'It doesn't go away': AnnaLynne McCord’s sister Rachel opens up about overcoming abusive childhood
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: AnnaLynne McCord’s sister Rachel McCord recently opened up about her strained relationship with her estranged father and reflected on overcoming an abusive childhood with her siblings. She said that she no longer speaks to her father and recalled the traumatic experiences of her younger days which included “painful and ritualistic” punishments at the hands of her father.
The McCord List co-founder grew up in an Atlanta trailer with her sisters Angel and ‘90210’ star AnnaLyne under the jurisdiction of their mother Shari and pastor father David, the Daily Mail reported. In a recent interview with the publication, the 33-year-old revealed that while she decided to forgive her father, she does not see him as a part of her future “for the foreseeable timeframe.” The McCord sisters have been vocal about their traumatic childhood in previous interviews, sharing how they suffered abuse at the hands of their parents before being able to make a name for themselves in the public eye.
READ MORE
'He'd fondle me': Shania Twain reveals shocking childhood sexual abuse by stepfather
‘I don’t speak to my dad’
Speaking to the outlet about her complicated relationship with her father Rachel McCord said, “I don't speak to my dad. That's a tough one because I think that everyone deserves their dad, you know? That's a gap in my life and it makes me really sad.” Recalling her last interaction with her father, McCord shared, “I sent him a text not too long ago, and I just said, "I forgive you and I'll always love you.”
“I think for me I had to release in that way.... It’s sad that that he can't be a part of my future for the foreseeable timeframe. I don't know what the future will hold, but I think that that’s a tough one,” she continued. “In that moment, I was like having this whole beautiful prayer moment and I felt really compelled in my spirit just to send that message. And after, I felt lighter than I have probably felt since I was maybe five years old,” McCord noted while speaking about forgiveness.
“To have that freedom when we choose to look at someone who we could judge and say, ‘You know what, I'm not without sin". It's not my place to judge you. It's my place to forgive you.’ Because I've been forgiven for so many things and I would pray and hope that that would be the message that I would carry on,” the best-selling author added.
McCord said she feels “blessed” to have “many awesome people” who have filled the void left by her strained relationship with her father. However, she still feels the pain of his absence in her life. “I know what it feels like to lose someone that you love. I think it's really hard to lose someone who's still alive,” McCord said. “But at the same time, it keeps me human, it keeps me real and raw and vulnerable. It gives me an ability to see someone truly because I can see the pain in people that maybe someone else wouldn't see,” she noted.
‘I've really come from a lot of inner trauma’
During the interview, McCord also looked back to the beginning of her company Launch Viral and how she dedicated her life to uplifting others, especially female entrepreneurs. “'My husband said to me, "If you could do this, you could help five people who've battled depression and anxiety like you have". And I've had suicidal ideations. I struggled with disorders with my eating,” she shared.
“I've really come from a lot of inner trauma and not knowing how to deal with it. But I got to face some of the scariest parts of my past and now it's not my future. It's a chapter in my life book,” McCord shared. “Now today what I get to do is go on and share a different narrative, a different message. Don't let your hands be so full with what you've been through that you don't have the space to grab what can come,” she stated.
The ‘Female Founders’ host also said that she hopes her story inspire others with similar experiences to move past their trauma. “The truth is, it doesn't go away. It just loses its power over you and that's what matters. What matters more is that we then share that message so that someone get encouraged. For the people who don't feel empowered, who actually feel like they are a victim to it and they can't get out of it to see that there is another side,” McCord said.
AnnaLynne McCord opened up about abusive childhood in 2014
Actress AnnaLynne McCord opened up about the abusive childhood she and her sisters suffered in a 2014 essay for Cosmopolitan magazine. She said the siblings grew up in “an extremely religious and conservative” home, where they were home-schooled by their parents. “My parents believed in strict ‘discipline,’ as they called it - I would call it abuse,” she said at the time.
“The punishments were painful and ritualistic. We would have to bend over the bed, sometimes with our pants down, arms outstretched, and get spanked - with a ruler in our younger years and later with a paddle that my parents bought when they thought the ruler wasn't strong enough,” the actress shared.
Rachel McCord praised her sister
In her interview with the Daily Mail, McCord praised AnnaLynne for being vocal about her battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). “I'm so proud of AnnaLynne and the fact that she's come out so boldly to talk about things that were scary...but that’s what of bravery looks like,” she said. “I would love to see a world where people are not ashamed to say that they're depressed. They're not ashamed to say they have DID or any other thing that they're struggling with,” McCord continued.
“The most important thing is that you get what you need, you get the support, you get medication, you go to resources. The problem is when you feel like you're alone and you think, well, this is just me, she's out there and she's successful so she doesn't know what it's like,” the LaunchPrenuer co-founder said. “There are people out there right now who are ashamed to go get help or a shame to say that they need it so the fact that my sister has [raised awareness] is incredible,” McCord mentioned.
‘Don’t give up’
McCord also shared words of hope in her interview. “I think that the things that bring you the greatest pain can give you the greatest purpose. We must use our platforms, no matter how big or small,” she said. “There's so many people who’ve had such harder times than I've had in my life. And I think that what's important is that we never get bogged down with the past, or even sometimes the present... we have to remember that you have a future, that you have a purpose in your life, and that so many amazing things are happening,” McCord explained.
“The greatest breakthroughs come after the greatest darkness. It’s always darkest before the dawn. So you just have to know that if you're in that moment, you just push through a little bit longer because something's trying to hold you back. No matter what face it head on and don't give up,” McCord concluded.