He was an alcoholic that had gone back to drinking. When he was picked up, he hid one of his shoelaces somewhere on his person and tried to kill himself in the jail cell. After being stopped, getting evaluated in a hospital, and convincing them he was not suicidal, he went home and finished the job.
That doesn’t mean there wasn’t much more to the story. As I have said before, I don’t think Newt did or would have done anything wrong, that doesn’t mean that Brit doesn’t think Newt wasn’t involved somehow based upon beltway rumors.
I don’t think the rumors about Newt are true (I do think the gay affair between Brit’s son and the other guy part is though), but if Brit believes Newt was involved it would explain his seething hatred for Newt.