mayo clinic

Rapper Gucci Mane’s newest release might be his most vulnerable yet.

The Atlanta-based musician, promoting his third memoir, “Episode,” revealed to “The Breakfast Club” crew on Monday that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He also went into detail about how he has learned to manage the mental health conditions, with a stern but helping hand from his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir.

The 45-year-old hip-hop star, born Radric Davis, said in a joint interview with Ka’oir that he sought professional help for his mental health after experiencing an episode during the pandemic. “After that I was just like, ‘Man, I gotta really hold myself accountable and take care of my health,’” he said.

“I don’t ever wanna have another episode again. I’m like, I’m gonna see a therapist, if I have to take medicine — I kinda like threw in the towel,” the rapper continued. “Whatever I need to do to get better.”

Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that affects how people behave, think and feel, according to the Mayo Clinic. Someone living with schizophrenia — which the clinic says can be managed with medicine and therapy — can experience “a mix of hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking and behavior” and can “lose touch with reality.”

Bipolar disorder is a treatable mental health condition marked by extreme changes in mood, thought, energy and behavior, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. A widely known symptom of the illness is manic episodes, which are marked by elevated changes in mood or behavior. But many people with a bipolar disorder diagnosis more commonly experience depressive episodes.

During the hour-long conversation, the “Wake Up in the Sky” rapper and Ka’oir shared details about his various episodes over the years and how it affected their relationship. They married in 2017 and share two kids. Ka’oir recalled witnessing Gucci Mane’s episodes even before they tied the knot.

During the episodes, “you’re seeing someone you don’t know,” said Ka’oir, who was born Keyshia Watson and modeled as Keyshia Dior. She recalled the rapper making “disrespectful” remarks and understood that he didn’t mean it. “I felt like if I left, he wouldn’t have been the same,” she said Monday. “He needed someone to help him.”

“I’m cool with this,” Ka’oir recalled thinking when someone voiced concern for their marriage.

Helping the Grammy-nominated “Exactly How I Feel” rapper manage his conditions proved challenging over the years, Ka’oir said. She said she worked with his inner circle to plan a “kidnapping” to a hospital so he could receive professional help. Ka’oir said she was confident that the rapper would never hurt her, even if other people worried otherwise.

Gucci Mane, who has faced legal woes including a federal prison sentence that ended in 2016, said he was “super embarrassed and hurt by the things I said” during his episodes. After his release from prison, he said, he apologized to a number of rap artists, name-dropping Rick Ross, Drake and Nicki Minaj. The latter had her own thoughts about the pair’s interview, accusing Ka’oir on X of sedating the “I Get the Bag” artist.

“I felt bad. I felt terribly bad,” he said, adding that apologizing to fellow stars felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Ka’oir said she worked to keep her husband’s episodes away from the public eye by controlling his social media presence. She explained that she learned how to identify an episode before it became a full-blown incident, noting that some signs included him making mean comments or odd requests. Gucci Mane said that during episodes of what he called “psychosis,” he would hear voices speaking ill about people in his close circles.

Drug use, stress and a lack of sleep were among his triggers, he said. He added that other musicians did not reach out to support him during his episodes.

Throughout the interview, Gucci Mane made it abundantly clear that he prioritizes his family life, noting he sought professional help to be present and to raise his children with Ka’oir.

“My best decision was to marry her and be with her,” he said. “I got somebody to hold me accountable and I got somebody to watch TV with. Sometimes that’s all you wanna do … I don’t really need a lot.”

Gucci Mane released his memoir and his newest album — both titled “Episodes” — on Friday. This marks the third book from the rapper, who previously released memoirs in 2017 and 2020.

“Today” show host Sheinelle Jones’ husband, Uche Ojeh, has died of brain cancer at age 45. The two were married for 17 years.

Co-host Savannah Guthrie, surrounded by her colleagues, announced the news “with profound sadness” Friday morning during the show. Ojeh fought “a courageous battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma,” she said.

“There are no words for the pain we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” she continued. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him.”

Jones posted a photo of her husband on Friday along with video from that broadcast. Her simple caption offered thanks to all who had supported them during Ojeh’s illness.

“Uche was an extraordinary person. Full of light and heart and faith,” Guthrie wrote in comments. “Sheinelle, my dearest, we love you and the kids with all of our hearts. I marvel at your strength. You are surrounded by love now and forever.”

“Love you Sheinelle…we wrap our arms around you now and forever!,” co-host Jenna Hager wrote. Talk-show and former “Today” host Tamron Hall and former “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb offered their condolences.

Meteorologist and third-hour “Today” co-host Dylan Dreyer joined in, writing, “Hoping you can find peace in the love and prayers that surround you and your incredible children. I’m so lucky to have known Uche and his spirit lives on in your family.”

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain and spinal cord cancer, the Glioblastoma Foundation says, with a current standard of care that doesn’t help much. The average survival time for people who get treatment is 15 months after diagnosis, according to the foundation, compared with three to six months for those who do not. While research on new treatments has been promising, according to the Mayo Clinic, the condition has no cure.

The Mayo Clinic says the disease is most often diagnosed when people are in their mid-60s. Singer Michael Bolton, 72, announced last month that he has been diagnosed with glioblastoma after initially suffering nausea and balance issues in 2023. His diagnosis and emergency brain surgery came in January 2024.

Jones, who anchors the third hour of “Today” with Dreyer, Craig Melvin and Al Roker, has been absent from the show since mid-December, managing what she called “a family health matter.”

At the time, the 11-year NBC News veteran did not disclose details but acknowledged her support system within and beyond the “Today” studio, saying that it “means so much to me.” People reported in January that the situation was “serious” but didn’t involve Jones or her three children with Ojeh: son Kayin, 15, and twins Clara and Uche, 14.

Ojeh married Jones in September 2007 after meeting during the 1990s on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., when she was walking to class and he was a high school senior visiting campus. She decided to act like a “fake tour guide,” she told her alma mater’s magazine in 2024.

“I told him I would take him around,” Jones said, “because he was cute.”