Chrissy Metz Reveals Childhood Abuse At The Hands Of Her Step-Father

Celebrity

"This Is Us" Star Opens Up About Childhood Abuse

If you're not watching the show This Is Us, you're missing out on an incredible emotional experience week after week. The show has quickly grown from a relatively unheard of series to global phenomenon in a matter of two seasons.

The world loves following the lives of Jack and Rebecca Pearson, played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, and their kids known as "The Big Three." It's hard to get into much more detail without spoiling the show, or spending 75 hours explaining it all to you. We cried absolute real tears when Jack died, as it felt like our own father was being stripped away from us.

Each of the characters has a storyline we connect with, which is rare for a show with such a large ensemble. We've also fallen more and more in love with the actors who portray the characters, and really feel a connection with them.

NBC

We all got excited when Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin, got married and had the most beautiful wedding photos. We shed tears when Sterling K. Brown won an Emmy award and had a beautiful speech. We rejoiced with Chrissy Metz when she landed the role, after she only had 81 cents in her bank account at her audition.

But just like a real family, we don't only stick with the actors through the good times. In a new book, one of our favorites opened up about their childhood abuse, and it really breaks our hearts.

In her new book called This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today, Chrissy Metz, who plays Kate Pearson, opened up about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. Metz, who has often spoke about her struggles with weight and body image issues, revealed that her stepfather is at the root of many of those problems.

After her father left, Metz and her mom were left living in poverty. They never knew when their next meal would come, which made her develop an unhealthy relationship with food. She'd eat whatever food she could whenever she could, because she never knew when she would have another opportunity.

Allure

Metz said that when her mother remarried, her stepfather, who went by the name of Trigger, had issues with her weight.

"My body seemed to offend him, but he couldn't help but stare, especially when I was eating," Metz wrote. "He joked about putting a lock on the refrigerator. We had lived with a lack of food for so long that when it was there, I felt like I had to eat it before it disappeared. Food was my only happiness."

It wasn't only emotional abuse the star suffered either. Trigger began getting violent with Metz.

"I don't remember why Trigger hit me the first time. He never punched my face. Just my body, the thing that offended him so much," she wrote. "He shoved me, slapped me, punched my arm. He would hit me if he thought I looked at him wrong. I remember being on the kitchen floor after he knocked me over, and I was begging to know what I did. He just shoved me hard with his foot."

Instagram

Trigger would also mock Metz when she'd step on the scale.

"He sat in a chair next to the scale as I got on. "˜Good God almighty!' he yelled every single time," she wrote. "The number then was about 140 or 130. Most of my friends weighed about 90 pounds. "˜Why are you getting fatter?' he demanded. I look at pictures of me from that time, and I would be so fine with being that size now. But I thought I was gigantic. By then the beating had escalated. One time he hit me, and I looked right in his face. If I had a gun, I thought, I would shoot you."

Daily Mail

But according to Trigger, things were different than Metz says in her book.

Trigger, whose real name is Crayton Hodge, says he doesn't remember anything Metz wrote in her book.

"I don't remember things the way she does. I'll disagree with everything in there, except the part that I love her," he told E! News. "I still love her as much as I ever have. I've taken care of her like she's one of mine and I would continue to do so in the future if need be."

According to Hodge, Metz never told him her allegations were going to be published, even though she spoke to him in October, two months after her mom Denise suffered a stroke. Hodge says that's the last time they've spoken.

Metz's mom, Denise, and her stepfather Trigger. Daily Mail

In fact, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Hodge spoke about how supportive of Metz he was when she was growing up.

"Chrissy, her sister, and her dad are all built the same, they are short and extremely overweight," Hodge said. "I think her mother may have taken her to a doctor when she was younger, but we never put any pressure on her to eat differently or workout. She used to complain about her weight, and I said, "Chrissy, use what you have", well, apparently she did! And she has a beautiful face, she's gorgeous."

Chrissy Metz with her no-screen dad, Milo VentimigliaMTV

Despite the conflicting stories, Metz said Trigger reached out and apologized for what he's done, and things with him are different.

"We have a relationship now," Metz said. "I do love him and I do care about him."

Metz's book comes out on March 27th, and you can order a copy here.

Meagan has an intense love for Netflix, napping, and carbs.