Last year, the National Enquirer reported that former child actor and “Eight is Enough” star Willie Aames, now 49, was in danger of losing his home after filing for bankruptcy, having his car repossessed, and relying on unemployment and occasional day labor jobs to get by. At that time, Willie was still with his wife of over 20 years, Maylo, who suffers from the auto-immune disease Lupus. Maylo’s mounting medical bills, coupled with a $150,000 lost investment into an adventure show, sunk the family deep into debt. Aames held a garage sale earlier this year to raise money to get his house out of foreclosure, but without work he wasn’t able to save the home. His wife eventually left him, and he became homeless.
In a VH1 special to air Thursday night, Aames reveals that he had to sleep in garages and in the park occasionally when friends would not take him in. He’s since turned his life around and has been able to make ends meet with construction work. Aames, who squandered the millions he earned on “Eight is Enough” and “Charles in Charge,” is also studying to be a financial advisor:
Aames opens up about experiencing financial ruin after a successful career as an actor, “At the very peak [of “Eight Is Enough”] I was making a little over a million dollars a year,” he says. “Then suddenly there was no job, no bank account, no wife, no child. I never dreamt it could happen that fast. I found myself virtually homeless. I stayed with friends when I could, slept in parking garages or slept in the park. It was shameful. I remember laying underneath the bushes thinking, ‘Is this how it turns out? Is this how my life really turns out?'”
When asked about reports of a suicide attempt after his wife left with their young daughter, Aames says, “I gave people a lot of cause for concern and I think they acted on those concerns. I’m glad they did. Beyond that, that time period is a blur.”
Aames’s struggles have led to the new VH1 special, “Broke and Famous: Willie Aames,” airing Thursday night. “It’s a docu-drama on what happens to celebrities when they hit rock bottom,” he says. “You have to find some point that will give you the smallest amount of dignity and self respect back.”
Aames tells ET that throughout the years of trying to get back on his feet, he was turned down for several jobs, including wilderness guide, but was finally hired by a construction company.
Today Aames is reunited with his daughter and on his way to becoming a financial advisor. “I never dreamed I would want to be or become a financial advisor,” he reveals. “I am well on my way.”
[Press statement from Entertainment Tonight via The Huffington Post]
In our story last year about Aames’ financial trouble, a lot of you said that you saw him on Celebrity Fit Club and that he was a royal ass. He’s supposedly a born-again Christian, so he really has no excuse. He seems to have a lot of demons, and detailed his drug addiction and childhood sexual abuse in a 2007 book with his wife called Grace is Enough. It wasn’t enough to save his home, but it looks like he’s back on his feet now and is able to talk about what he went through.
