg, with the larvae eventually growing big enough that he could see them writhing beneath his skin. Doctors were initially mystified, until finally the cause of his mysterious malady was diagnosed. The treatment was excruciatingly painful, involving burning off the skin with liquid nitrogen. "The pain was piercing," Mandel wrote. "I was screaming and yelling."

As the years passed, the trauma of that experience never left him. "To this day, when I think about it, I can see the image of my skin bubbling," Mandel wrote. "It feels as if there are organisms trying to make their way under my skin, and I'm taken back to those icky, creepy crawling monsters that need to be burned away."

When Howie Mandel was a child, he was what parents used to describe as a handful. It was't until he was an adult that he received a diagnosis of ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. As he wrote in Additude, Mandel recognized his energy level was different than that of other kids, but he had no idea why, or how to handle it. "Back in the 1960s, when I was growing up, my symptoms didn't have a name, and you didn't go to the doctor to find out," he shared. "So, in my case, they were called 'Howie Mandel.'" 

According to Mandel, his ADHD has impacted his relationship with wife Terry, whom he married in 1980. "If you asked her about my ADHD, she would say it's difficult to deal with," he continued, noting most conversations involve her asking whether he's paying attention. The same held true with the couple's children, with Mandel's gnat-like attention span resulting in difficulties conversing with them on a meaningful level. "My wife and children have been through therapy because of the problems my disorders have caused," he said.

Of course, it's also true that his ADHD has been the source of the manic energy he displayed onstage when he broke out as a standup comic. "I'd never say that ADHD is a gift or a blessing," Mandel mused. "And if someone says it is a gift, I'd love to return it."

In addition to ADHD, Howie Mandel was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, more commonly known as OCD. "I've always felt a little bit different, and I always knew I wasn't as comfortable with life as everybody else seemed to be," he told Ability Magazine. "But I didn't know what I could do about it."

Discussing his condition during an appearance on the "Mislaibeled" podcast, Mandel revealed he's experienced a lifelong fear of germs. "I don't remember a time of existence without it," he said of his OCD. He also tried to clear up some misconceptions. "You're persnickety, you like things neat, you like to line things up, but real OCD is a f***ing nightmare," he said, explaining what he experiences is a world away from what people may perceive as OCD. "There's a big difference between being a little bit neurotic and having OCD," Mandel told USA Today.

While Mandel is aware that excessive hand-washing and other OCD-fueled behavior may appear humorous from the outside, he insisted there's nothing funny about what he'll go through when he becomes triggered and things escalate. "I will not show up for very important events because I can't stop washing my hand," he told "Mislaibeled," also citing the example of spending hours rechecking the lock on a door to make sure he locked it. "It's like a skipping record ... I just can't move past that thought," he added.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

ADHD and OCD are just two pieces — albeit not insignificant ones — of Howie Mandel's larger overall challenge with his mental health. During a 2023 appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," he got remarkably candid about the struggles he continues to face on a daily basis. "You know, I'm a f***in' mess, and I deal with depression and anxiety," Mandel admitted. 

It's only when he's performing, Mandel explained, that he's able to escape from the confines of his own mind. "The worst thing for me is quiet time. I don't like nighttime, I don't like when I get into my own head. That's why I like stand-up comedy," he added. "Because in those moments, you're just in the moment because you have to be." According to Mandel, he feels like he's constantly perched on the edge of a precipice, with a dark and forbidding void awaiting him below. "It's just this vicious, dark circle, and it makes you. .. unproductive, unhappy, depressed," he told USA Today. "Sometimes there are people that have this that even end in suicide. It's not a good thing."

Mandel shed more light on his experience in an interview with Page Six in 2021. "It's really easy to fall into that dark hole and just fall," he shared, revealing that being aware that he can feel himself about to slip into darkness helps prevent him from actually doing it. "And the next thing is distraction," he added, "which is why I love working so much."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Howie Mandel lives with the constant knowledge that his OCD can be triggered at a moment's notice, realizing even the most seemingly benign thought that pops into his head can suddenly become all-consuming and easily leave him debilitated. "And I can't stop myself," he explained in a 2020 interview with Esquire. "And the fact that I can't control my own mind is what bothers me."

Living in a constant state of fear, however, is also something he's learned to use to his advantage. "Fear is my fuel, and also my poison," he said, explaining how he channels that into his largely improvised stand-up comedy shows. "I like fear. I'm a product of fear." And when it comes to his myriad mental health issues, he's had no choice but to come to terms with them, using the variety of tools and techniques at his disposal. "I have OCD, I have ADHD, I have anxiety, I have depression, I go see somebody, I'm heavily medicated, and I'm constantly in fear and constantly uncomfortable, and constantly fighting," he told Rolling Stone. "But it's gotten to where I'm really comfortable with discomfort."

He's also been known to joke about his fearful state. Appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," he insisted he's not the barrel of laughs that people might assume. "I'm scared," he admitted. "And I like to go home and just live in the fetal position." 

For someone whose name has practically become synonymous with germophobia, the arrival of a highly transmissible virus that ushered in a worldwide pandemic would understandably be Howie Mandel's worst nightmare. However, he told Esquire, the pandemic didn't necessarily make him more fearful than he already was. "I'm not more triggered because of the pandemic. I'm equally triggered," he explained. 

Still, he admitted the pandemic also didn't alleviate any of the symptoms he'd already been suffering. "For somebody who was triggered by germs, COVID was not helpful ... it was hell and really affected me, and I'm traumatized by it," he revealed when interviewed by USA Today.

As rough as that period was, it was a proverbial picnic compared to when Mandel actually caught COVID-19 in 2022. While his symptoms were mild (he'd been vaccinated), being isolated in a room all by himself for more than a week played havoc on his mental health. "I went insane," Mandel told "TMZ Live." "I still feel like I'm recovering from that, the insanity." As he explained, being shut in alone neutralized his ability to deploy the secret weapon he'd developed in his battle with OCD: the ability to distract himself. "And I'm not joking," he added. "I got incredibly depressed, incredibly neurotic."

Howie Mandel and his wife Terry are the parents of three grown children. Their oldest, daughter Jackelyn Shultz, has joined her dad as his co-host on his podcast, "Howie Mandel Does Stuff," with the daddy-daughter podcasting duo joining forces to interview celebrity guests.

Shultz received an unfortunate inheritance from her father when she too was diagnosed with OCD. "I'm not proud of that gift I've given her," Mandel said in an interview with People in 2021, revealing that Shultz first began displaying troubling symptoms as a preadolescent. "But our coping skills are to find the light."

Shultz's OCD is markedly similar to what her father has experienced throughout his entire life, exhibiting an extreme terror of germs and the possibility she could become ill. The pandemic brought further difficulties to her already tough condition. "It was really, really hard," she told the magazine. "My anxiety sometimes leads to depression. I went through the extreme and I just locked myself in." Also like her dad, Shultz embraces therapy as a way of helping cope with those issues. That said, the fact that her father has an intimate understanding of what she's going through has been a godsend. "Whenever I was upset or sad or having a bad day, I knew I could reach out," she shared.

Howie Mandel's mind may be in constant turmoil, but externally he's long appeared to be the picture of physical fitness. He ascribes that to the insistence of his wife, Terry, that they maintain a healthy diet. "My wife is more of the health nut," he told GQ. In addition, Mandel told the magazine that his ADHD leaves him in constant motion. "I can't sit and I need to move," he explained. As a way to burn off that excess energy, he took to running, something that he's continued throughout his life. "I used to run, and still do, for my mental health," he said. 

That's what made it especially shocking when, in 2021, Mandel was in a Los Angeles Starbucks when he suddenly collapsed. Us Weekly reported that a Los Angeles Fire Department crew was called to respond to a man experiencing pain in his chest, after Mandel reportedly crumpled to the floor. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. As Mandel subsequently told TMZ, he had a colonoscopy a few days before, which left him more dehydrated than he'd realized.

"I am home and doing better," Mandel posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, after he was discharged from the hospital. "I appreciate the great doctors and nurses that took such good care of me. Thank you to everyone who reached out but I am doing OK."

During those years when he was cast in movies, Howie Mandel made a few films. Among these was the 1986 comedy "A Fine Mess," in which he co-starred with "Cheers" star Ted Danson and veteran actor Paul Sorvino, who would go on to star in the original iteration of "Law & Order," and such films as Martin Scorsese's classic mob hit "Goodfellas." 

When Sorvino died at the age of 83 in 2022, Mandel was among the stars to pay tribute to the late actor. One of Mandel's social media followers shared a message on X that read (via Hello!), "@howiemandel @teddanson I'm sorry for your loss, Paul Sorvino. Lost a great man."

Mandel, seemingly heartbroken by the loss of his long-ago co-star, clearly had fond memories of their time together on the set all those years ago. "I feel blessed that I got to work with him," Mandel responded.

Howie Mandel's OCD is something he's lived with his entire life. As he grew older, however, his symptoms worsened. "I found it becoming harder and harder for me to get along, and I was spending longer and longer in the shower," he revealed in an interview with Ability Magazine. Once he received a diagnosis, and began taking medication and undergoing therapy, his struggles lessened. However, he explained, he's far from cured, but now has strategies in place that help lessen the severity. "I'll do whatever it takes to function and cope," he added. 

According to Mandel, his goal in opening up about his own issues is to help remove the stigma that still surrounds discussing mental health, so that others struggling would be more likely to seek help than simply suffer in silence, as he did for so many years. "We take care of our dental health," he said, "but we don't take care of our mental health."

Since learning various coping mechanisms to prevent him from sinking into the void, he's come to appreciate those moments when he's able to get outside of himself and escape his OCD, even if it's just for brief periods. "I'm broken," he told People. "But this is my reality. I know there's going to be darkness again — and I cherish every moment of light."

Headlines aren't typically made when celebrities appear on daytime talk shows, yet that's precisely what happened after Howie Mandel sat down with spouses Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for a June 2024 episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," Relating his anecdote, Mandel recalled bringing his wife, Terry, out for a lavish dinner in Las Vegas. "And we partied, like, it was ... too much ... and she was tipsy," he said. 

Back in their hotel suite, the couple were in bed when Terry got up — and promptly bumped into the wall, stumbling and hitting her face on the sharp edge of the wainscoting. "She slipped, went down, hit that on her eye, then fell on the floor, and broke her cheek," he told the show's horrified hosts. What Mandel then encountered was right out an episode of a procedural crime drama. "Blood is pooling out and I freaked out," he said, adding a grisly detail. "I saw her head, and you could actually see her skull," he said. "It opened up. So I freaked." However, Mandel was quick to point out that she's since made a fully recovery and doesn't appear to be any worse for wear. "There is not a scar," Mandel said happily.

When some reports of his story focused on Terry's tipsiness, Mandel backtracked by telling TMZ it was weed edibles that left her disoriented, not booze. "She doesn't have an alcohol problem," Mandel said. "She took gummies."