Season nine of Alaskan Bush People will reportedly take fans out of the wilderness and instead focus on Matt Brown‘s journey through rehab.
According to a source who spoke to Radar Online, the outlet having reported this morning that the Discovery Channel series would be returning, by the time Sunday night’s season eight finale had filmed, Brown had already relapsed, causing his distressed appearance in the episode.
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“Everyone is interested to see if he is able to overcome his addiction battle,” the source said.
It was announced late last month that the 36-year-old, the eldest of the Brown siblings, would be entering rehab for the second time following a series of “ups and downs.”
“I struggle with substance abuse, and after a year of ups and downs, I decided to return to treatment,” Brown told PEOPLE last month. “I’m really grateful for everyone’s support and hope to have my life back on track soon.”
Brown had initially entered rehab in 2016 for alcohol abuse, something that he began to struggle with after his family’s boat broke down and he began spending time in the nearby city of Juneau. Matt claimed that he had fallen into a crowd of heavy drinkers, leading him to begin spending more time at bars.
“I’ve always been able to handle city life, no problem. But I started hanging out with people who drank. They didn’t have a problem with it so while I was around them, I started drinking,” he admitted at the time, adding that his alcohol abuse caused him to become “more withdrawn” and slower.
After seeing himself “spiraling” and realizing that he “didn’t want to be one of those guys,” Brown entered an in-patient rehab center for 35 days, where he “learned a lot about myself” and “turned my weakness into a strength.”
Now, his family is giving him their full support on his most recent journey.
“It’s hard not having one of my babies here with us,” Brown family matriarch Ami Brown said. “He was so strong for me, and I want to be strong for him.”
Billy Brown, the family patriarch, added that while the family misses him greatly, they would “rather lose him from home for a little while than lose him forever. We just want him to do what he needs to do to get better.”
Siblings Bam Bam and Rain Brown have also showed their support, releasing a PSA about the issue and thanking fans for their support.
