EXCLUSIVE: Radar Reveals the Real Horrifying Reason Pete Davidson Walked Away From Exhausted Girlfriend Elsie Hewitt — 5 Months After She Delivered Their Daughter
Pete Davidson and his now ex-girlfriend welcomed their first child together just five months before splitting.
May 15 2026, Published 12:48 p.m. ET
Pete Davidson's relationship with Elsie Hewitt is said to have collapsed under the weight of his deep-rooted abandonment fears, with insiders telling RadarOnline.com the kooky comic's unresolved trauma over losing his father in the September 11 attacks ultimately sabotaged the couple's hopes of building a stable family life together.
The 32-year-old former Saturday Night Live star and model Hewitt, 30, quietly split just five months after welcoming daughter Scottie in December 2025.
Pete Davidson's Trauma Battle Behind Split
Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt quietly split after five months of parenthood.
They first went public with their romance in March last year before announcing Hewitt's pregnancy four months later.
Friends initially believed fatherhood had finally steadied Davidson after years of turbulent, highly publicized relationships with the likes of Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian and Kate Beckinsale.
But sources now claimed the pressures of parenthood, Davidson's relentless work schedule and his long-running emotional struggles pushed the relationship to breaking point.
One insider close to the comedian told us: "Losing his father in the 9/11 attacks shaped Pete's entire emotional world from such a young age, and the people closest to him believe he has never fully recovered from that trauma.
"There has always been this deep fear inside him that the people he loves are eventually going to disappear, so when relationships start becoming serious, stable and genuinely long-term, it can trigger a huge amount of anxiety for him emotionally.
"Pete talks constantly about wanting the kind of close, loving family unit he missed out on growing up after his dad died, and becoming a father was something he genuinely embraced.
"But at the same time, there's a self-destructive side to him that struggles to trust happiness or stability when he finally has it. The closer he gets to building a permanent future with somebody, the more those abandonment issues seem to surface, and that can make him pull away or emotionally shut down without even fully realizing he's doing it."
The comic has said his daughter is named after his late father and the fact she was conceived in Scotland.
Davidson's father, Scott Davidson, was a New York firefighter who died responding to the World Trade Center attacks in 2001 when the comedian was seven years old.
According to sources, that loss continues to shape Davidson's relationships in destructive ways.
Fear Of Abandonment Exposed
The comedian named his daughter after his late father.
Another insider said: "Pete has a pattern where the moment a relationship stops feeling exciting and starts becoming something real and lasting, he almost instinctively begins retreating emotionally because he's terrified of being abandoned or devastated again.
"The closer somebody gets to him, the more vulnerable he feels, and instead of sitting comfortably in that stability, he often starts sabotaging things before the other person has a chance to hurt him first.
"He loves intensely and moves very fast emotionally, which is why his relationships become so serious so quickly, but sustaining that level of intimacy is where things become difficult for him.
"Friends have watched him build these incredibly passionate connections and then suddenly become overwhelmed by his own insecurities and fears about commitment. A lot of people around him believe the trauma of losing his father so young left him constantly expecting happiness to disappear, so when life actually starts looking settled and secure, it can almost make him panic."
Another source claimed Hewitt became increasingly exhausted trying to balance new motherhood with Davidson's erratic lifestyle and constant travel commitments.
They said: "Elsie was going through the exhausting emotional and physical reality of being a first-time mother, and there were moments when she really needed Pete present at home for reassurance, stability and hands-on support.
"Pete absolutely adores Elsie and worships his daughter, but one of the ways he copes with emotional pressure is by burying himself in work and constantly staying busy whenever life starts feeling too intense or emotionally complicated.
"As the pressure of parenthood grew, he kept throwing himself into stand-up shows, appearances and traveling commitments, partly because providing financially is important to him, but also because work has always been his escape mechanism.
"Over time, that left Elsie feeling increasingly isolated with the realities of daily motherhood while Pete was constantly moving from one obligation to the next. She understood why he worked so much, but emotionally it still created distance between them at a time when she needed partnership the most."
Elsie Hewitt Struggled With Motherhood Alone
Hewitt shared a series of candid updates about motherhood on Instagram.
The couple is now said to be focused on co-parenting Scottie while privately working through the fallout of their shock breakup.
Hewitt recently laid bare the exhausting physical and emotional toll motherhood had taken on her in a series of candid Instagram posts.
Sharing a selfie after finally getting her daughter to sleep, she wrote: "When u finally get screaming baby down for a nap and u exhale and sit with urself for a sec and realize u haven't breathed for an hour or peed all day."
She added: "The silence is deafening."
In another post, Hewitt bluntly declared: "I am a zombie."
Meanwhile, Davidson has maintained a punishing public schedule, appearing at Netflix Is a Joke events in Los Angeles before attending Kevin Hart's Mother's Day roast – while Hewitt shared photographs celebrating the holiday alone with their daughter.
Despite privately struggling, Davidson continued publicly presenting an optimistic image of domestic life earlier this year.
He insisted: "Dad life is f------ awesome," while describing Hewitt as "a fantastic mom."
Split Shocked Nobody Close To Him
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Davidson praised Hewitt during a public interview earlier this year.
But another insider said a few within Davidson's inner circle were surprised by the split.
The source added: "A lot of Pete's friends feel like they've seen this same emotional cycle play out repeatedly throughout his adult life. He genuinely craves love, stability, and the idea of building a close family unit because those are things he's always felt were missing after losing his father so young. Becoming a dad meant the world to him, and for a while, people really believed he had found the grounded life he'd always been searching for.
"But there's also a deeply ingrained part of Pete that almost struggles to trust calmness or emotional security when he finally has it. Chaos, instability, and emotional turbulence are what he became accustomed to growing up, so healthy relationships can sometimes feel unfamiliar or even unsettling to him. The people closest to him think he often mistakes emotional intensity for connection, and once things settle into normal domestic life, his fears and insecurities start creeping back in and pushing him to pull away."
As recently as January, Davidson and Hewitt were openly discussing marriage and the possibility of having more children together.
"We want her to have a friend, for sure," Davidson declared. "We love the idea of (Scottie) being a big sister."
