Ashton Kutcher and his brother Michael Kutcher try to navigate through rough emotions as they talk about the tough times they have faced in life including the time when Michael needed a heart transplant and Ashton considered jumping off the balcony to save his brother's life.
Ashton Kutcher Once Considered Taking His Own Life So His Twin Brother Could Have His Heart
There is no sibling relationship in this world that is not riddled with complications.
You fight like crazy for one moment and the next moment you are desperately looking for them and this is how you sum up a sibling relationship.
But what if your kin needed something that would save their lives but ultimately end yours?
Many struggle with the kind of selflessness Ashton Kutcher demonstrated when he revealed the truth about his relationship with his twin brother Michael on Paramount+'s The Checkup with Dr. David Agus.
Kutcher's brother Michael was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age.
According to ET Online, when the two were teenagers, they learned that Michael had an enlarged heart and was said to have three to four weeks to live without a transplant. A diagnosis that only worsened as time progressed.
Doctors states that they could help them buy some time with drug treatment but Michael's heart was continuing to fail and he was soon shifted to the top spot on the transplant list and given 48 hours to live.
While holding back his tears, Ashton talked about the moment and how his brother was going through such a rough time health-wise.
The actor recounted:
"I was at my friend’s house, suddenly my dad picks me up and is like, 'You’re going to go see your brother.'"
"In hindsight you realize, 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."
It was then that Kutcher felt he needed to do something. He remembered thinking to himself, “If anyone’s a match, I’m a match.”
It was at that moment that he considered jumping off the balcony to give his brother his heart. He thought to himself, “This balcony looks far enough to take things.”
While sitting with Kutcher, Dr. Argus was able to decipher some of the emotions Kutcher dealt with during this devastating and traumatic time in his life, telling Entertainment Tonight that the moment he received news on his brother's diagnosis “was the realization that this could be the end” for Michael.
Argus went on to tell ET that Kutcher had a deep-seated inclination to show up and come to his brother's aid, noting:
"Ashton went to his parents and said, 'Take my heart.'"
"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."
Michael Kutcher eventually found a match, however, the brothers faced a few rough years from then onwards.
Attributing many of their differences to 'jealousy' and 'guilt,' the That 70's Show star struggled with feelings of culpability surrounding his newfound successes in comparison to the distressing life his brother lived.
He often questioned why throughout the years.
In a teaser clip with Entertainment Tonight, Kutcher explained what went through his head during his brother's diagnosis.
"How do I get to be this lucky? And for my brother to be born with cerebral palsy, then have a heart transplant, then have this random blood clot."
The actor recalled being told by his brother: "Every time you feel sorry for me, you make me less."
In a very emotional and candid sitdown interview with Dr. Agus the two were able to work through and explore many unresolved issues that have plagued them for over a decade.
According to Michael Kutcher the two have come a long way and now see each other as “straight up equals.”
News outlets and fans everywhere showed their support for the Kutcher brothers' emotional story. An emotional and heartbreaking story of one brother trying to save his brother.
