'Summer House': Carl Radke Reflects on Tense Season 7 Engagement, Mental Health, and More (EXCLUSIVE)

Summer House star Carl Radke does not shy away from reality TV cameras following his ups and downs. For seven seasons, fans tuned in to watch the 38-year-old deal with relationships, issues with drinking, the passing of his brother, and more. Now, the Bravo star is getting candid about his mental health journey in hopes of destigmatizing the perception around seeking therapy.

A big champion for therapy, Carl hopes that by continuing to share his story, he can inspire others to seek treatment.

In partnership with Talkspace for their "Celebrate Every Step" campaign, Carl spoke exclusively with Distractify about the major impact therapy has had on his life, including how he prioritizes his own mental health, the effect that therapy has had on his relationships, and why he broke down on reality TV following his engagement to fianceé Lindsay Hubbard.

Though he started sharing his mental health journey just a few years prior, therapy has routinely been part of Carl's life.

"I did attend therapy with my family, for some of the family dynamics going on," Carl told us, adding that he was "always very shy" about disclosing the information to his friends because he was nervous about the "shame or judgment around it."

However, after learning more about the tools used in therapy and the benefits, he hopes to "break the stigma to celebrate people's journey to talking more openly."

"Therapy has changed my entire life," he continued. "I think anybody could benefit from taking a look inside and spending time each week to really uncover what makes you tick and be more self-aware."

Carl told us that he's rewatched how he's reacted to situations on Summer House and acknowledged that by bottling up his emotions, he, like most people, can react in "very ugly ways."

Through therapy, he's learned to "deal with things" that he is struggling with and address the "trauma from [his] past."

"I just never really addressed relationship dynamics with family," he continued. "Those things, when I kind of unpacked and understood [them], it's allowed me to be closer with the people I love and care about and allows me to show up much more profoundly for those people."

Recognizing that he is a "people pleaser," Carl told us that he is working on setting boundaries and continuing to improve his communication skills.

While he doesn't see himself or Lindsay walking away from reality TV cameras in the near future, Carl admitted that "reliving" the tense moments of Summer House is not always easy.

Throughout Season 7 of Summer House, Carl and Lindsay's ongoing relationship has been a hot topic among the housemates — especially Danielle Olivera.

Danielle and Lindsay have not seen eye-to-eye this season and the former besties have seemingly become enemies.

After Carl's engagement did not go as planned, the reality star decided that he needed to get away, fast.

"I've never shied away from the cameras in seven years on this show. I've dealt with my sexuality being questioned. I've dealt with my drinking; I've dealt with my job loss; I've dealt with the passing of my brother," he told us. "Within an hour of finding my brother passed away, I had a microphone and a camera in my face talking about it like I've never turned away."

However, he decided to step away from the Bravo cameras after a tense moment with his fellow castmates following his engagement.

"I was broken by just the thought of, you know, being made to feel like I screwed up my engagement and, you know, some of the attention around that," he said. "It was best for me to take a little break."

"From that moment, I spent a lot of time hard time to try and make this proposal so special and a surprise," he continued. "I've never turned away. But when it came to something like my engagement, and a proposal and all that it was it was really, really hard and I broke down."

Since filming commenced, Carl told us that rewatching the show has made him reflect.

"It's not easy reliving, but I'm, I'm watching. I'm going, 'Okay, like I've grown even since then,' facing conflict or facing tension, you know, I want to stare it right in the face and deal with it, just in a better way," he said. "And that's something I'm continuing to work on with my Talkspace therapists, you know, [work on] myself every day."