The Young and the Restless star Max Ehrich is in rehab for his addiction to nitrous oxide, a dangerous substance he claims he was forced to ingest by alleged kidnappers.
The 34-year-old actor and singer, who was also involved in a whirlwind romance with pop star and actor Demi Lovato in 2020, described the “traumatizing experience” in a series of recent Instagram posts. The two began dating in March 2020 before quickly becoming engaged in July of that year. They broke up in September 2020.
Known for his role as Fenmore Baldwin on the long-running soap opera, he posted Friday: “On my way to rehab…. I am so sorry you all had to watch me fall from grace. All thoughts and prayers are appreciated.” He posted the message alongside alongside a selfie.
“I want to take this moment to share that be careful with posting your locations on social media and in general talking to strangers,” he warned. “Being kidnapped was the most traumatizing experience and I am so thankful to be alive. What they got me hooked on is something that is sold at local stores and should be banned along with anything else toxic.”
In a following post, he shared two pictures of himself sitting in a medical room, hooked up to a blood pressure machine. “Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to get the help I needed after my traumatic event,” he wrote in the caption, adding: “Anyone else struggling please know it is brave to seek help.”
Ehrich’s stint in rehab comes days after he was arrested in Florida on domestic abuse allegations. According to a police report obtained by TMZ, he became violent with his mother, Rhonda, early Wednesday. She claimed they had gotten into an argument over her phone, and he chased her outside before pushing her to the ground and kicking her in the thigh.
She reportedly told police that he had been abusing nitrous oxide and had consumed it before the altercation allegedly turned physical.
Rhonda has since spoken out about the ordeal, slamming “the media and the narrative of my son attacking me,” calling it “completely fabricated.”
“A short video clip of an altercation that is being exaggerated for clickbait does not discern the truth of what did and didn’t happen,” she wrote on Instagram.
Corroborating Ehrich’s kidnapping claims, Rhonda said: “The only villain in this is the fact that my son was kidnapped and forced to ingest a dangerous substance. My son is my best friend and one of the best people I know. My son lives a clean, healthy and sober lifestyle.
“These public exaggerations are harmful to my family. Falsely stating such is also defamation. I am pursuing all legal avenues to clear my son’s name and to move beyond this instance where forced substance abuse created these conflicts,” she continued.
“In a short amount of time I watched substance abuse take over his entire daily life because he was kidnapped and forced to do drugs with a group of bad characters and I struggled as any mother would with the demand to keep him safe as a grown man and protect him. He now is in rehab and he is getting the treatment he needs. A mother knows who their son is and isn’t.”
She concluded: “Max is devastated and extremely apologetic that the world had to watch him fall from grace. At this time we as a family are asking for our privacy and healing prayers.”
Ehrich appeared in 120 episodes of The Young and the Restless from 2012 to 2015. His latest on-screen role was in the Lifetime holiday movie A Cowboy Christmas Romance (2023).
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