Trigger warning: This article mentions abuse and may be triggering to some readers.
TV star and former Bachelorette Angie Kent has opened up on her podcast about a past relationship, and the moment that made her realise her worth.
Speaking to the co-host of Two Girls One Pod, Yvie Jones, who is also Angie’s best friend, Angie detailed her experience with emotional and verbal abuse from a previous partner.
“I remember this one particular time I was dating this guy who was quite a bit older than me,” she began.
“He was a grown up … I remember the house always stunk, and there was always … I just felt dirty every time I walked to the toilet, like I needed to have shoes on.
“And then he would give and take his love away from me all the time. And I was like, gosh, what’s wrong with me?”
“I look back now and I’m like, you are a grown-ass man. You had dirty sheets, your house stunk, you treated me like s***… I put all my worth into that because that’s what I was told,” Angie explained.
“It wasn’t until he actually said to me … I picked him up and he was blind [drunk] during the day. When I said ‘can you just be quiet because you’re really loud while I’m driving and your mate is in the back and you’re being embarrassing. He said, “f*** up c***”, and that’s when I stopped.
“I stopped the car and I go ‘get out. You and your mate, get out’,” she recounted.
“We never spoke again. He called, and called, and I never answered. But it took a long time,” she said.
Angie’s stint on The Bachelorette led to her only public relationship, with winner Carlin Sterritt, but she is adamant that the years since her experiences in her early 20s have changed her perspective.
“I would put so much of my worth on what these drongos thought of me and I would lose sleep,” she said.
“I look back now and I just want to shriek at my little self.”
Angie has remained publicly single since her season of The Bachelorette, even admitting to WHO last year that she was ‘too scared’ to date.
“I don’t think I’m ready, I’m still working on myself – I know that sounds cliché but I am,” she said.
“I didn’t love myself for a while. After a heartbreak you’re like ‘What does it all mean?’ and then I was like ‘Well, love myself again and see what happens’,” she reflected.
“After dating 20 guys you don’t really want to dive back in there, just baby steps.
“I should start dating again. I’ll give myself a couple more months and then I might try – watch this space!”
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit their website.