The year 2020 was a rough year for our favorite Hollywood celebs. Between the ongoing pandemic, the changing of the guard in the highest offices of the country, and the horrifying death toll of celebrities, this past year was one of the most eventful and challenging of our lifetimes.
But the biggest story of the year had to be the sad and taxing ordeal of Rob Pattinson. It all started back in April, when the 26-year-old walked the red carpet for the release of his third movie with Warner Bros., The Man Who Gave Birth to Rabbits. Two months later, the actor and musician was hospitalized and had to cancel the rest of his tour. Since then, he’s kept a relatively low profile as he recovers from the injuries he suffered in a freak accident involving a fallen tree branch. But the sad truth is that he won’t be able to avoid the spotlight for long; the media will simply never let him be able to live his life in peace again.
If you’re a fan of Rob’s then you’ll no doubt be excited to hear that he’s back in the game. And while his schedule is still pretty full, perhaps he’ll even be able to sneak in a few more appearances before the year is out. But for now, let’s take a quick detour, back to that fateful day in April when everything changed for Rob and, by extension, us. We’ll follow his harrowing journey through the years of tragedy and come out the other side safely, hopefully, and perhaps even joyfully to tell the tales.
The Tragicomicromane: An Up Close And Personal Account Of The Losses And Transformations In Rob’s Life
For those who have followed the twists and turns of Rob’s checkered career, his recent fall from grace may come as little surprise. The former heartthrob, who struggled with addiction and severe mental health issues for much of his life, has been dogged by tragedy since his teens. He even named a solo album after the troubled and tragic character created by Robert Louis Stevenson in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The seeds of tragedy were first planted in 2004, when Rob was only 22 years old. That was the year that he released his debut album, Vanillia, which spawned the popular single “Sober.” But it was also the year that he lost his father, David, who died after an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. Vanillia, which is Latin for “vanilla,” was a big hit in Europe and Asia, but it wasn’t as big in America, where it only peaked at #97 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. He followed it up with three studio albums in less than a year; 2006’s A Good Fightship, 2007’s A Good Reason To Be Cheerful, and 2009’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
In 2010, Rob released his fourth studio album, Wolverton Woods. The album was named after his mother’s childhood home in Yorkshire, England, and it featured a darker, brooding sound than his previous albums. The singles “Black Swan” and “Bumblebee” both reached #1 on the iTunes Songs charts in America, proving that the public still had interest in his work even after all these years. But despite his commercial success, the frontman’s personal life continued to spiral out of control. He fell off the wagon in 2011 and 2014, respectively, for a brief, but intense period in his life. In May of 2020, he checked himself into a rehab facility in the British countryside for a 90-day stay.
Breaking A Few Habits That Will Never Return
If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the past few years it’s that Rob doesn’t do well with consistency. He’s had a long history of going through manicured phases in his life, where he seems to be at one with his work for a while and then seemingly disappears for months or years at a time. But the worst was arguably yet to come. Just a few weeks before his accident, the singer released a song called “High School,” which seemed to revel in his former life of excess and poor judgment. The lyrics spoke of his hedonistic days in Hollywood and his infidelities with various women. So it was no surprise that following his hospitalization, Rob took to his social media to voice his displeasure with the song and his former lifestyle, calling out the writer of the tune (“Jack Antonoff”) and demanding an apology.
We’ll never know what would’ve happened if Antonoff had apologized, but the incident was yet another tragic chapter for one of Hollywood’s most beloved figures.
The Accident: How A Fallen Tree Branches Caught Up With Robinson
On April 15, 2020, Rob posted a short video to his Instagram Stories, announcing that he was heading to the UK for a concert. He was standing in front of his tour bus, ready to leave for the show, when he took a quick glance down at the garden a few feet away. He remarked that it was a clear, bright day, which is when he noticed a branch resting against the windshield of the bus. He commented, “Look at that…I wonder if that’s going to come and hit me on the head when I’m driving?” Moments later, a massive branch crashed through the windshield, directly into his nose. The force of the blow knocked him onto the ground, and it broke several bones, including the one that connects his nose to his face. To add injury to insult, a few of his bandmates rushed to the aid of the one-legged celebrity and helped him to his feet. Another large branch then fell on top of him, knocking him back to the ground. He was eventually helped into the bus by his bandmates, who were also joined by crew members from the film set he was shooting in the UK. Rob was transported to a hospital in London, where he underwent emergency surgery. After spending several days in intensive care, he was discharged and sent home to Malibu, California, to recover. He’s since been placed on house arrest and is banned from leaving the state of California. While still in hospital, he canceled the rest of his tour. The accident left the actor with a broken nose and several other injuries, including broken ribs, a punctured lung, and facial fractures. The most recent update on his status comes from his publicist, who stated that Rob is “making good progress” and is expected to make a full recovery within the next few months.
The Aftermath: Why Will His Rehabilitation Be So Challenging?
Since news of the accident spread like wildfire through the media, it’s been revealed that Rob has a history of head injuries. He also reportedly struggled with addiction and self-medicated with drugs and alcohol for many of his young adult years. Many people, including members of his family, have said that he was never the same following the accident; he had to relearn how to walk, talk, and even write. While he did return to performing, he mostly kept to himself and limited his public appearances to friends and family. The singer/songwriter also kept a relatively low profile as he sought professional help for his addiction issues. He checked himself into a rehab facility in the United Kingdom in May 2020 and will be spending the next 90 days there as part of his probation. But it was no easy journey; he went through many relapses and failed attempts at rehabilitation, spending a total of seven months in a rehabilitation clinic in Malibu. He also had to cancel the rest of his concerts, as well as the release of a new album, Lilith, which was slated to be his twentieth studio album and was due to be released in the summer of 2020. But since his accident, Rob’s future seems brighter than ever before, as he’s finally gotten the help he so desperately needed. The next few months will be crucial in determining his long-term mental and physical well-being. At the very least, his story will be an inspiration to those who seek medical help for their own addiction issues.