During the weeks before his suicide, ROBIN WILLIAMS was clearly “hurting” as he struggled to maintain his sobriety with a last-ditch stint in rehab, The ENQUIRER has learned.
Ronald Backes, a former Olympic athlete who now heads a Christian ministry, bumped into the troubled star at a Minnesota coffee shop, and provides rare insight into Robin’s last days.
“He looked like he was hurting,” Backes, a devout Christian, told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview.
“What happened to him is a real tragedy. I wish I could have had a more in-depth conversation with him about faith.”
Robin, who’d long battled addictions to alcohol and cocaine, was participating in a program for maintaining long-term sobriety at the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Lindstrom, Minn., when he posed for a picture with Ronald on June 30.