A stressed-out and exhausted CHAZ BONO suffered a terrifying collapse – and now friends are warning him to take a break before he completely falls apart!
The 42-year-old transgender activist, whose weight is up to a dangerous 271 pounds, has been under an enormous amount of stress over the past few months. He’s been burning the candle at both ends with work commitments, struggling in his tumultuous relationship with fiancee Jennifer Elia, and trying to deal with deep-seated emotions regarding childhood abuse and feelings that he was neglected by his mother.
Friends revealed to The ENQUIRERthat the situation came to a head one night recently when Chaz – who was born Chastity Bono, the daughter of Cher and Sonny Bono – collapsed into his bed, unable to deal with the stress anymore.
Chaz recently wrapped weeks of grueling workouts with little sleep on “Dancing with the Stars” while simultaneously filming his new documentary, “Being Chaz,” which premieres on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network at the end of November.
Since leaving “DWTS,” Chazhas been working nonstop promoting the new show. And during interviews, he’s been asked repeatedly about his claims of abuse and neglect he says he suffered as a child.
In his shocking memoir, “Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man,” Chaz revealed that his superstar mother Cher put her career above caring for her children, belittled him and kicked him out of her New York City apartment after learning about his sexuality.
But perhaps the most traumatizing memories for Chaz stem from the abuse he says he experienced at the hands of a nanny and later, a tutor his mother hired for him when he was just 8.
“The tutor and I often hung out in my hotel room, supposedly doing schoolwork,” Chaz wrote in the book. “One day she started playing a game with me. I was her boyfriend and she was my girlfriend. I remember being in bed together with our shirts off, dry humping, kissing and cuddling.”
The pal divulged: “Chaz has never been able to put the emotional abuse, the sexual abuse or the fact that his mother left him in the hands of these people behind him. While he and Cher have been closer than ever recently, he is scared to death to confide in her as a best friend – which he badly wants – because of the fear that she will once again turn on him.
“It’s taking a huge toll on his mental state and was a big factor in his collapse.”
Another stressor in Chaz’s life is his rocky relationship with fiancee Jennifer, 36, which will be showcased when “Being Chaz” premieres Nov. 27 on OWN. Although there’s long been tension between the two, it seems to have increased since Chaz’s transformation and career comeback.
“Jen was used to having Chastity the woman all to herself for years, and suddenly she had to adjust to Chaz, her boyfriend, who is suddenly all over the media,” noted the friend.
“During Chaz’s transformation, Jen relapsed and began drinking again, which caused a lot of problems in the relationship. Their fighting became worse and it added to Chaz’s stress level.
“Chaz took it hard when Jennifer started drinking heavily during his transformation. Even though Chaz was going through his own issues, he made time to comfort Jennifer and let her know how much he cared. He is so loving and giving toward Jennifer. He knows that it took a lot of courage for her to stand by his side when he went through the gender-reassignment surgery, and he will be forever thankful to her for that.”
Chaz suffered another blow recently when actor Warren Beatty’s 19-year-old transgendered son, Stephen Ira, who was born Kathlyn, lashed out at him in his blog, calling him a misogynist.
“Chaz is really upset over Stephen’s comments,” said the friend. “He believes Stephen’s words only polarize the transgender community and serve no useful purpose. Since Chaz’s recent surge of publicity, he has essentially become the poster boy for gender-reassignment surgery. He wants the public to become educated about transgendered people. The last thing he wants to do is start a feud with another person within their small community.
“Chaz may put on a happy face during appearances, but he’s an emotional wreck right now. And when he is under a lot of stress he turns to food in order to comfort himself. He has already gained back a lot of the weight he lost while on ‘DWTS.’
“His friends have raced to his side to let him know they’re there for him. They’ve tried to create distractions to take his mind off his troubles, like going out to eat or even just coming over for a night of board games or cards.
“If he doesn’t find a healthy outlet for his stress, he’ll be tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds soon and nobody wants that.
“Chaz has shown such strength over the last few years. He’s been very brave by openly sharing private details of his life.
“That’s one of the reasons he’s so loved. He’s as honest as the day is long, and for those lucky enough to be his friend, he’s as loyal as they come.
“Chaz is loved by many people who want to help him through this dark time. But Chaz’s mind is running a mile a minute,” the friend added. “He’s more stressed and exhausted than ever, and those close to him are just praying that he mellows out before it’s too late and something even worse happens to him
