'Child bride' Courtney Stodden says Doug Hutchison abused and controlled her all through turbulent marriage
Reality TV star, musician and former 'child bride' Courtney Stodden, now 25, came out on Instagram and told her army of followers that she had been "groomed" and "abused" in her unconventional marriage to actor Doug Hutchison — and that it had taken quite the toll on her.
"It’s March 3rd, 2020 — today I am officially divorced from actor Doug Hutchison. It’s an emotional day for me," she said beginning her caption next to a photo of the former couple together, with Stodden sporting heavy makeup. It's unclear when the photo is from, but it doesn't seem happy — at least not when you listen to what she had to say. "I look back at this picture and feel absolutely taken advantage of," she wrote, adding, "I’ve felt completely trapped, manipulated and at times abandoned by adults // growing up in such an environment — it became a lonely and dark place," she said.
Stodden was 16 years old when she and 50-year-old Hutchison tied the knot, their newfound marriage falling right into slamming and mockery, due to their massive age difference. The two met during an acting workshop taught by Hutchison. Stodden's aunt recommended him since the two knew each other. The sparks were instant but Hutchison had no idea that she was just 16. He courted her for four to six months, during which they fell in love.
But she was still so young. Hutchison sought her mother Krista's permission to date Stodden and her parents allowed her to make her own decision. They were married by 2011. She was his third wife.
Hutchison went on to be called a "predator" and "pedophile" and claims that his career took a massive nosedive after the marriage. His agent dropped him, he claimed, and his family disowned him and he received death threats. Their marriage was thoroughly impacted as well, although they kept a brave face at first. "I'm a pervert, Courtney is a whore…. Courtney's parents are the worst parents in the world — pimps selling their daughter," Hutchison said, summarizing the criticism in an interview with ABC in 2011.
His mother wasn't happy with their union either. "She sent me an email, and she said it was almost as if we had done something on purpose to hurt the family and put them in the spotlight and embarrass them and make their lives difficult… because obviously the press is hounding my mom now," Hutchison said in the interview. "[Courtney] held me in her arms, and I cried a little bit. And we looked at each other afterward, and we said we knew that this was gonna happen… And it brought us closer together."
However, just two years later, problems started to surface. In November 2013, Stodden and Hutchison decided they were ending their marriage of two and a half years. She later told Fox News that their 34-year age gap was a primary contributing factor for their divorce. "Doug and I decided to separate and end our marriage because of the obvious,” Stodden told FOX411, "Our age gap of 34-years."
In August 2014, the couple announced that they had reconciled and by the summer of 2016, they were expecting a child. Unfortunately, around three months into her pregnancy, Stodden announced she had suffered a miscarriage — and by 2017, they had separated. A year later, in March 2018, she filed for divorce.