EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden's Drug Addiction Crisis Exposed — Stepmom Jill Reveals Family's Two Desperate Interventions to Save Joe's Struggling Son Fell Apart
Jill Biden discloses the family staged two separate interventions for Hunter Biden that ultimately failed.
June 2 2026, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Jill Biden has revealed the desperate steps she and Joe Biden took to help son Hunter Biden overcome his addiction, disclosing the family staged two separate interventions that ultimately failed, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In her new memoir, View From the East Wing, the former first lady pulls back the curtain on one of the most painful chapters in the Biden family’s history, detailing Hunter’s struggles with substance abuse in the years following the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau Biden.
Hunter's Struggles with Beau's Death
Beau’s death left Hunter 'unhinged' and sent the family into a period marked by fear.
According to Jill, Beau's death left Hunter "unhinged" and sent the family into a period marked by fear, uncertainty and unanswered questions.
She recalled repeatedly asking Joe if he had heard from Hunter, only to be met with the same troubling response.
"Have you heard from Hunter?" Jill would ask.
"No, have you?" Joe would reply.
She asked her husband: "Well, where do you think he is?"
"I don’t know," Joe replied.
Jill admitted the family struggled to confront the reality of Hunter’s addiction, writing that she and Joe were partly living in denial despite growing concerns about his behavior.
Hunter's Addiction Worsened
“He had everything: a family who loved him, a good education, a lucrative career.” Jill says
"Why would Hunter use drugs?" she wrote. "He had everything: a family who loved him, a good education, a lucrative career."
As Hunter's addiction worsened, Jill revealed his daughters approached family members and asked for help arranging an intervention.
The Biden family agreed and organized two separate attempts to get Hunter treatment.
According to the memoir, the first intervention never happened because Hunter failed to show up.
Hunter Immediately Turned Around
Jill also revealed that discussions about Hunter’s addiction were largely avoided within the family.
The second effort proved equally heartbreaking.
Hunter arrived to find family members gathered alongside a counselor waiting for him. Rather than participate, he immediately turned around and left.
"He turned right around and bolted," Jill wrote.
The former first lady admitted the experience left her questioning what more could have been done.
"The guilt I feel as a parent is sometimes overwhelming,” she wrote. "What could I have done differently? What did I do wrong? What did I not see?"
Jill also revealed that discussions about Hunter's addiction were largely avoided within the family, despite many people recognizing how serious the situation had become.
For Years, Nothing Was Spoken
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Hunter ultimately achieved sobriety in 2019, a milestone Jill credits in part to the support of his wife.
"For years, nothing was spoken aloud about Hunter’s addiction," she wrote.
RadarOnline.com previously reported on Hunter's candid admissions about his years-long battle with addiction, including revelations contained in interviews and his memoir.
But Jill’s latest account shifts the focus to the anguish experienced by family members behind the scenes as they struggled to help him.
Hunter ultimately achieved sobriety in 2019, a milestone Jill credits in part to the support of his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden.
The memoir's deeply personal revelations offer a rare glimpse into the private heartbreak endured by the Biden family as they battled addiction, grief and uncertainty behind closed doors while living much of their lives in the public spotlight.
