80s Pop Star Tiffany Reveals Life-Altering Nervous Breakdown
Eighties music icon Tiffany Darwish, known for her smash hit I Think We're Alone Now, has opened up about experiencing a devastating nervous breakdown that fundamentally reshaped her life. The singer, now 54, is currently enjoying a surprise career resurgence thanks to her iconic song featuring in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, but she reveals the past few years have been anything but easy.
The Health Crisis That Changed Everything
Tiffany calmly disclosed that she "had a little bit of a nervous breakdown" several years ago, triggered by a perfect storm of health and personal challenges. The singer suffered from long Covid, which caused her "whole immune system just collapsed from stress." She experienced unusual symptoms including inflammation in her hands alongside significant mental health struggles.
"I hadn't had any health challenges really, before that," Tiffany shared. "I think that touring does take it out of you a little bit but I think we all live such a fast pace now, we don't shut off as easily."
Personal Turmoil During Lockdown
The pandemic lockdown sparked the health crisis for the naturally sociable singer, whose world crumbled as she faced both divorce and a shocking personal loss simultaneously. "My body has never come back to normality," she confessed. "[The breakdown] just completely reworked everything."
"I was going through a divorce at the time," Tiffany explained. "So there were all these aspects of 'look, I had it planned out and financially planned out', and everything was okay, and it's all gone." She had been married to businessman Ben George since 2004, but after 14 years together, the couple separated and eventually divorced.
Around the same painful period, Bulmaro Garcia, her first husband and father to her son Elijah, passed away. The pair had been together for over a decade before splitting in 2003.
Cooking as Therapy and Healing
"I just went into independent mode," Tiffany continued, describing how she turned to cooking as a therapeutic outlet. "I started cooking to make myself feel better, doing my grandma's recipes, just wishing that my dad, my mom, and my grandparents were there."
This culinary sanctuary led her to create the cookbook Pop Life, filled with nostalgic 80s recipes reimagined with help from chef Alicia Shevetone. Food has always been central to Tiffany's life, with the Could've Been singer seeking out local restaurants worldwide during tours.
Her adventurous dining habits sometimes got her in "trouble" during her teenage touring years. "I would drag the band," Tiffany laughed. "I would be like, 'Let's go eat some fun foods' and they'd be like 'There's food at the hotel.' I wanted to know where the locals eat, because that's really me visiting a country and seeing what this culture and the people are all about."
Body Image and Industry Pressures
Being an 80s pop icon and self-confessed foodie presented challenges, with Tiffany jokingly blaming her Lebanese heritage for her "voluptuous curves." Having grown up in the spotlight, she admits feeling "pressure" and being "a little sensitive" about her appearance, especially under camera scrutiny.
"I've always had a weight battle here and there," she acknowledged, mentioning she hopes holistic therapies might help her slim down ahead of her upcoming tour. She's scheduled to perform across 15 dates in the US later this month, with UK festival appearances lined up for June.
Unexpected Career Resurgence
The timing of her book launch and performances alongside her recent chart resurgence was completely unplanned. Tiffany didn't even know her song would be used in Stranger Things. I Think We're Alone Now featured in a pivotal scene for Holly Wheeler in the show's final season, helping her character escape the Upside Down.
Tiffany was making dinner when her phone "started blowing up" with messages about the show. It was a "total shock," especially when the song climbed back into the charts, following the path of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill four years earlier.
"I had no clue, but it was a great end to 2025 and into this year, people rediscovering the song, rediscovering me, but also young people rediscovering the 80s," she shared. Tiffany confessed she's "such a fan" of the show, calling it "epic" as a snapshot of that era which holds deep personal meaning.
"Every episode, it was my childhood that comforted me," she reflected. "At times, because I would just be like, 'Oh, I remember back in the day', I needed that. It made the world feel a little bit lighter. There were times I'd watch the programme and feel kind of sad because I missed my parents. I miss those easier days."
The Song That Almost Wasn't
In a stranger twist of fate, I Think We're Alone Now almost wasn't recorded by Tiffany, who at the time was more focused on rock and country music. She wasn't sure the pop track, originally sung by Tommy James & the Shondells, would showcase her vocals properly.
"I took it home and played it to my friends because I was learning it – I used to learn songs while I was doing homework – and they were like dancing around," she recalled. "I learned even then that there was something magical about this song. People feel good when this song is played, so I'm forever grateful to have it."
The song spent three weeks at number one in the UK, becoming the fifth best-selling song of 1988.
Looking Forward with Authenticity
As for her future musical direction, Tiffany isn't feeling "restrained" as she explores new sounds, having learned to play singing bowls while listening to bands like Iron Maiden. She smiled and shared: "I'm not trying to prove anything. I think I've proven myself. I can say I am a pop icon. Nailed it, love it, grateful for it. So now I just can be me."
