'I felt ugly and hated': Abigail Breslin was beaten regularly and locked in rooms by abusive boyfriend
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Abigail Breslin, the star of 'Little Miss Sunshine', has admitted to experiencing domestic abuse and that her abusive relationship left her feeling like she "deserved less than dirt." The 26-year-old actress opened up about a former abusive relationship in a post she published on Instagram on Friday.
The actress posted a carousel of text messages that described her experience with domestic violence along with the message, "October is #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth and I wanted to share a little bit about my journey." Confessing that she spent two years of her relationship with an abuser, the actress said she was frequently beaten up and trapped in rooms.
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"I was in a very abusive relationship for close to 2 years," Breslin wrote. "It all started out perfectly, I was so in love. Unfortunately, my abuser took advantage of my innocence and naïveté and the relationship subsequently became violent. I was beaten on a regular basis, locked into rooms and forced to pretend everything was ok and normal while dealing with intense injuries… injuries most people didn't even see," she added.
The actress explained how she would conceal injuries and her emotions as the abuse persisted so that all wounds were covered up. "I would apply concealer and caked on foundation because in some way, I still cared for this guy."
"The physical injuries were also accompanied by a plethora of put downs, shaming and harsh verbal abuse," Breslin wrote. "I felt so unworthy of anyones love. I felt ugly and hated. I felt like I deserved less than dirt. I was certain, there must be something inherently WRONG with ME."
Breslin expressed her gratitude to her family and friends for their help throughout. "These 2 years were the loneliest I have ever felt," the actress shared. "I am beyond thankful for the support of my family and friends who played an instrumental and invaluable role in helping me leave this horrible situation. I will forever be indebted to those closest to me for them not only assisting me but, BELIEVING me."
The award-winning actress said she was now engaged to Ira Kunyansky and said their relationship is "healthy" and "wonderful," giving current victims and survivors hope.
"I now am in a wonderful, healthy, happy and amazing relationship with my fiancé," she wrote. "My C-PTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder) is much better than it was in the first 2 years after my abusive relationship, but, I still have moments. I still occasionally have nightmares, and certain things still do trigger me. I am still healing."
The two announced their engagement on social media in February of this year, when they had just become lawfully wed.
After he proposed, Ira posted a sweet photo of Abigail lifting up her hand to show off the gorgeous engagement ring. He had written in the post's description, "She said YES."
In addition, the 'Stillwater' actress shared a picture of the diamond ring and sarcastically captioned it, "I was like, "duh."
Abigail added a slide with resources for domestic abuse victims, including a 24-hour hotline for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) (1-800-799-7233), in her Instagram post.