Summer House newbie KJ Dillard is detailing the “good, bad and ugly” of being in a public relationship with costar Dara Levitan.
“A lot of people are supportive, and I’m thankful for them,” KJ, 28, said during the Tuesday, June 2, episode of the “More Life With Carl Radke” podcast. “But then, a lot of people are hating.”
Fans watched KJ and Dara, 33, get together during Summer House season 10 after they were introduced by West Wilson. While things are frosty between the two men, KJ said that he’s “grateful” to West, 31, for introducing him and Dara.
“We do a good job at not letting [the public] tear us apart. It affects us individually, of course, but the relationship, we both know what we want and what we’ve gone through together,” KJ said on Tuesday. “It was gnarly. It’s, honestly, some love story s*** that we’re not gonna let outside influence affect that.”
Dara Levitan and KJ Dillard Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Vulture
Elsewhere in Tuesday’s podcast episode, KJ revealed that he and Dara took a brief break after Summer House season 10 while he was experiencing mental health struggles.
“Pre-show, nothing was really going on for me. Modeling was slow. I’d taken a break during the summer to focus on the show,” he explained. “Financially, I was in a terrible place. Me and Dara were struggling because I was taking out what I was going through out on her. I wasn’t even aware of it.”
KJ shared during part 1 of the Summer House season 10 reunion — which aired May 26 — that he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder late last year after being hospitalized for self-harm.
“I also was not in therapy [at the time],” KJ continued. “I was only on one medication for my anxiety and depression, but I didn’t realize that I had another diagnosis.”
KJ referred to this as his “rock bottom” moment. He explained that Dara “broke up” with him “because she had to.” In fact, Summer House costar Mia Calabrese told Dara to break up with KJ so he could heal.
“Dara, I think, was gonna hang on … but that wouldn’t have been good for either of us,” KJ said. “I needed the time, because after the hospital, I went to recovery … and that’s when we broke up.”
He continued, “Looking back, if me and Dara were dating when I was in recovery, it would have been a mess. I would have been focused on saving the relationship rather than focusing on my health. Recovery changed my life.”
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