Former Eagles WR Hank Baskett's ex-wife Kendra Wilkinson opens up on battling mental health: "I was dying of depression"

During his tenure as an NFL wide receiver, Hank Baskett and his former wife, Kendra Wilkinson, starred in their hit reality show. Baskett ended his NFL career in 2011 and the couple got divorced in 2018.

In September 2023, Wilkinson was rushed to the emergency room by ex-husband Baskett after experiencing her second panic attack in a week. She recently told PEOPLE magazine that the experience left her feeling as if she was losing her life to her battle with depression.

“I was in a state of panic. I didn’t know what was going on in my head and my body or why I was crying. I had hit rock bottom."

“I was dying of depression. I was hitting the end of my life, and I went into psychosis. I felt like I wasn’t strong enough to live anymore.”

Wilkinson went on to say that her second hospital visit led to a turning point in her mental health journey. She received medication and began going to therapy three times a week to work through her previous trauma.

Wilkinson attributes her time living at the Playboy mansion and her divorce from Baskett as two scenarios that led to increased her mental health issues. She also stated that she and Baskett keep a good connection now and continue co-parenting their two children.

How long were Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett married?

In November 2008, Hank Baskett proposed to Kendra Wilkinson at the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. The couple married at the Playboy mansion in June 2009 in a televised wedding for her E! reality show "Kendra."

In December 2009, the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Hank Baskett IV. Baskett and Wilkinson then had their second child, a daughter named Alijah, in May 2014. In April 2018, she filed for divorce after nearly nine years of marriage.

How long did Hank Baskett play in the NFL?

Hank Baskett went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at the University of Mexico. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent but was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.

During his tenure with the Eagles, he played just one game in three seasons. He initially signed a one-year contract to remain with the Eagles. However, he was released in September 2009. Days after his release from the Eagles, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts, playing in Super Bowl XLIV with the team that season.

He was responsible for misplaying an onside kick, which ended up leading to the Colts' 31-17 loss to the Saints. The Colts released him the next day.

He then played six games for the Vikings in 2010, his final NFL season.