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Season 7 Episode 17

Richard

Age: 53
Location: Wendell, North Carolina
Addiction: Crack
What’s memorable: Richard is the epitome of the self-loathing addict. He positively hates himself and what he’s doing to his family, but his pain is so great that he just can’t stop. He is so very, very sick. And so is his wife. She and their daughter have sacrificed their livelihoods to take care of him and keep him alive.

Update: Richard Speight Bridgers died at age 62 on October 23rd, 2018.  Here is a death notice.  The cause of death is unknown. His wife Sandy passed away in July 2017.

Official Synopsis: Now 53, Richard has kept a traumatic childhood event secret all his life. As early as age 11, he used alcohol to numb the emotional pain. As an adult, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and his health problems were exacerbated by his drug and alcohol abuse. He was able to keep his addictions in check while he and his wife, Sandy, raised two children. But when he was injured at work, Richard abused his prescriptions and eventually became addicted to crack cocaine.

Original Air Date: May 2010
Interventionist: Candy

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  1. Todd

    Richard is a good friend of mine from Las Vegas recovery and he is a very good man and fun to be around. Thank you family!

  2. Gregory Moore

    What a good, gracious fellow Richard seems. He is the only one that I recall (on “Intervention”) who said, after the reading of the letters, “I can’t disagree with a word any of you says”. More than anything, it seems he is just mortified that his life took the turn it did. I don’t mean this unkindly, but is he really the best person to be handling a “multi-million dollar” estate (in his daughter’s words). Having access to all that money has surely facilitated his drug use. In any case, I hope his life has turned out well. The closing words to his story were somewhat nebulous. Hopefully, in the intervening years since this aired, he’s found the right path. Good luck, Richard!

  3. Alana

    I remember him describing what happened in his childhood trauma. So disturbing.

  4. Megan Modes

    Any updates on Richard? I hope he is still sober!

  5. Courtney Lea

    I really liked watching this episode with Richard because Candi was so right when she said that, “Secrets keep people sick.” The fact that Richard was raped by his uncle as a child made me feel so sick to my stomach and he turned to alcohol at a very young age to cope with the pain. When I saw how he looked after getting treatment, I was amazed at how much better he looked and sounded. When he was doing drugs, he was constantly crying in pain from his demons and shaking. I pray that he is still doing well and doing great with his loving wife and children. I hope you’re well, Richard! God bless!

  6. Megan

    Richard was found dead on October 23 by his son who had just left rehab. Sandy passed away 15 months ago. Richard was a despicable person who introduced his children to drugs and slowly killed his wife’s will to live. He acted as an invalid as to take attention away from his wife fighting cancer. Only to be just fine once she passed. Although he couldn’t be bothered to be at the funeral as he was locked up and once out too busy shooting heroin. His kids are now addicts and have never had to take responsibility for their own lives. I hope that this now gives them the chance to become the people I know they can be to make their mom proud. Richard never worked hard for anything in his life. I would know I’m sandy, his wife’s, niece.

    1. Dizzy

      Terrible news, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope his kids will be ok.

    2. Janel Siegel

      How terribly sad, I hope the kids are able to turn their lives around ❤️

    3. Courtney

      How can you be so callous to say such a thing about your uncle? He is deceased. How dare you talk in vain about a person who just died. You could’ve been nicer and not stomped on his grave after announcing that he passed away. Shame on you.

      1. Stefan

        Demanding that the dead are worthy of our honor/respect for solely the reason that they’re dead is the root of so much generational/familial trauma in our society.

      2. Sarcastic_Goth

        Uh, because he ruined the family? All his kids becoming addicts because of him? This is her life that she experienced with Richard and the family, you (a person who doesn’t know the family personally) do not get to dictate how she feels and why she feels that way just because you think differently. I’m the same way with my mom, she did drugs, left me and my brother as toddlers alone for hours on end, took my sisters to crack houses, stole money from my dad, physically abuse my dad, decided to let a random man who was a pedophile be my father while my actual father was gone right after I was born (thank God my dad came back before the pedo had any chances, at least I’d hope). Not everyone dies innocent, not everyone who dies was a good person. You have no say so in how someone else feels with their own problems and trauma.

    4. Robin Michelle Worthy

      Did his daughter start using

    5. Sudie

      His daughter too?

  7. Brenton

    My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family 🙏🙏

  8. Becka

    September 24th 2020 his daughter died only a few sbort months after giving birth to her daughter….her first child. All of this is heartbreaking. Please keep his son in yohr prayers.

    1. Katja

      Oh no! How sad… I’ll pray for him

    2. Tonya

      Does she have a facebook? I just watched this episode and read the updates 😭

    3. Danica

      I’m watching his episode now and I DO remember it. I had no idea he had passed away.

  9. Robin

    I liked his daughter so much! I really hope she didnt start using drugs. Does anyone know how she passed?

    1. Jane

      How do you know she passed?

  10. Courtney

    Stefan, I lost my cousin to an accidental overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl. She was my first best friend and I looked up to her so much. It’ll be 2 years since she died on the 3rd. I don’t hate her at all and I in fact miss her so damn much. I still cry on and off over her. So, if you’re telling me to hate my own cousin for her dying because she struggled with addiction, then you shouldn’t be around any people at all. You’re worse than an addiction with that callous attitude of yours. Shame on you.

    1. Stefan

      What I meant to say is that if said person (in this case Richard to his niece) was terrible to you/others, the fact that they’re now deceased doesn’t make them automatically worth of a personal revision. Sorry for any confusion.

  11. Kristin

    In response to Megan’s comment about the deaths of Richard and his wife, his daughter Jennifer has also died. I read on Megan’s comment that the kids of Richard were into drugs and I was skeptical that Jennifer, who seemed together, would do so. She did die and from reading a message on her obituary page, but no obituary, that she may have committed suicide. So sad!!!

    1. Megan

      Jennifer died from a heroin overdose. She had lost custody of her daughter and was using with her husband. Jennifer unfortunately never had it together. She was using with Richard before and after the show. She lived off her trust fund but died penniless. I hate that she never overcame her addiction but never knew any other life. Her brother recently got out of prison and was living in a halfway house last I heard. I haven’t had any communication with him since his last prison sentence. It’s extremely unfortunate for their entire family. My aunt worked tirelessly but also enabled them all. She was an angel on this earth and fought so hard to beat cancer. Jennifer and Richard were unable to attend the funeral due to being locked up in days following her death before her funeral. Sandy died with just her sisters by her side. They had to lock themselves in the room were Sandy was and had a safe where her meds were kept safe from the addicts in her house. Richard died from complications of diabetes due to his inability to take care of himself because of his heroin addiction. I hope with everything in me that Justin will turn his life around but I doubt very seriously that he will. I had high hopes the last time he got out. He sounded like he had grown up. Then he beat someone nearly killing him. And as far as being so callous to his death, he was horrible human being. He ruined everything around him. He introduced his children to drugs when they were kids. He is the reason Jennifer started using. He is the reason Justin started using. He sucked the life from his wife. He never worked longer than a couple months at a time while my aunt supported him until his mother died and left him easy access to money. Unfortunately he had no redeeming qualities. I love my cousins and wished the best for them but don’t think that either had a chance.

      1. Megan

        I’d like to add….Sandy helped so many people with overcoming their addiction but could never get her family to follow the same path. Many people who met Sandy through Jennifer, Justin, and Richard are alive now because of Sandy’s guidance and love. Those people were willing to listen to hear advice and change their life. I’m proud to say that she saved so many people but sad that she couldn’t get through to her kids.

  12. Jane

    Is it true that his daughter also passed? I never found any info

  13. Anon

    I’m shocked that A & E didn’t remove this one from their website after reading these comments. Many addicts who have died are immediately removed, and seeing these comments about his daughter passing away too… Jesus Christ.

    From the comments on her obituary it seemed to be suicide, it’s just all so tragic. Im just seeing this one for the first time [ I started watching intervention when I was around 11 years old but I could only watch the alcohol episodes, so just now getting around to what I have missed] and my god is it heart wrenching.