On March 17, 2025, Darren Hayes experienced severe lightheadedness and fainted a few times after getting out of bed; the accident not only broke his jaw but also shattered many teeth. When he finally came to, he woke up in a pool of blood. Darren had to have reconstructive surgery, have his jaw wired shut, go through physical therapy, and be placed on a liquid diet, all while dealing with the emotional trauma of losing his beloved mother, Judy Hayes, and going through his divorce with his longtime partner/husband, Richard Cullens. Darren could have easily died, but thank God he survived.
Darren on his fall that broke his jaw:
“In March, I went to get out of bed one day, and I collapsed three times in a period of seven minutes. I was in so much pain. What I didn’t realize was that I’d snapped my jaw in half. I had broken 17 teeth.”
Darren informed his fans about the incident on social media.
Darren’s health first became a worry for him around the time his memoir “Unlovable” was released in November 2024.
“I wasn’t feeling great, didn’t really know why. I put it down to, I guess, the emotional impact of unpacking all of that trauma in the book.”
A few months later, Darren found out that his mother was close to the end of her life because of her battle with COPD. He had thought she would live for at least another ten years, but unfortunately, that was not the case. He got a call from his older sister, Tracey, regarding the situation, but he didn’t want to accept it; he believed they still had a bit more time left.
“I flew home to bury my mother days later.”
Darren’s thoughts on his collapsing at his mother, Judy’s, wake:
“which sounds very gay and very dramatic, I just thought, ‘This is emotional, I’m overwhelmed.”
Out of concern for his health, his family insisted that he see a doctor. So, he did.
“My cholesterol was abnormally high, and I’ve never had that in my entire life. I was put on some medication to lower that.”
After that, Darren experienced a fainting spell on March 17, 2025. His recollection of the event is unclear; he only remembers trying to stand up, using some furniture for support, and finally reaching the bathroom where he collapsed face down on the porcelain tiles.
“It was like one of those stress dreams we have where we lose teeth. I was spitting teeth out, still in denial about what had happened to me, and thought, ‘Oh, my boyfriend’s coming home from the gym in 10 minutes. I look terrible. Let me just tidy up.’”
Fortunately, Darren is dating his boyfriend, Heriberto, who works as a nurse. After getting a text, his boyfriend hurried home.
“When he found me, I was laying in a pool of blood. The bathroom looked like a murder scene.”
Heriberto, who has been a great help to Darren during this tough time, took him to Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Once there, the doctors quickly performed surgery on his jaw, which was then wired shut for three months.
“They never figured out a physical root cause of what happened. My heart was fine. All of my arteries were fine. Because I was wearing a heart monitor at the time, there was no cardiac event or anything. We think it’s just stress.”
Although Darren has recently been candid about his struggles with anxiety and depression due to his difficult childhood and the homophobia he has faced, he was unaware of the extent to which these issues were actually affecting his health.
“I didn’t deal with the grief of my marriage ending. I didn’t deal with the grief of my mother passing.”
“Divorce is horrific. I don’t care what anyone has to say. It’s horrific. You feel like a failure, and then to lose that one rock in my life that had always been my mother, I think it was just a last straw for me. It’s no wonder that my body just sort of said, ‘Time out.’”
Sadly, recovery was not easy for Darren.
“There was a month where I couldn’t really live without the assistance of someone helping me,”
Darren had to be put on a liquid diet for three months while his jaw was wired shut.
“It was definitely a wake-up call for me about mortality and just all the little, tiny things I have to be grateful for in life.”
For a time Darren was afraid to be seen by anyone, even his closest friends, due to the physical effects the incident had on his appearance:
“You have all of your vanity taken away from you.”
Eventually, his view on things changed:
“I realized that’s so shallow, and it doesn’t really matter what you look like. The people that love you just want to see you, and mostly bring you pumpkin soup.”
Fortunately, it appears that, Darren is feeling better today; his jaw has been repaired with a titanium plate, and his mental health is on the rise. He has discovered through a psychiatrist that his body does not react well to antidepressants, so he has been trying Ketamine therapy with his doctor’s approval to help him deal with his trauma.
Darren on his experience with Ketamine:
“I genuinely believe I met my mother in some other altered state. Whether it was just a psychedelic drug trip or whether it was a soul experience, I don’t know, but the message that she gave me was that I’m loved, that I was born and was sent here to spread love, and that I have to keep doing that.”
Darren on his injury and his new album, “Homosexual”:
“It has made for a really interesting album. I feel more ambitious now. I was singing and making songs in my home studio with a wired jaw. That’s how desperate I was to make new music and to get back on the horse. And it’s why I’m doing these shows.”
Darren’s upcoming performance at the Troubadour in California on March 14 and 15 will signify a year since his injury.
Kristin’s thoughts: I have fainted a few times in my life, and those moments were truly frightening for me even though I didn’t suffer any broken bones. So, I get how scary it must have been for Darren to have gone through. I felt very sad when I learned about Darren’s fall. I was deeply distraught that he broke his jaw, but I am just relieved that he is still alive.