The wife of The Lemonheads‘ Evan Dando has spoken out about the frontman’s “meltdown”, and how he was “out of his mind” during the filming of an abandoned Tiny Desk session.
The musician is currently receiving mental health treatment in hospital after being accused of sending an unsolicited explicit video to a fan.
His wife, Antonia Teixeira, has now discussed the episode that led to his hospitalisation. She explained that the issues began earlier this year when she and her husband were in the US to film an edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk.
However, Teixeira said the episode would never be released because of how Dando’s mental state was at the time.
Speaking to Billboard on the day her husband was admitted to the hospital (Friday February 13), she explained that Dando had been struggling with heavy drinking and prescription drug abuse throughout their five-year relationship.
Teixeira claimed that his most recent bout of mental health issues had started a few weeks before he checked into the hospital. The couple had travelled to New York City from their home in São Paulo so that The Lemonheads could appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 20.
Following this TV appearance, the band headed to Washington, D.C. to film their episode of Tiny Desk.
Teixeira said she became concerned due to her husband’s behaviour starting to become erratic during the trip. “That day, he was totally out of his mind,” she remembered. “So out of his mind, that the Tiny Desk won’t be aired.”
According to Teixeira, Dando’s unpredictable behaviour continued when the pair got back to Brazil. She recalled how “everything went to hell” on one particular day recently. Teixeira alleged that Dando ingested large quantities of Adderall, THC and mushrooms at the same time, and began exchanging explicit videos with multiple women on X/Twitter.
She took Dando to the facility where he is currently receiving care after finding these videos. His wife also gave him an ultimatum: if he doesn’t finish his treatment, she will file for a divorce. Teixeira said she believed the treatment would take at least 30 days.
“You can’t imagine how mad I was when I saw that he was sending messages to girls,” Teixeira said. “I’m very mad, because he betrayed me.”
She also thought Dando sent the unsolicited video by accident to the wrong woman: “From what I’m looking [at] now, it wasn’t … he doesn’t remember what he did. He was in a mental meltdown.”
Teixeira explained that Dando was “very embarrassed” about his behaviour after finding out what he had done. She said that his apparent relapse was a case of “self-sabotage”, as he had recently finished a new album and was set to head out on tour this summer (the dates have since been cancelled).
As for his treatment plan, Teixeira continued: “If he’s really, really committed, he can do it.”
She went on: “I feel like this is a second phase of his healing, you know? It’s him actually taking into his own hands, his responsibilities, the consequences, and not blaming other people and just trying to be better because he wants to be better himself … I’m very hopeful that things will get better.”
The fan who has accused Dando of sending an unsolicited explicit video is identified only as Dawn on journalist Tony Ortega’s Substack The Underground Bunker. She claimed she had contacted the frontman via a direct message on social media to congratulate him on The Lemonheads’ new album.
Dando allegedly replied, “Cool I’m sorry I’m an exhibitionist”, and sent a video of himself masturbating to Dawn without her consent the following day.
“It’s him sitting in a basement or something, and he’s fully masturbating,” Dawn told Ortega. “You can see his penis, and his face. It’s definitely him. He’s filming it from a weird angle.”
She added: “It’s so gross. I don’t want him to do this to anyone else. It’s just a gross feeling.”
In a statement obtained by Rolling Stone, Dando’s publicist said: “Evan Dando has long struggled with mental health issues dating back to his childhood. He’s been admitted to a local hospital where he’s receiving comprehensive help from experienced doctors and mental health professionals.”
Writing in one chapter of Rumours Of My Demise, Dando recalled of his struggles: “Most of my real friends retreated, hoping things would change. The rest got a kick out of watching me unravel. I was in horrible shape, losing teeth, and living off cheeseburgers … and a $200 daily drug habit.”