The Tragic Truth About Lana Del Rey

This article contains mentions of alcohol addiction.

When you think of Lana Del Rey, you probably think of an incredibly talented musician with plenty of accolades to her name — and you wouldn't be wrong. The magnetic musician exploded onto the scene with the release of her iconic song "Video Games" in 2011. The track landed her a deal with Interscope Records, and just a year later, she released her debut album, "Born to Die," which skyrocketed Del Rey to fame. Since then, she has released nine studio albums, received 11 Grammy nominations, and has performed on some of the biggest stages in the world. The "Summertime Sadness" singer has had an incredibly successful career, but don't be fooled — it's been no walk in the park, and Del Rey's backstory certainly packs a punch of drama.

In 2012, she shared with The Guardian, "I wish I was dead already." The statement may seem drastic, but at the time, Del Rey couldn't hide from what she truly felt. She explained, "Family members will come on the road with me and say: 'Wow, your life is just like a movie!' And I'm like: 'Yeah, a really f***ed-up movie.'" While it may seem like Del Rey is living the dream, that's simply not the case. Beneath the facade of Del Rey's seemingly dreamlike existence lies a few tragic truths.

Lana Del Rey has never been one to hide the struggles she has endured, even when it may have been difficult to talk about. In 2012, the "Born to Die" singer admitted to GQ (via NME) that she had a drinking problem, and it started when she was a teen. She said, "I was a big drinker at the time. I would drink every day. I would drink alone. I thought the whole concept was so f**king cool."

Del Rey's drinking problem didn't go unnoticed, and her parents sent the singer to a boarding school at age 14 to help her kick the habit. She shared, "My parents were worried, I was worried. I knew it was a problem when I liked it more than I liked doing anything else. I was like, 'I'm f**ked. I am totally f**ked.'" It's unclear when she decided to stop drinking, but in the GQ interview, the musician revealed she was sober. However, the journey to becoming sober hasn't always been easy.

The "Video Games" singer revealed to Fashion Magazine (via Complex) in 2013 that when people critique her craft, it triggers her desire to drink again. She explained, "When I feel like people don't like this music and that the ten years I spent making what I made was not for a good reason, that makes me want to drink again."

If you or anyone you know needs help 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).

Lana Del Rey has dealt with tragic situations, including an attempted kidnapping. In 2018, 43-year-old Michael Shawn Hunt was arrested and charged with "attempted kidnapping with a weapon and aggravated stalking with a credible threat," according to a police report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. Authorities received a tip that Hunt had shared "cryptic and threatening" posts online to Del Rey. Hunt was arrested just an arm's reach away from where the musician was performing with a 3-inch knife. Although it's unclear what the exact threat Hunt posted was, his Facebook was littered with strange messages to Del Rey. One read, "I want to see my queen on Friday and from that day forward our decisions will be as one." In another, Hunt suggested the singer knew his face "in her dreams" and that "she's my always and forever to be."

According to the police report, Del Rey feared for her safety, and rightfully so, but she reassured fans that she was doing fine following Hunt's arrest. Page Six reported that Del Rey shared in a now-deleted tweet, "Hey kiddos. I'm doing fine. Thanks for the messages. And tomorrow we'll be in Hotlanta can't wait to see everyone." Del Rey may have acted unaffected by the attempted kidnapping, but it's hard to imagine it wasn't a terrible experience for the singer.

In 2019, Lana Del Rey took to social media to get the help of her followers after she revealed that her sister's artwork and other valuable family mementos were stolen from her and her family, as noted by Page Six. In a since-deleted tweet, she wrote, "This week, family mementos including my sisters entire retrospective were taken. I'd love to encourage whoever took it to please consider sending any of the scans of her previous work back to us for a no questions asked reward." It's unclear whether Del Rey and her family ever got their stuff back, but even if they did, getting valuables stolen is still a traumatic experience. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time the musician would deal with such a situation.

In October 2022, Del Rey had another important item stolen from her. Going Instagram live, the musician revealed that she stepped away from her car in Los Angeles for just a second and had her laptop stolen with her unreleased music on it, as reported by CNN. She said, "I had to remotely wipe the computer that had my 200-page book for Simon and Schuster—which I didn't have backed up on the cloud," she continued. "And despite that, people are still able to remotely access my phone and leak our songs and personal photos." Del Rey admitted this has happened multiple times, and the experience has been difficult.

Since Lana Del Rey entered the music scene, she has been criticized for her style of music, lyrics, and singing voice. While this isn't new with musicians, Del Rey faced some of the harshest criticism after her first "Saturday Night Live" performance.

After her smash hit album, "Born To Die," was released, Del Rey performed in the 2012 season of the comedy sketch series. The musician sang "Blue Jeans" and "Video Games," but the performance wasn't what people expected, as noted by Entertainment Weekly. Many criticized Del Rey's shaky vocals, with one user tweeting, "Stayed up to watch Lana Del Rey on #SNL only to discover she's basically a drunk Julia Roberts trying to remember her own lyrics." This was just one of many critiques, and the performance was later parodied on "SNL." But more than that, it prevented Del Rey from performing on TV networks for years.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2023, Del Rey revealed that she has only done one television show since her heavily criticized "SNL" performance. She shared, "Maybe [performing on TV is] something else I'll grow into more, like touring ... Maybe now, even if I didn't feel confident, I would do it anyway. But there was a reason not to feel confident." The shadow of that fateful "SNL" performance seems to loom large over the musician.

Lana Del Rey has been open about her struggles with mental health, even when the discussion on mental health wasn't as widely accepted as it is today. In 2015, Del Rey revealed to Billboard how she has had severe panic attacks about existential thoughts for years. She said, "It's hard for me sometimes to think about going on when I know we're going to die. Something happened in the last three years, with my panic [attacks] ... It got worse."

The "West Coast" singer recalled one of the first times she experienced a panic attack at a very young age. She shared, "I remember being four years old and I'd just seen a show on TV where the person was killed. And I turned to my parents and said, 'Are we all going to die?' They said 'Yes,' and I was totally distraught!" Del Rey even revealed that she had seen three therapists for her anxiety and panic attacks. Although she was working on managing these attacks, she does have moments where they are heightened.

In 2020, the musician revealed to Interview Magazine that her panic attacks got worse during the pandemic, and not just for her. She said, "What's insane is that the pandemic has brought up all of these mental health crises and domestic crises that were always there, that I always sang about."