She wishes it were not the case, but Courtney Stodden is having a moment.
A #MeToo moment, that is.
Actually, Courtney Stodden is unfortunately having a pair of #MeToo moments and she’s finally opening up about them to a national audience.
The reality star – known for appearances on Couples Therapy and Celebrity Big Brother, as well as for marrying a much older man – opened up last night on something called The Tomorrow Show.
Asked if she could relate to the women who have shared their stories of sexual abuse and harassment of late, Stodden replied in the affirmative.
She didn’t provide many details, but she did explain that she’s been victimized on two occasions.
“When the first incident happened, I, didn’t tell [then-husband Doug Hutchison]. It was actually during the first time we separated,” she said, continuing:
“It actually happened to me two times when we were separated.
“At that age, ya know, I was only 19… I didn’t really think it was wrong, which is the crazy part.”
Stodden filed for divorce from Hutchison just a week ago.
When the two got married, she was 16 years old and he was 51 years old.
This unusual (and inappropriate? And illegal? And ridiculous?) age difference is what sky-rocketed Stodden to Z-List stardom.
The relationship, however, suffered through many ups and downs, including various separations and temporary break-ups.
It was during one of these brief splits, Stodden says, that she was abused sexually.
The thing is, she didn’t exactly know it at the time because she had only slept with Hutchison prior to this awful experience.
We’ll let Courtney explain further:
“I only had sex with one man before that… So gentle, not to get explicit. But I was like, ‘OK, maybe that’s just a rough way of going on a date.’
“I really didn’t realize it was sexual abuse until I started hearing these women talking.
“It wasn’t until #MeToo started that I was like, ‘Wow, maybe that wasn’t OK.’ So yeah, it’s really a sad thing, but it happens all the time.”
The #MeToo movement started several months ago in response to numerous stories of women in Hollywood being harassed (or much worse) by men in power.
It has given females across the world a chance to speak out and to be heard; or just to feel as though they aren’t alone in having endured some terrible acts by some pretty terrible men.
Stodden, who has been through a lot over the years, doesn’t want to get into specifics over what she went through in these two instances.
But she says both centered around “power and sex” and concluded:
“It’s just like all the other women’s stories. It’s nothing different. Each woman should be heard.
“I’ll definitely be a part of the movement, for sure.”
