Carl Radke on the "Powerful and Personal" Experience of Sharing His Journey After Losing His Brother

On the February 25 episode of Summer House, Carl Radke received the news that his brother, Curtis, had passed away. Following the support he’s received from family, friends, and viewers, Carl is opening up about the experience of sharing his journey publicly, and his own journey of personal growth. 

In a March 4 Instagram post, Carl wrote, “I’ve cried a lot since that day in August and it still feels very strange to think my brother is no longer here. Losing a sibling is like no feeling I’ve ever had and having to go through that while filming Summer House is so surreal and hard to describe. That moment is the most vulnerable and raw I’ve ever been and it was on TV. So I’m still processing/healing as I write this. It’s just very very hard.” 

“I feel so lucky to have my Mom and Dad who have come together in a beautiful way. I can’t thank my family and friends enough,” Carl continued. “The producers, the crew, everyone involved in the making of our show, thank you. The love and support just blows me away. Everyone has been so thoughtful, caring, and supportive during this very hard time.” 

Carl also shared a message for viewers: “To all Bravo fans, THANK YOU for your kind words and sentiments. I’ve received thousands of heartfelt and emotional stories about real human beings struggling with addiction and mental illness. We are a lot more alike than we think.” 

In an interview with Forbes, Carl discussed how he’s been working on creating a “good foundation” of self-care, particularly in preparation of watching this season. A few of Carl's practices include meditation and acupuncture. 

“When you’re kind of swimming in it all of the time, it can be a lot,” Carl said of grief. “Some days I’m numb about it. And then, other days, I’m like, you know, I can do this. And I just want to kind of get past it because I’m basically reliving it twice.” 

“The show’s actually, in a weird way, helped me grow a ton. I have a tremendous amount of understanding of myself more than I thought I would,” he explained. “I feel like I didn’t really realize being on Bravo would lend itself to such a personal and powerful type of thing for me and my family, but also, a lot of other people that watch Bravo. You know, even in the last year and a half, just being more vocal in public about my own sobriety and trying to take care of my mental health, I mean, the amount of people I’ve connected with has just been unbelievable.” 

One way Carl is using his platform is through a partnership with Shatterproof, a nonprofit seeking to transform addiction treatment, generate awareness, and end the stigma surrounding addiction. 

“If you or a loved one are struggling, please follow @weareshatterproof,” Carl shared in his Instagram post. “YOU are not alone. There is help out there.”