GOSSIP & RUMORS: Frankie Muniz reveals he’s in a mental, emotional ‘new low’

Frankie Muniz has opened up about his recent personal struggles.

The “Malcolm in the Middle” star, 39, took to X Monday, sharing that he has reached a “new low” both “mentally” and “emotionally.” 

“If I’m being 100% honest … Mentally/emotionally I may be at a new low,” Muniz wrote. “Just wanted to say it out loud.”

Though he did not mention any specifics, Muniz has run into a number of hurdles in his new career as a NASCAR driver. 

A longtime NASCAR fan, Muniz dedicated himself to the sport full time in 2023 and is now behind the wheel in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the Reaume Brothers Racing team.

In a race earlier this month, his truck was struck by another driver, and, on Friday, the vehicle suffered a major mechanical failure that set him back significantly. 

“My power steering line burst,” Muniz said after his disappointing finish at the Rockingham, North Carolina, race, adding that the incident “ripped a hole” in his hand “just trying to hold onto it.”

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. 

“I’m just oddly cursed or something.”

At a loss, Muniz went on, “I’m trying to think what I’m going to tweet, because how many times can I say, ‘Wow, I got bad luck; Wow I got bad luck.’ My wife doesn’t believe me anymore. She’s like — you know, I love my wife and she’s super supportive — but she’s like, ‘Maybe it’s you, like maybe you’re just not good.’ I’m like, I can’t help that. You know what I mean?

“So I hope people see that. I mean, people are going to say what they do, but you know we’re trying really hard.”

Also on Friday, Muniz went on Instagram Live to share updates on the “Malcolm in the Middle” revival, which he began filming earlier this month. 

The four-episode series, which reunited Muniz with his co-stars Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek, centers on Malcolm (Muniz) as he’s thrown back into his zany family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand their son and his daughters attend their 40th wedding anniversary party.

The original show, which ran for seven seasons between 2000 and 2006, followed Malcolm as he dealt with life as a middle child with a genius IQ.

“It’s been oddly — I don’t know how to explain it. I haven’t seen everybody in, like, 20 years but it’s as if no time went by, like you know, just right back to to being comfortable in that world with everybody and it has been going really really well,” Muniz said of the experience working on the revival.

Muniz also shared that everybody on the show has been very “accommodating with all the stuff that I’ve got going on with the racing.”

He added, “I just wanted to kind of come on here and just share the fact that I’m working really hard. You know, I’m trying to be the best actor I can be, but also the best race car driver, and that’s my focus every time I’m here at the track.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.