Kriti Mehrotra
As a reality documentary series that lives up to its title in every way conceivable, ‘Intervention‘ follows addicts as they navigate their issues while their loved ones try to get them to accept help. Amongst them in season 23 was Elliot Wayne Shine, whose issues with drugs admittedly were at such a point that if he didn’t stop, he could have died. The fact his vices spanned not just heroin but also methamphetamine and Xanax didn’t help, but he did love the absolute feeling of apathy they gave him every single time
Elliot Shine’s Addiction Stemmed From Grief and Trauma
Since Elliot was always a sensitive child, he took it the hardest as his parents divorced when he was 4, following which he also lost any sense of stability in his life. That’s because, per the show, his mother developed postpartum depression after giving birth to her fourth child and simply could not care for all her children in the way they required. In fact, there was once a time she apparently even tried to walk all of them through the desert from their base in Nevada to their father’s place in Bakersfield, California, without any supplies.
It was only then that Elliot’s father realized the extent of how bad things really were for his kids and attained full custody, moving his children into the home he shared with his wife and her four kids from a previous union. However, the fact of the matter is that instead of it being a bad thing, it was good because the siblings and stepsiblings were all able to bond at a closer level, that is, until Elliot, who only smoked a little bit of weed like a normal teenager lost his girlfriend to a horrific car crash. That’s when he found hard drugs like heroin and meth, which helped ease his pain and got him hooked from the first hit.
Elliot’s loved ones paid for him to get treatment when he was in his early 20s and it even worked, following which he pursued his passion for cooking and even moved to Las Vegas for better opportunities. There, he was living with his eldest brother Bryce Kelly Bennett, a recovering addict and family man, and doing good, that is, until the latter sadly died in a crash, too. He was unfortunately impaled on a metal cactus, and there was no way to save him, and unable to even imagine what he went through, Elliot overdosed within the week.
Elliot Overdosed At Least Nine Times
While Elliot was well aware of the fact his addiction was ruining his life, he just couldn’t stop because of how it took all his feelings and anxieties away – they were his solace. This Le Cordon Bleu graduate did end up out of work, homeless, and without any real backup at one point, only to then get some supplies and book a room with some fellow junkies, as all his real friends had also had enough. Even his family, who lived in Las Vegas, could not support him because they had to protect their own families, too, yet they met him, showed him love, and made it clear that they needed him to live.
Even Elliot’s mother, who purportedly had some issues of her own, agreed to be examined if it would help Elliot and then came the intervention where they made it clear they would have to cut ties with him if he didn’t accept help. They didn’t want to, but they would because watching him lose to his addiction was not something they could bear to see – they wanted the real Elliot back, the one who cooked, cared, and loved freely. So, understanding that they only want what’s best for him, he accepted the help and agreed to be admitted to a 90-day program at Embark Recovery in Prescott, Arizona.
Elliot Appears to be Sober and Living a Quiet Life These Days
From what we can tell, Elliot has been sober since January 26, 2021, and is currently leading a good, happy, stable life in Prescott, Arizona. It’s actually unclear whether he has since returned to the culinary world or not, but it is evident that he remains close to his family to this day despite being physically apart from them. As for his personal life, it seems like he has gotten back on his feet to such an extent that he has managed to get a place for himself with a couple of roommates, and they even have two dogs. They did briefly have a German Shepard/Rottweiler mix puppy in their apartment too, but they had to give him up for adoption because their lease didn’t allow them to have another pet. They couldn’t bear to leave him at a shelter. In other words, Elliot appears to be doing good today, which is all that matters in the long run.
Read More: Is Intervention Scripted or Real?
