Mel Gibson Sought Therapy over Relationship, Says Friend

Mel Gibson Sought Therapy over Relationship

MEL GIBSON

Mel Gibson Sought Therapy over Relationship,

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3, 1956) is an actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. Born in New York, Gibson moved to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. After appearing in the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning Braveheart.The troubled state of his relationship with girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was not lost on Mel Gibson. "He realized how unhealthy the relationship was and recognized that they were in a bad place and he was getting his buttons pushed," a friend tells PEOPLE.

So, earlier this year, the actor sought therapy.

Gibson, the pal says, "wanted to figure out how to extricate himself from this unhealthy relationship peacefully and calmly. Which is what he did.