Tentatively scheduled to premiere in the fall television season, Bret Michaels’ new reality show “Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It” will air a special broadcast on Memorial Day, May 31, on VH1 at 10 p.m.
Bret’s Recent Challenges
The “Rock of Love” and winner of “Celebrity Apprentice” star was recently in the news for suffering a brain hemorrhage after trying to recover from an appendectomy procedure on April 21. He most recently has suffered a “warning stoke” this past week, as well as the doctors finding a hole in his heart. But Bret champions on. Michaels’ spokesperson, Janna Elias, says, “We are all making sure that he is not taking any undo risks and we are certainly taking every precaution possible to insure his health and well being,”
Michaels also made headlines for hitting his head at last year’s Tony Awards, something many are wondering to be the cause of the hemorrhage. On April 30, the reality star was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix with the doctors expecting him to “make a 100 percent recovery.”
Due to Michaels’ recent health scare, production of his new docu-reality series was temporarily stopped, according to VH1 programming executive Jeff Olde. He told reports, “Bret is family to us and has always been a huge hit on the network, headlining several series and specials that have garnered record breaking ratings and made a strong connection with our audience.”
He went on to say that Michaels’ health is the network’s “primary concern,” and “production will resume when it is cleared by his doctors. If anyone can fight off illness and get back on his feet, it’s Bret,”
Produced by 51 Minds Entertainment LLC with executive producers Mark Cronin and Cris Abrego, the VH1 Memorial Day special airing will take a closer look at Michaels as he works as a touring musician and a family man, caring for daughters Raine and Jorja. The show reveals the girls’ playful nickname for their father: “Poppa Rocka.”
“It’s a never-before-seen look into Bret’s family life – the real center of his world from which he draws his unsinkable strength,” Olde explained.
Michaels recently chatted with Oprah to discuss the recent happenings in his life, and tells the talk show host: “It puts things in perspective real quickly, you instantly put into your life what matters the most at that exact time…it is your immediate family, your kids, your best friends. At that point, you’re not thinking about anything else. You’re not thinking about career, you’re not thinking about nothing, you’re thinking, ‘Let me live through this…The only thing that matters right now is taking care of my family and my kids and thanking God I’m still alive to talk about it.'”
He also answered her questioning about his perhaps most recognizable feature, his bandana, likening it to Superman and his cape.
Though his career began in rock music as the lead singer of the group Poison, after a solo career, Michaels took to television and gained a newfound fame as a rock star looking for love in “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.” Developing a new cult-like following, Michaels is one of the major faces of reality TV, and is still in the running to win the coveted title of “Celebrity Apprentice 3.” His camp says he is “hopeful” to return to the season’s live finale.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Bret.
