Rosario Monachino
Ashton Kutcher has revealed that he considered taking his own life so that his twin brother could have his heart.
Kutcher, 44, is best known for his roles in TV shows such as That ’70s Show, Two and a Half Men and Punk’d.
Previously, the actor has been open about his own health difficulties, having battled a rare vasculitis disease that affected his ability to walk, hear and see.
But Kutcher has now admitted that he once contemplated ending his life in the latest episode of the Paramount+ show The Checkup With Dr David Agus.
Watch Ashton Kutcher’s interview with his twin brother below…
The What Happens in Vegas star appeared on the programme alongside his twin brother, Michael, who has cerebral palsy, a condition that can affect speech and movement.
Opening up on the show, Michael said (via Entertainment Tonight): “My parents had the whole philosophy that Mike’s going to be able to do anything that his brother can do and they challenged me.
“Growing up, [Ashton] challenged me as well.”
When the brothers were in the eighth grade, Kutcher’s twin started developing flu-like symptoms, and the family soon learned that he had an enlarged heart and had three to four weeks to live without a transplant.
Kutcher then recalled the time his dad took him to see his brother because they didn’t know how long he had left.
The Jobs actor said: “I was at my friend’s house, suddenly my dad picks me up and is like, ‘You’re going to go see your brother’.
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“In hindsight you realise, they want me to see him because they don’t know where this is going.
“I go in the room and I’m like, ‘Whoa! Everything’s not OK’. He flatlines in the room… They’re grabbing me and they take me out.”
After learning about how life-threatening his brother’s condition was, Kutcher said he started running through solutions in his head.
He recalled: “I’m thinking to myself, ‘If anyone’s a match, I’m a match’.
“Now you start running that cycle through your head. You’re like, ‘This balcony looks far enough to take things’.”
Dr Agus told Entertainment Tonight that Kutcher went through a moment of ‘realisation’ once he heard the severity of his brother’s condition.
The expert explained: “Ashton went to his parents and said, ‘Take my heart’. He said it truthfully. He really wanted to give it to his brother.
“The person he loved most in the world, his brother, [was] going through this and he wasn’t able to… just push [Michael] along.
“He had helped his brother with cerebral palsy and some social issues at school, but now here’s an issue that he can’t fix.”
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Fortunately, Kutcher’s brother found a match and just 24 hours later, he received a heart transplant.
However, two years later, Michael discovered a blood clot and had to have open heart surgery.
Kutcher added: “I think standing on the balcony going, ‘I’m a match’, that moment is probably the exact moment the shift took place.
“Where I’m like, ‘How do I get to be this lucky? And my brother to be born with cerebral palsy, then have a heart transplant, then have this random blood clot… Who has to go through that? How do I get to be this lucky?’.”
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