{"id":538281,"date":"2026-03-22T08:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/538281\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:57:12","slug":"inside-nicholas-brendons-troubled-life-after-buffy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/538281\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Nicholas Brendon’s troubled life after ‘Buffy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Nicholas Brendon died in his sleep<\/a> at the age of 54 on March 20, he rose to fame as Xander Harris on \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar<\/a>, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz.<\/p>\n

Following his star-making turn on the WB classic series, and prior to his tragic death, the \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d actor faced a complex web of legal issues<\/a>, cast drama and health problems.<\/p>\n

Just a year after \u201cBuffy\u201d wrapped \u2014 the show ran from 1997 to 2003 \u2014 Brendon entered rehab for alcohol issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter realizing that I had a disease that was taking control of my life, I decided that the best way for me to regain my health was to enter a treatment facility,\u201d the then 33-year-old said in a statement at the time, per the Associated Press<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But six years later \u2014 following being charged with resisting arrest, battery against a police officer and vandalism, for which he was sentenced to community service and probation after pleading no contest \u2014 he re-entered a treatment facility.<\/p>\n

Several years on, the actor continued to have run-ins with the law. Brendon was charged with misdemeanor counts of restraining or obstructing officers and malicious injury to property after an arrest in Boise, Idaho, in October 2014. <\/p>\n

\u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d actor Nicholas Brendon died on March 20. He\u2019s seen here in 2000. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The troubled actor (above with the \u201cBuffy\u201d cast) faced medical and legal issues, and cast drama prior to his death. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

According to People, Brendon \u201cshowed signs of intoxication and repeatedly refused officers commands to stay seated while officers tried to speak to witnesses,\u201d and was arrested after he allegedly walked away from cops. <\/p>\n

His next arrest <\/a>came on the heels of his separation from ex-wife Moonda Tee in February 2015, after police claimed the allegedly intoxicated actor trashed a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, hotel room and\u00a0refused to pay a $380 food and beverage tab. He was charged with criminal mischief and grand theft.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, in March 2015, he was again arrested for damaging a hotel room in Florida<\/a> \u2014 which he later blamed on depression and sexual abuse<\/a>. He was arrested again in May 2015 in South Carolina, where he was taken into custody for impairment and public intoxication.<\/p>\n

He then entered treatment yet again for alcoholism, substance abuse and\u00a0depression, in June 2015.<\/p>\n

In August of that year, he addressed walking out on \u201cDr. Phil\u201d<\/a> during an intense interview with the TV therapist. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the first to admit I\u2019ve messed up a lot, and I\u2019ve hurt people I care about who care about me,\u201d he wrote via Facebook at the time, adding that during the interview, he \u201cfelt that Dr. Phil went for the jugular, talking about some of my recent mistakes, with no build up.\u201d <\/p>\n

Seem here in a promotional shot, Brendon was arrested multiple times prior to his death. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

In October 2021, he was arrested for allegedly attacking his girlfriend at a Palm Springs hotel (mugshot seen above). Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that he wanted me to lay the darkest parts of myself on national TV right from the start, and I\u2019m not willing to do that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Brendon landed in trouble again in October 2015<\/a> in Saratoga Springs, New York, when he was arrested and charged with a count of obstruction of breathing, two counts of criminal mischief and robbery in the third degree, after allegedly gripping his girlfriend\u2019s throat and damaging her phone as she attempted to leave.<\/p>\n

The actor later pleaded guilty to the criminal mischief charge. <\/p>\n

Also in October, Brendon was arrested after allegedly attacking his girlfriend at a Palm Springs hotel<\/a>. Palm Springs Police Sgt. William Hutchinson told KESQ-TV that \u201cduring the argument at the bar, he pulled her arm and then violently pulled her by her hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

He headed back to Florida for 90 days of treatment for depression<\/a> following the altercation later that same month. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love you all so much and I truly do appreciate all of your love and support,\u201d he wrote via Facebook at the time, adding, \u201cWe\u2019re going to beat this.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also entered rehab several times. He\u2019s seen above in 2005. MediaPunch \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n

He also faced drama with the \u201cBuffy\u201d cast (above) after Charisma Carpenter and Michelle Trachtenberg made allegations against \u201cBuffy\u201d creator Joss Whedon. Jeffrey Thurnher\/ZUMA Press \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The following November, Brendon returned to Dr. Phil<\/a> to make a confession. \u201cI think I need more help than I realized. I just felt that this was the right thing,\u201d he told the talk show host. <\/p>\n

Brendon was charged with domestic violence\u00a0and sentenced to three years probation for the Palm Springs incident in May 2019. <\/p>\n

Cast drama bubbled to the surface in 2021, when Charisma Carpenter publicly accused \u201cBuffy\u201d creator Joss Whedon of alleged abusive on-set behavior, saying that he \u201cabused his power\u201d and that Whedon \u201cwas the vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n

After initially defending his silence <\/a>on the matter, the actor seemingly sided with Whedon against Carpenter and the late Michelle Trachtenberg \u2014 who had made similar claims in 2021 \u2014 saying in his final Facebook video<\/a>, just days ago, that Whedon had been treated \u201cunfairly\u201d in Hollywood following the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone comes across anyone talking s\u2013t about Joss, I would implore you to bite back a little bit,\u201d he said while sitting in his famous rocking chair on the porch. <\/p>\n

\u201cJoss was my mentor, in so many things in life. And to see how sad he was\u2026\u201d he trailed off, becoming emotional. \u201cIt broke my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lashed out against co-star David Boreanaz in a 2022 book. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Brendon was also noticeably missing from the 20th anniversary special for \u201cBuffy\u201d in 2017. Fans on social media speculated that the reason was due to a rift with David Boreanaz. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

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Brendon was also noticeably missing<\/a> from the 20th anniversary special for \u201cBuffy\u201d in 2017. Fans on social media speculated that the reason was due to a rift with David Boreanaz.<\/p>\n

Brendon subsequently threw shade at the star of the show\u2019s spinoff, \u201cAngel,\u201d in a book.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was weird that Angel got a spinoff. Because how does the most boring character in TV history get a spinoff?\u201d he said to \u201cInto Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts\u201d author Evan Ross Katz in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we break down Angel? Uh, no, there\u2019s nothing to break down. It\u2019s just a brooding little guy. Angel, in my opinion, is worse than those \u2018Twilight\u2019 f\u2013-kers. I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m talking about David or Angel at this point now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the cast drama, Brendon\u2019s legal troubles continued, as well. He was arrested in August 2021<\/a> in Indiana for allegedly using false information to obtain prescription drugs, and charged with felony prescription fraud. <\/p>\n

Per\u00a0documents obtained by TMZ<\/a> at the time, when the actor was pulled over for swerving and failing to signal on the road, he gave cops a California ID for a Kelton Schultz when asked for identification, then told them it was his brother.<\/p>\n

He was arrested for prescription fraud in 2021. He\u2019s seen above in a March Facebook video.<\/p>\n

Brendon suffered genital and leg paralysis in 2021. He\u2019s seen here in 2008. MediaPunch \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n

He was released from the Vigo County Jail, and it\u2019s unclear if the TV personality ever entered a plea in the case. <\/p>\n

In September 2021, a rep for Brendon revealed that he had \u201cdeep-seated medical problems and immense pain,\u201d and suffered \u201cparalysis in his genitals\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and legs after sleeping on concrete while in jail. <\/p>\n

His manager Theresa Fortier told the Daily Mail that he was \u201cconcentrating on his health\u201d amid the health concerns.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Brendon was hospitalized for a \u201ccardiac incident,\u201d<\/a> according to a since-deleted post on his Instagram account. <\/p>\n

\u201cNicky is doing fine now but he had to be rushed to emergency about two weeks ago because of a cardiac incident (tachycardia\/arrhythmia),\u201d read a since-deleted series of photos from the hospital in August 2022. <\/p>\n

Despite his difficulties, cast members paid tribute to him following his death. He\u2019s seen above with Alyson Hannigan. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you are at peace,\u201d Sarah Michelle Gellar (above with cast members) wrote. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of you might remember he had a similar incident after his second spinal surgery last year (for Cauda Equina) but this time. He is trying to get a little more rest and has been concentrating on medical appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rep for Brendon did not immediately return Page Six\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n

Despite the troubled actor\u2019s issues \u2014 and an explosive claim that Gellar \u201cf\u2013ked the show\u201d <\/a>in his March 14 Facebook video, referencing \u201cBuffy\u201d ending after seven seasons \u2014 cast members flooded social media with tributes to Brendon <\/a>following his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw you Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky,\u201d Gellar wrote<\/a> on March 21. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before Nicholas Brendon died in his sleep at the age of 54 on March 20, he rose to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1508,9038,30354,236,3988,7569,31147,91,88,240395,92],"class_list":["post-538281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-addiction","tag-buffy-the-vampire-slayer","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-crimes","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-celebrity-illnesses","tag-celebrity-news","tag-entertainment","tag-nicholas-brendon","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}