Not even celebrities are exempt abusive relationships. Rihanna famously threw the spotlight on abuse after her horrific domestic violence Torture with Chris Brown. Angela Simmons was also open about surviving a verbally and physically abusive relationship. Now Simmons reveals the hardest part she’s been through through her experience.
Angela Simmons previously spoke about being in an abusive relationship
Simmons began opening up about being in an abusive relationship in 2018, describing the relationship as one of the worst experiences of her life. She is believed to have been abused by her now-deceased ex-fiancé Sutton Tennyson. Court documents revealed Simmons was granted a restraining order against him following their split.
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In conversation with Hollywood unlocked, Simmons explained how hard it was for her to come to the realization that she had ended up in an abusive relationship. “You never know you’re going to be that person until you’re in, and then once you’re in I have a feeling you’ll find excuses to stay,” she said. “You have to find someone to go to and talk to because if you’re stuck in this on your own, you’re stuck in this,” she added. “It’s a tough place to be.”
Simmons says it’s important to understand different forms of abuse. “Physical abuse isn’t the only thing that is abusive,” she added. “Mental abuse is very real and it can isolate you and I think it’s really important that you don’t get stuck there… I couldn’t believe I was that girl going through this. I just never could have imagined it. But it was definitely a tough room for me, but I found my way out.”
The reality star says it was hard to come to terms with the fact that she was once a victim
Simmons says she didn’t realize she was in an abusive relationship until she was already invested. The pastry owner says it started with verbal abuse and mental depression before becoming physical. But even after being hit, she says she stayed because she loved her former partner.
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As she went through her own healing process, she realized how easy it is for any woman to become a victim of abuse, regardless of her status. Coming to terms with what she experienced in her abusive relationship has been a difficult pill to swallow. That Growing up hip hop star recently shared her story in a YouTube video. She said:
People come into relationships with trauma, with their own problems, and they expect that any problems they had before they walked through that door will be gone once they’re with you, if it comes back every time. Even with domestic violence and the stuff it stems from, it’s not your job to fix a person. This person must want to fix themselves. It’s not okay, it’s not love to be hit, it’s not love to be mistreated, and that verbal abuse can sometimes be even worse than domestic violence because it stays like a scar forever. I never thought I would experience it and I did. And that was the hardest part, accepting that I actually went through that.
She says she was ashamed to tell her loved ones
Many of Simmons’ loved ones were unaware of the unhealthy relationship she found herself in. Simmons admits he was embarrassed.
“I didn’t want to talk about it, I didn’t want to talk about it until I was healed, until I was ready, until I was able to talk about it,” she explained. “For the longest time it was probably something I hid from my friends and family because I went through it. And I don’t know if I was more afraid of what they would think or if I was just trying to figure it out for myself and was kind of shocked that it was happening. I only know so many women who hide it and go through it and are afraid to have the conversation.
She started going to therapy and also talking to a life coach. From then on, she began to open up about her experiences to those around her.
What was your breaking point to leave the relationship?
Simmons says she kept going back to her abuser because she hoped things would change. She also admits that she was madly in love with him. But when she started feeling depressed, she knew she had to make an exit.
“[I started to feel] not creative, not happy, just not like me — and I feel like if you lose yourself completely then it’s time to go or there needs to be some serious relationship reconfiguration because it’s not working,” she said. “But when it comes to domestic abuse and verbal abuse, it’s like you have to go or that person has to heal and come back to you because you can’t go through that.”
Simmons is now using her story to empower other women. She has a nonprofit organization called Angela’s Angels that has a new initiative Pressure makes diamonds. According to the initiative’s mission, the movement is “to help millennial women and teenage girls develop a positive self-image and the confidence to face and overcome their fears and achieve their goals.”
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https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/angela-simmons-reveals-hardest-part-about-surviving-domestic-abuse.html/ Angela Simmons reveals the hardest part about surviving domestic violence
