Season 11 Episode 3
Richard
Age: 34
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Meth
What’s memorable: The pain and abuse he suffered as a child, how delusional he is about how meth is affecting his life and what he thinks it does for him, the non-intervention, the icky and sad predilection toward incest-themed sexual encounters. “I’ve been anticipating the desires of adult males since I was 5 years old.” – Richard.
Official Synopsis: A 34-year-old gay man, Richard grew up knowing he was different and never feeling accepted. His stepfather disciplined him severely for his effeminate behavior. Today, Richard lives in subsidized housing and has done everything from dealing to prostituting himself to support his meth addiction. Richard’s family will have to make amends to him if they hope to get through to him.
Original Air Date: January 2012
Interventionist: Candy
I am moved by this story. It felt as if I was watching my own son. My son is sooooooo much like Richard. Beautiful Man!!!!!!
What has happened to him and how is he?
I also relate on a personal level even though I am a mother of 4.
Richard, if you or any of your family member or friends ever read this, please know what I’m about to express is so true. Last night, I happened to watch a re-run of Intervention, with you being the star of the episode and seeing it had been my second time in a matter of a couple of years.
I see that picture of an elementary school aged boy, with brown hair and I believe that young boy still lives so bright and alive inside of you, even though we see you as 36 and a young man. That bright and shining little boy is full of hopes, dreams, happiness and wonderful wishes for the future.
The anger, sadness, confusion, abandonment and abuse that you have endured through the worst times of your life are valid, understandable and AREN’T your fault.
I pray you are still here with us and I pray that you never turn your back on yourself, that beautifully strong young man- because to do that would mean turning your back on all your dreams and your dreams are what YOU are here to do.
No matter how long it takes, just know that you aren’t alone and making yourself proud can by far, bring a much richer smile to your face and to your heart.
~Never Alone~
Hitch Your Wagon to the Stars,
Leslie
How is Richard today? Is he still clean?
Where is Richard at today? (good vibes)
I watched this one recently, it was hard to watch. What unbelievable pain he has been through, and his loneliness was unbearable. Just wanted to give him a hug. Richard, wherever you are now, I hope you feel safe and loved.
Richard I pray you read this.. I seen a rerun of your episode and would greatly like to know how you are now.
You have such a strong beautiful soul and it shines thru you, even with the drugs clouding you on the show.
I must say your strength in dealing with your family and the severe lack of understanding for rape victims, abuse and being different. Especially your “brother” it made me sick to my stomach. Anyways… I pray you have stayed strong and you sonehow read this… you can be a great influence to not only rape victims but people who are different… much love and prayers to you from north carolina!!
Just watched the episode of Richard and felt i had to look into how hes doing.
He’s sober and doing amazingly by the looks of it! He is on social media sites ans not difficult to find if you’re interested in checking out his success for yourselves.
Hey..what name do i look up on facebook. His story resonated with me and id like to follow him.
look for “Richard Andrew Kikot”. His twitter is @RdeTriomphe and instagram is @richardandrewkikot
Hello! I’m a good friend of Richard’s, and can tell you that he is living a great, sober life. He took to the AA model and “made amends” with me; it was like experiencing a whole new person. He was nervous, I was nervous – like we were meeting for the first time. I have always had all the love for him, no matter how crazy and demanding he could get, and I’ve never made music with anyone else. We did a small set together a little while back, my first time on stage in something ridiculous like 10 years (videos are online!). He has a partner and a few dogs, and is a much healthier human. And yes, his childhood experience really was quite terrible; the show (which I’ve only been able to watch once) just couldn’t adequately capture that, i don’t think.
Awesome! He seemed like a really cool person underneath the addiction.
I grew up in that same small town and Richard was my childhood friend. He held things together well as a kid to us at school with him I wasn’t aware of most of what he talked about in the show which just goes to show you how a person can cover up so much. Richard is living a sober life and we talk online occasionally. So proud of him and happy that he’s been able to move past his struggle and become who he is now! 🙂 Love ya Richard
that’s awesome!!!
I’m so delighted to hear that beautiful Richard is sober, happy and healthy! His episode was very powerful !
Hi, Richard I recently watched a segment of Intervention and watched your family helping with your drug intervention. I hope that this small email brings you comfort and love. My
thoughts and prayers are that you doing much better. Take care and God bless you.
This story is NOT an accurate portrayal of what goes on with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mothers are allowed to speak up and leave the husband if their children are in danger. There are actually Witnesses who have a same-sex attraction. They simply choose not to give in to those urges so they can have God’s favor. Fathers who abuse their children are punished by the elder body in the congregation, or they should be. Even if they manage to hide, God will judge them in the end.
Note to the 15 people who replied to this and anyone else about to respond to this comment: Unless you can be respectful, don’t say it. Barbara is giving what sounds to me like the Jehovah’s Witness position on abuse and homosexuality. There’s absolutely no reason to be rude just because you don’t agree with the religion. Make an argument if you have one, or provide more information about the religion if you know more. But don’t be a dick just because you don’t believe the same thing. Thanks.
Translation: Let’s excuse homophobia any way we can
Jehovah’s Witnesses are definitely anti gay, they even make videos targeting children that say gay people can change, and they more than imply it is a choice (a sinful one at that)
JWs have also covered up child abuse for decades, not just beatings but molestations by predators, a five minute google search will provide more than enough proof.
God bless Richard, no kid deserves the childhood he went through.
sorry meant, videos that say gay people can **change
This is not a story about you or a documentary about your religion. How dare you try to make it about yourself. You have really highlighted how self serving a you must be to only come here to comment on your religion and not offer any well wishes for Richard.
Richard, if you ever stop by this page, I am glad you’re doing well now and I love your IG. I hope your life is full of love.
I’m so glad to hear he’s doing well. I would be that guy’s friend all day, every day.
Me too. He was one of the more likeable addicts, and he had one of the crappiest childhoods of any person shown. He’s lucky to be living in Toronto, which has plenty of support for people like Richard and is one of the best places on earth for an LGBTQ person to be in. I’m curious if he’s been able to mend fences with his self-righteous douche bag of a brother (or, perhaps whether the brother was able to mend fences with Richard).
Me too! He seems like a kind, caring, generous and loving human being! I hope you are better than great, and have so much love and light and peace in your life, Richard!! Forgive for your own health, doesn’t mean to forget or allow bad treatment. There is so much beauty in the world…hold on to that, enjoy that, and have a beautiful life!
This episode was an absolute horror show. All of these things happening to this poor kid and no adult or parent in his life protecting him… Unconscionable. And then if that wasn’t bad enough, his lone protector being taken away from him. He deserved so much better.
I’m glad to see the update that he’s clean and doing well.
Richard, I hope you continue to find happiness and surround yourself with those who accept and love you for who you are. But above all, put your health and wellbeing first. Best wishes.
My best friend was a JW and she got brutally raped one night….. The JW elders’ response was to blame her for it and throw her out of the only family she ever knew. They interrogated her for hours…… after such a tramatic event. And, In the end, they said it was HER fault because of the shirts she wore and men’s sexually can’t be helped…. I SHIT YOU NOT!!!!!
So…. Now I talk to the young girl JWs EVERY TIME they come to my door…. Just to relay this story….. And I NEVER DO IT VISCOUSLY – ONLY OUT OF A PLACE OF LOVE… That’s the only way you can reach people…
I’ve been friends with a few ex JW, they all said it’s a cult.
Looks like he’s doing well. https://www.instagram.com/richardandrewkikot/?hl=en
Richard’s story was a real tear jerker for me. All the pain he’s endured, I could feel it too. I hope he was able to recover!
Watching this episode now, I’ve seen all episodes at least 2x… where is Richard today?? Is he ok, did he ever go in rehab or other program?? Richard if you’re reading this, you have folks who care & adore you & wish you nothing but the best!! Let us know how you are😊 many prayers your way🙏😊
I’ve watched them as much. I really wish we could get the episodes from Canada. They are still shooting up there, but I wish they would make new ones. I know it’s expensive, but I say go to England, or all of the other countries who haven’t caught on to the show. I really miss new ones. ✌️
As a mother myself, I could never choose my religion or my marriage over the love and protection of my children. Never. I have 2 boys and if either of them seemed “different” or to be flat out, gay, I wouldn’t treat them any differently and my love for them would never change. Nevermind be embarrassed or worried about my own self image. When you become a parent life isn’t all about you anymore. Its up to you to love and protect your children. Unconditionally. Gay straight odd or normal. And to let your husband beat on your son, especially one that isnt even yours to be putting your hands on… Fuck that. My foot would have been so far up that dudes ass. I feel that maybe had his mother chosen to be there for him as a child that his sexual abuse would have been broughr up to her at a much younger age because he would have felt more comfortable talking to her.
I apologize for my rant. This episode just truly pissed me off.
I’m glad to hear richard is doing awesome and has battled his demons and addiction. I wish him well.
Thank God Candy was the interventionist for this one with that brother of his…
I think the brother did a 180. His final FB message to Richard was loving and from the heart.
Oh my God. Richard had a friend who was murdered by a serial killer. He made a victim impact statement in court.
https://torontosun.com/news/crime/victims-friend-locks-eyes-with-serial-killer-bruce-mcarthur
Richard you are an inspiration a strong force beyond words.. I have a twin brother who is my everything Ive always been his protector I can’t imagine losing him. I feel for you so deeply beyond words. So blessed to hear your story. Sending unconditional love. 💓
His mother may have not known about the sexual abuse and good for her for coming to terms with that but the fact of the matter is she was a lousy parent who wasn’t there for her child. How could she have expected Richard to speak up to her about the sexual abuse when she never stood up to her husband about the physical abuse that he got just for being who he was? Nothing about being a JW means you stand by your husband while he abuses your children and everyone knows that’s an excuse that you tell yourself to make yourself feel better., even if that is what God commands of you in your Religion then honestly your Religion sucks and you should feel bad.
In the JW religion men have final authority, a rebellious wife will be ostracized and can even lose ‘privileges’ within the congregation. If it comes down to a woman’s word against a man’s, the woman will be seen as wrong, no matter what.
Seeing the mom use it as an excuse did upset me though, even if you get shunned for leaving the religion, so what, do whatever you have to, anything to protect your baby boy. Glad he’s doing better now.
I really really just deeply like Richard and think of him often. What a tremendously smart, funny, compassionate, beautiful person – it’s easy to see that under the shield of addiction he’s built up. I’ve probably watched his episode a dozen times over the years, and I still cry when he talks about Kim. And I love Tamsen also! I really just want the best for Richard – I hope he can be the wonderfully intrinsically creative and and joyful person he is fully capable of being without drugs. I thank Richard for sharing his story.
I just found Richard on IG and he looks amazing! He’s sober and looks happy! Looks like a completely different person from the episode! People leave him comments about his episode and he responds with gratitude, so I know it’s him!! I’m so happy to see him doing well!! Sending good vibes and prayers his way!!
This episode was intense! As much as I hate to say it, with Richard’s history, you’d almost be surprised if he *wasn’t* an addict. How heartbreaking. I won’t go in on his mother but…phew..she was a lot. The intervention was really intense and I love Candy so much, and she really told Peter the truth on this one! Thanks to the folks who posted Richard’s social media links in the comments, it is so wonderful to see him sober, healthy, happy, and thriving! I hope the rest of his family has gotten to that point as well.
Richard looks healthy and seems happy. Fabulous taste in eyewear.
he’s changed his Instagram handle: https://instagram.com/rdetriomphe?utm_medium=copy_link
This episode broke my entire heart, this is one of the most devastating episodes I have ever watched. I am so glad he is doing well as of today.
Richard’s story really touched me! I’m so glad to see that he is living a sober, happy, healthy, loving, and fun life! He finally found his true love & acceptance for the wonderful man he is in his husband!! This world would have lost an amazing human being to addiction if he had not found sobriety. He has so much to offer this world and the LGBTQIA+ community!! As a loving, understanding, and accepting mom of a lesbian, I wanted to reach into the television and give Richard a hug and tell him just how special he is! He is a beautiful, charismatic, and extraordinary soul!! Sending Richard & his husband all my love from Northern California! ❤️🫶🏼
Hey, Dizzy! Just to let you know, you have the richards mixed up, this Richard is season 7 episode 17.
Also, this episode broke my heart.
As someone who came out as queër in a small town I know how cruel people can be, but can’t even imagine the pain of dealing with the familial aspect AND the loss of his sweet sister Kim.
Such a heartbreaking episode.
Richard, wherever you are now I hope you have found peace and are being your true fabulous self! There is so many people out there that will/do love you exactly the way you are (:
No, I have it correct. A&E backs me up – https://www.aetv.com/shows/intervention/season-11/episode-3
Watching this episode for the 2nd or 3rd time and just had to say… (this is a joke but oddly still true)
I’m a pretty masculine lesbian born in ’90 who grew up in Texas and Oklahoma with an EXTREMELY religious(and physically and psychologically abusive mom. Also other random fun (horrible) events I endured throught my childhood, teen years and early 20s. Of course I ended up an addict.
Anyways, the masculine lesbian side of me just instantly wanted to just protect him and keep the evil homophobes away. I’ve had a few gay friends that I’ve protected and supported through the years..
sorry for the unnecessary info I just felt like I needed to say that
People who cannot accept their children being gay are some of the worst people out there. If you cannot accept whoever your child chooses to be don’t be a parent. All the abuse and trauma he experienced was 1000% preventable if people weren’t so closed minded. It hurts my heart, there are so many awful things in this world. Richard as a beautiful child who seemed to light up rooms was constantly brutalized for simply being different. His family is lucky to have him, and his parents or his brother Peter do not deserve him. Love your kids NO MATTER who they turn out to be. Being gay is not a bad thing. May future children grow up in a world that can be more accepting.
I posted this comment too early…right before they explain he was tragically molested as a child for many years. I mentioned his trauma was preventable because I thought it was only about him being gay. Obviously what I said was wrong. I wish Richard all the support and healing. He’s just the type of person I would love to have in my life.
Well not being accepted definitely didn’t help matters you must admit.