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Kel Mitchell at 40+: From Drugs & Suicide to Faith & Family

(Photo credit: Kelmitchell.com)

In the late ’90s, you couldn’t turn on Nickelodeon without seeing star Kel Mitchell in at least one of his many episodes of the hit shows “All That,” “Kenan & Kel,” and in the spin-off film “Good Burger.” As a favorite among his millions of tween and teenage fans, Mitchell was riding high, until the show was canceled and Hollywood stopped calling.

It was then that Mitchell’s life fell apart. His marriage crumbled, and that led to drug and alcohol abuse. In an interview with People, Mitchell described his spiral out of control.

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“I felt like I’d hit a wall,” Mitchell said. “I was like, ‘OK. I need to figure out what I need to do in my life.’

On his personal blog, Mitchell recounted his drug use and suicidal thoughts.

“I have been through so many ups and downs in my life…Suicidal, divorce, drug and alcohol usage, deep in sin, dealing with the lost of love ones to gang violence, debt, hurt, pain, vanity, lust, heartbreak, feeling LOST looking for answers. I have seen, felt and been in all types of sin and have been done wrong by others. I know how you feel,” Mitchell wrote.

Feeling “lost and looking for answers,” the 44-year-old Mitchell shares that he returned to the faith that was instilled in him growing up on the South Side of Chicago as the grandson of a pastor.

(Photo credit: Facebook.com)

“I was trying to figure it all out on my own. But what I needed to do was turn to Him,” he stated. “Once I found…

…that clarity with Christ, I knew everything would work out.”

Now, it seems as though everything is looking up for Mitchell. His family is flourishing: his son Lyric and daughter Allure, are both teenagers and he’s enjoying his new wife Asia Lee, a designer and rapper whom he wed three years ago. His career is also back on track. This fall, he reunited with Kenan Thompson on Saturday Night Live during a skit similar to “Good Burger.” And his new Nickelodeon sitcom, Game Shakers, recently premiered and is receiving good ratings.

But Mitchell doesn’t credit anything to him own doing, he says he owes it all to his faith.

“I don’t let things frustrate or worry me anymore,” he said. “I don’t do that because I have peace in my heart. I have God.”

As a Younth Pastor, fully ordained in December of 2019, Mitchell is loving every minute of it.

“When he is not acting, writing or directing, Mitchell speaks to youth across the country encouraging them to trust in the Lord and follow their dreams,” a statement on the church’s website reads. “Kel also has been faithfully involved in Helps Ministry for over eight years at his church, and most recently became the Youth Pastor of Spirit Food Christian Center after Pastor Zeigler saw God’s calling on his life to reach & teach the youth.”

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

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