Josh Marks, the “Seven-Foot Chef,” best known from the third season of the reality cooking series “MasterChef,” was recently found dead in Chicago. His death has since been ruled a suicide. What was unknown, until recently, was his history of mental health issues.
“I don’t think people realize the toll the reality show put on him,” Marks’ stepfather, Gabriel Mitchell, says. The family said they didn’t notice signs of mental illness in Marks until after “MasterChef” filming ended.
Marks’ mother, Paulette Mitchell, said her son was hit hard by his recent diagnosis of schizophrenia following a diagnosis of bipolar disorder earlier this year.
“He couldn’t bear the thought of another diagnosis,” Mitchell told the paper.”He was just coming to accept the diagnosis of bipolar.”
The self-taught chef was ordered to undergo a mental health assessment in August to determine if he was mentally fit to stand trial after he was accused of attacking a cop at the University of Chicago.
Months before his arrest, Marks revealed his difficulties with mental illness in a video for the “Make a Sound Project, “an organization dedicated to helping people struggling with suicidal thoughts.
“He wouldn’t hurt anybody,” Marks’ mother said. “But he hurt himself.”
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