Tragic Details About Pink

She was born Alecia Beth Moore on September 8th, 1979, but she's widely known as Pink; the rebellious pop sensation with a proclivity to release chart-topping smash hits. She began singing in nightclubs at 14 and was part of a couple of R&B groups before she released her first solo record at 20. Pink has released nine studio albums, won 17 awards, with nearly 100 nominations for her music, and has celebrated 60 million albums sold worldwide. She's even been dubbed the U.K.'s most-played female artist of this century, and it seems like the "Raise Your Glass" singer will never stop.

But in truth, even with her mountain of success, Pink has dealt with more than her fair share of struggles. From health scares to the heart-wrenching deaths of loved ones, and even a near-death experience, the pop star has seen it all. However, her hardships haven't kept her down and these experiences have shaped the person she is today. Here are 14 tragic details about Pink that you may not have known.

The way Pink belts out her songs and performs seemingly impossible acrobatic routines on tour, you would think the singer is unstoppable. But, she was in fact born with a collapsed lung and suffered from respiratory issues for many years, which included asthma. Pink even wound up in the hospital in 2006 for her severe asthma attacks. Because of her condition, she reportedly learned how to sing from her belly so she could carry out songs, rather than relying solely on her lungs.

Pink spoke candidly in 2020 on "The Ellen Show," about her health condition during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I've had asthma all my life ... really, really bad asthma to the point where sometimes I end up in the hospital. But, it's been ... probably 30 years since I needed a nebulizer breathing treatment in the hospital or anything like that," Pink revealed.

Throughout her career, Pink has maintained a rebellious persona that countless fans have been able to relate to. But in truth, she's been this way since she was a child addicted to drugs. "I understand addiction," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2012. "I was a hardcore partier from [ages] 12 to 15. I was like a candy raver and I was on all the club drugs. Selling ecstasy and crystal meth and special k." Pink has never shied away from revealing her past experiences, especially when it comes to mistakes she's made and learned from. She continued, "I overdosed on Thanksgiving of '95. And then I never took drugs again, ever."

Having such a close call at just 16 years old thankfully set her on a better path, as she likely would never have become the star and role model she is today if she hadn't changed. In an interview with Shape (via NME), she added, "It was also the day a DJ offered to let me sing on hip-hop night. His only caveat was that I couldn't do drugs, so I didn't. That's the thing with me — once I make up my mind, I'm done."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The "Just Give Me a Reason" singer may have gotten lucky when she overdosed, but some of her friends tragically didn't make it. Pink revealed to Entertainment Weekly that her hit song, "Who Knew," was actually about her friend's overdose. "I always wanted to write a song for a friend of mine, Sekou Harris, who overdosed on heroin and died. And I never knew how because I didn't want to force it and write some cheesy overdose song," she said. Over time, Pink said that the song has taken on new meanings for her as well.

Another dear friend of Pink's was Stacey Coffey who died from an overdose in 2010. She and Pink were just 14 when their friend Harris died, and then Pink overdosed just two years after that. The singer stopped using drugs and, some years later, tried to help Coffey by offering her a gig as her backup dancer. Guy Landis, Coffey's father, told the New York Daily News, "Alecia is fortunate she got smart to it. She kept on working and had a goal from a young age. She had a gift and she went on the right road and got training and all that."

Landis added that Coffey had been a fan of Pink's music, saying, "She was very proud of how Alecia did — almost envious." Pink is lucky to have made it out of her addiction alive, but it's tragic that her friends were less fortunate.

In August 2021, Pink revealed that her father, Vietnam veteran Jim Moore, had died from prostate cancer. She described the grief process in an interview with People, saying, "When a daughter loses her father, your first thought is, 'No one's ever going to love me like that again,' and it's a very lonely feeling." After becoming a mother, Pink said she realized just how much parents tend to hold back so their children can be themselves and make their own choices. When asked what she would ask her late father if she could, Pink replied, "I want to ask, 'What did you really think?'."

Over the years, the musician has shared several touching tributes to Moore, including a 2018 Instagram post for Father's Day with a caption that read, "He has taken on the world for and with me, no questions asked. He made me feel important. He made me think I was worth loving. He taught me how to do it all myself." Pink's relationship with her late father was clearly a close one, and he was a supporter of her music early on. In a 2007 concert (via YouTube) she claimed, "My dad was my first rockstar."

Following the loss of her father, Pink and her children also lost their family nanny, Trish. In February of 2023, the singer spoke of the family's nanny to Women's Health, describing her as, "one of the loves of our life." Pink remarked that the recent losses have been difficult on them, saying, "I kind of feel like we were walking around with this low-level trauma that some of us were aware of and some of us weren't."

Before she died, Trish told Pink's children, Willow and Jameson, that she would stick around as their angel. Now, the singer says she hears her son chatting with Trish and her father from time to time. "Jameson will walk around the kitchen and go, 'Hey, Grandpa, hey, Trish,'" she said. It seems that this idea of Trish acting as the kids' angel has helped them cope with the loss, but Pink says talking about it still makes her cry.

Pink and Carey Hart, a former motocross racer, have known each other for more than 20 years, having met in 2001 at the Summer X Games. They reportedly began dating shortly after they met, but things have not always been sunshine and roses for the couple. The couple split up after a couple of years together in 2003, but they rekindled their romance again in 2004. Then, Pink proposed to Hart in 2005 at a race he was competing in, and they tied the knot in January 2006.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pink spoke about her tumultuous relationship with her husband. "Carey and I have a very passionate relationship. No one p***** me off like my mom or my husband," she said. Their relationship was complicated, and the popstar and motocross competitor announced their divorce in February of 2008. Tragically, Hart's brother died that same year and Pink was right by his side to console him.

The couple thankfully worked out their issues and jointly called off their divorce in 2009 — but not without Pink releasing a handful of powerhouse breakup songs first, including "So What," with Hart appearing in the music video. Speaking to People about her reunion with Hart, Pink commented, "Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps backwards to move forward." The couple now share two children and live in a stunning Santa Barbara home.

Pink is known for the gravity-defying aerial stunts she performs at her concerts, and it was only a matter of time until something went wrong. In 2010, during her European Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour, the singer was performing in Nuremberg, Germany, when, as she was being strapped into her harness, one of her stagehands struggled to secure her. Pink was launched off of the stage and into a barricade, and fans could hear her say "that really hurt." The singer got back up on stage after she was checked briefly for injuries and she thanked everyone for coming but apologized that she couldn't finish the set.

Later at the hospital, Pink took to Twitter to update her fans, writing, "Didn't get clipped in2 harness correctly, drug me off stage, fell in2 barricade. Getting xrays. I hope it at least looked cool!!!" She added that she was checked and had no broken bones or any serious injuries and that she was just "seriously sore." Considering how frequently Pink flies around in the air during her concerts, it's impressive that this mishap hasn't happened to her more than once, likely due to more serious safety measures being put into place for future stunts.

Quarantining during the pandemic was hard for a lot of people, but if boredom and eating too much banana bread was all you had to complain about, Pink has one up on you. In an interview with Variety, she said that having a break had been very good for her voice, but her body suffered. "I gained 36 pounds. All I did was make sourdough and then eat the sourdough. And then I had not just the hip surgery but double disc replacement in my neck. So now I'm the bionic woman," she joked.

Pink didn't divulge the exact reason for her surgery, but she did take time to give thanks to her amazing husband in an Instagram post while she was recovering. Part of the caption read, "It was a brutal first week full of tears and pain med depression, ulcers from meds and constant fevers, but my [Carey Hart] brought me through." Pink detailed how Hart was no stranger to injuries as a former motocross racer, and how he helped her through the pain, and mental health struggles, and looked after her with their children's help. Forever the optimist, Pink added, "Already figured out some tricks on these crutches I'm on for six weeks."

Pink's music has often touched on personal hardships and struggles she has faced in her life, and her single, "Happy," from the 2019 album, "Hurts 2B Human," is no different. The lyrics touch on Pink having hated her body since she was 17 years old and, in an interview with USA Today, she recounted the reason for these lyrics. "The reason I said [that] is because I've always had this very tomboy, very strong gymnast body, but actually at 17 I had a miscarriage. And I was going to have that child," she said. Pink described how at the time, her body felt broken and that it hated her.

When she was 22, Pink finally sought out help through therapy and was able to work through some of her trauma. "I've had several miscarriages since, so I think it's important to talk about what you're ashamed of, who you really are and the painful s***. I've always written that way," she remarked. With this, Pink has now joined countless other famous women who had told their miscarriage stories, all in the hopes of raising awareness and helping others feel less alone.

In May 2022, Pink joined the millions of people out there making an effort to destigmatize mental health issues. The songwriter joined the Child Mind Institute for their Dare to Share campaign by sharing her mental health experiences in an Instagram post. "In my twenties I used to get pretty awful panic attacks and I didn't know what was happening, I didn't have anybody to talk to about it, and I didn't know what to do," she wrote. Pink went on to describe how she used to feel like she was experiencing stroke symptoms and she would take herself to the hospital and sit in her car in the parking lot, hoping she wouldn't have to go in.

When her symptoms persisted, Pink would go to the hospital. "I had a number of EKGs," she recalled. But, the singer was always told the same thing again and again; that it was all in her head and she was absolutely fine. Eventually, Pink said she started seeing a therapist who taught her how to take care of herself. "I got a spiritual toolbox together," she said, and in it, she kept things like candles, incense, and crystals. "I started developing all of these ways to take care of me and my heart and my head," she explained. Pink encouraged her viewers to hold on because it does get better and "there are beautiful moments waiting for you."

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.

In April 2020, Pink appeared on "The Ellen Show" in the midst of the pandemic, looking incredibly different. She recounted the turbulent time she and her then-3-year-old son, Jameson, had been having, as they both contracted COVID-19. Pink explained that her son's symptoms began with a fever, then moved on to stomach issues, headaches, chest pains, and a sore throat, so she called her doctor who reassured her that Jameson would be fine. "It was terrifying," she said.

Then, Pink got sick and, "woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't breathe." She had to use her asthma inhaler for the first time in 30 years, saying "That's when I got really scared." She recalled that at one point, Jameson was throwing up and breathing became painful for him. Pink didn't know whether or not to take him to the hospital, saying it was, "the scariest thing I've ever, ever been through in my whole life." Thankfully, the mother and son recovered over the course of several days, but speaking with Ellen Degeneres, it's clear that the entire ordeal affected Pink deeply.

Like many celebrities and especially outspoken women, Pink has also been a victim of online hate. She doesn't let the criticism stop her from voicing what she believes in, though. As she told Mirror in February of 2023, "I have been canceled so many times. I get death threats daily, and the s*** people say ... if you have a vagina and you have ­opinions, that's really tough for some people."

In 2022, Pink took to Twitter in her classic tell-it-like-it-is fashion to let her followers know that she did not condone the overturning of Roe v. Wade and that, "if you believe the government belongs in a woman's uterus, a gay persons business or marriage, or that racism is okay ... NEVER F***ING LISTEN TO MY MUSIC AGAIN. AND ALSO F*** RIGHT OFF." Pink received a hoard of backlash for this, upsetting former fans and receiving threats to her life. She said that she refuses to let it play on her mind too much. "People are crazy. But aren't we all afraid of natural disasters and shooters, too? There's a lot to be scared of. So my attitude is, let's not think about it," the pop star said.

The singer had a complicated childhood, and this led to some complications in her relationship with her mother, Judy Moore. Pink told Entertainment Weekly in 2012, "My mom went to the Enquirer around eight years ago after some of my songs came out, she was so upset. She felt like she needed her side to be heard. So she went to the Enquirer, of all places. As you do." The tension could clearly be felt by the interviewer, who asked Pink if she was still on speaking terms with her mother, and she quickly clarified that she was and her mother would be coming for a visit soon.

When she became a mother herself, Pink took a lot of experiences with her mother to frame how she parents her children. "I want to be a better mom, no offense to my mom at all, because she did the best that she could," the pop singer explained. In her 2021 documentary, "All I Know So Far," (via Daily Mail) Pink said she was terrified of becoming a parent because she didn't want to replicate the relationship she had with her mother.

However, after she had her daughter, Willow, Pink said Moore told her, "I just never knew that parenting could be this enjoyable until I saw you do it," and this moment was life-changing for the singer. The pair have worked on their relationship and Moore occasionally makes cameos on Pink's Instagram.