Season 25, Episode 11
Tommy & Melly
Age: 19
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Addiction: Percocet pills cut with Fentanyl, Meth
What’s Memorable: Tommy & Melly outside the family dinner smoking meth with Nana. Uncle Tio overdosing in front of Tommy in a car. B’s tearjerker of a confessional. That whole “trap house” full of addicts fighting. The interventionist being super proud of getting all 5 people to go to treatment. Both of these sweet kids saying that seeing their parent showing emotion in the intervention was what did it for them. However you may feel about the show or the model it uses, it’s hard to deny that these kinds of interventions work. There really is something about having the people you love the most in one room crying about you, asking you to get help and telling you how much they love you even though you know you’ve put them through absolute hell – it’s powerful stuff. And this was an excellent episode.
Official Synopsis: Tommy and Melly, both 19, have had a troubled life for two people so young. Both grew up in hardworking families, surrounded by a lot of love, but also a lot of pain. Tommy’s father, struggling to take care of his family, used alcohol as an escape which lead to violence in the household. In Tommy’s teens, he witnessed the death of his beloved uncle due to fentanyl. Within months, Tommy was using the same deadly drug to numb is pain. Melly was always the “wild child” and her single mother did her best to manage her. In her early teens, Melly was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, but by then she was pregnant, with a drug addicted boyfriend, and soon living on the streets. Melly and Tommy found each other at a low point in their lives and since then, have been spiraling deeper and deeper into fentanyl and meth addiction.
Date Aired: July 8, 2024
Interventionist: Vicki Lucas and Carla DiCandia
I was able to find an update about them in the “lost in Phoenix” YouTube channel. As of April/May 2024 they have relapsed.
Unfortunately they both relapsed after treatment, got back together and as of 2 months ago are out on the streets. Someone posted this link on Reddit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPSqE4SNFg
Poor Melly is so obviously high and manic in this video: talking a mile a minute, disorganized thoughts, can’t sit still….
I think it’s tweaking more than manic, but yeah, out of the entire new season, these 2 break my heart the most. by far.
I found this video…. I’d say this is manic. Now that I’ve seen it to the end, I almost feel like they would’ve succeeded if they went away together somewhere far. Either way……
https://youtu.be/L5cY186FFS4?si=3Jn88DMB1sNmgEUM
Maybe this was taken before the show. Hopefully.
I was very sad to learn that Belem relapsed…I saw a lot of potential in her. Hopefully she finds her way back into the light because I think she has some true gifts.
@Gina I totally agree there was something special about Belem! I thought she would do well in treatment! I was sad to see her relapse! It’s also heartbreaking to see this video that was posted. I was really hoping both Tommy and Melly would continue to thrive after treatment! They are both so young. I pray it’s not too late for any of them! I found Tommy to be very likeable! I hope they all find sobriety and some peace before they fall deeper into their addiction. 🙏 I still believe all the couples would be better off getting and staying clean APART. It’s just too meshed and toxic. Reationships are hard enough so when you have two addicts I don’t see how they could stay clean long term together. I’m sure it can happen but I think it’s rare.
I’m curious about when Melly said she hoped to get her son Julian (who I believe is about 4 or 5?) back. The show said he was taken by social services at 1 day old and placed in foster care, and I presume she never had any kind of custody since then.
What are the odds she can still even get him back? My close friend used to work for DHS and at some point they will just move to get rid of the bio parents rights, especially if the parents aren’t making an effort to get the child back (classes, passing drug tests, etc) and if the child is considered very adoptable.
I wonder if because of her immigration status (she says in the video I posted she’s scared of deportation as she doesn’t have papers) the courts tried to notify her, couldn’t get any response due to her living on the streets/not being documented, and then just went ahead with the court case. (Not a lawyer but I did take some law classes and I know in situations like that they need proof they tried to serve you at a last known address and then do ‘sufficient notice’ which is essentially posting in the local paper that [name of parent] or anyone claiming parentage to a minor born on [DOB] is ordered to appear at [courthouse] on [date and time] to contest DHS’s motion to end all rights.)
Either way a sad situation. And I don’t care how mouthy she got, it was not OK for grandma to literally PUT HER HANDS ON HER THROAT to push her away.
Welcome to Hell. This double-length, multi-intervention episode opened the gates of the hell that was the house of horrors this family of addicts called home. I found it so vivid that it was actually painful to watch. This was INTERVENTION at its best–providing their patented “fly-on-the-wall” view of the truly dreadful existence of their subject(s). New (to the show) interventionist, Vicki Lucas, assisted by mental health professional, Carla DiCandia, jumped right in the fray, taking on an entire family of fentanyl addicts (including the grandmother). The utter chaos and pain of this extended family (14 addicts living in one small, squalid house) was a seemingly impossible task to take on–and yet, several of them were talked into going to treatment, with varying levels of success.
It crossed my mind in the midst of this excellent episode what a gift it is to have INTERVENTION back for another season. In these first few episodes, thus far, it seems the show has somehow been re-energized and has found its footing, once again (to be honest, after last year’s truncated season, I figured it meant the end of INTERVENTION). Thankfully for all of us, they are, indeed, back. I, for one, am very grateful for that, indeed.
Agreed, I think Season 25 has been exceptional.
Needless to say, Dizzy, it’s GREAT to have you back, too!
Holy crap, I didn’t realize I’d seen them on the Lost in Phoenix YouTube channel/TikTok til I saw the link Kristin shared here. I’m so sad that is them. (No comment on the ethics of that channel, but I digress…)
Melanie seemed to be doing so well at the end of the Intervention episode. I hope they both realize they’re worth more than this!
not even half way done & this is definitely my favorite episode of the season. My heart is aching for everyone but unfortunately, even before reading comments, I didn’t see them staying clean. So young & so many family members using, it would take a miracle.
My head is spinning with this episode. I can not believe how young they are and this addicted, they literally had no time to be “normal” teenagers! How casual the mom speaks about Tommy living on the streets as a child! Then Melly casually talking about being homeless and pregnant, again as a child!!! Oh my heart aches! There’s so much pain, trauma and toxicity in these families and their surroundings it’s almost become the norm. I mean these two have never known anything else! I was thinking about when Tommy and Melly come out of treatment where could they go? They are so young I’m sure they don’t have any savings to move and get their own places, sorry if I missed it but I don’t suppose they have ever had jobs, it’s all such huge changes for them at their young ages moving back home was the comfortable option but also a recipe for disaster! I truly admired how the families came together during the interventions, loved Vicki, what a powerful yet loving lady, incredible effort from everyone! One of my favourite interventions. How excited Tommy and Melly were to go to treatment, they are so sweet. I truly send them and the rest of the family prayers full of strength to get through this!
This was my least favorite episode ever. Hard to watch these families which are beyond screwed up. I always pray the people in these episodes stay clean. Sadly, I’m not hopeful for any of them.