‘Supergirl’ Melissa Benoist Tells Fans: ‘I Am A Survivor Of Domestic Violence’
Supergirl star Melissa Benoist is a victim of domestic violence, she revealed in heart wrenching video posted on her social media.
In the 14 minute video, the actress confessed to her followers, “I am a survivor of domestic violence, or IPV, intimate partner violence."
“It’s still hard for me to dissect what I was thinking and feeling that kept me from stopping what felt like a runaway freight train,” the actress said in the video before she went on to explain some more about her relationship with the unnamed ex-beau who allegedly victimized her.
According to Benoist, 31, she and her ex started off as friends, but things began to change when they become a couple.
He was allegedly a very jealous person who often tried to control her outfit choices and was unhappy about her romantic scenes at work.
"Work in general was a touchy subject," she told fans. "He didn't want me ever kissing or even having flirtatious scenes with men, which was very hard for me to avoid, so I began turning down auditions, job offers, test deals and friendships, because I didn't want to hurt him."
Then, as Benoist recalled, after just five months of dating, the guy threw a smoothie in her face before things took a turn for the worse.
"I learned what it felt like to be pinned down and slapped repeatedly, punched so hard I felt the wind go out of me, dragged by my hair across pavement, head-butted, pinched until my skin broke, slammed against he wall so hard the drywall broke, choked," she said.
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Her predator took extremes and even broke down doors when she would attempt to lock herself in her room.
In an attempt to prevent things from worsening, Benoist admitted she kept her experience to herself, but still she was embroiled in an unsafe environment.
As Benoist recounted, her ex-boyfriend would manipulate her into staying with him with apologies and forced baths.
"I just fooled myself into thinking I could help him... Someone had to let him know his behavior wasn't OK, and who better than the one he was taking it out on?," she said.
Benoist fortunately escaped death, but like other victims, reached a breaking point.
On one occasion, her ex-lover threw an iPhone at her face, which resulted in a broken nose and a nearly ruptured eyeball, but again she kept the incident to herself.
"The more people I let in, the more I was bolstered," she recalled. Ending her emotional video, the actress stated, "None of this is salacious news, it was my reality. What I went through caused a tectonic shift in my outlook on life."
In a follow up message thanking fans for an overwhelming amount of support, Benoist claimed she shared her story to “empower others to seek help and extricate themselves from abusive relationships.” “Everyone deserves to be loved void of violence, fear and physical harm,” she wrote.
If you or someone you know is a victim or survivor of domestic violence, please call 1-800-799-7233.