If you have ever wondered about the toll that childhood trauma can take on someone, Chrissy Metz’s story is both revealing and heart-wrenching. The star of This Is Us is opening up about the abuse she endured growing up, shedding light on the painful memories that continue to affect her life today.
Facing Mental, Physical, and Emotional Abuse
You learn early in life that emotional scars can run deep, and Chrissy Metz is no stranger to this truth. During an episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast, Metz shared that she experienced “mental, physical, and emotional abuse” at the hands of her stepfather. For Metz, the abuse wasn’t just a passing moment in her past but something that has left lasting wounds. She admitted that “there’s still a lot of pain about all of that” as she continues her journey toward healing.
The Weight of Criticism
Have you ever felt like someone was watching your every move, judging you for how you look or what you do? Metz shared how her stepfather would weigh her in the kitchen and “threaten to lock the cupboards.” His constant emotional abuse was like “little cuts” that eventually left her feeling drained and broken. “I’m still trying to heal those wounds,” she confessed, but acknowledged that “it’s not easy.” Abuse, she revealed, shapes the way you view yourself and the world around you. It affects how you walk into every room and whether you feel worthy of love or success.
Remembering a Painful Childhood
It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like for Metz as a child. In her 2018 memoir This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today, she describes her stepfather, whom she nicknamed Trigger, as someone who could barely look at her without feeling offended by her body. Metz recounted how he would shove, slap, and punch her—never in the face, but in a way that “my body, the thing that offended him so much,” bore the brunt of his anger. Metz’s description of these incidents makes you realize how deeply abuse can erode someone’s self-worth.
Impact on Every Aspect of Life
Do you ever feel like past trauma sneaks into everything you do? Metz certainly does. She explained that the abuse she faced still impacts “everything” in her life—from her relationships to her career ambitions. “Am I worthy of this?” is a question she finds herself asking even now. Metz admitted that her stepfather’s treatment made her doubt whether she was deserving of love or success. These feelings linger long after the abuse stops, and for many survivors, the journey toward self-acceptance can take a lifetime.
Finding Forgiveness
Perhaps the most striking part of Metz’s story is how she approached forgiveness. When her stepfather stopped speaking to her after she wrote about him in her memoir, she didn’t harbor resentment. Instead, as he was dying in hospice care, Metz felt “compelled” to write him a letter. She expressed her hurt but also her love for him, asking for forgiveness for anything he might have resented. You can’t help but admire the strength it took for her to write these words: “I forgive you.”
Her sister read the letter to him over FaceTime, and Metz was able to hear his final words: “Thank you. I love you.” These simple words brought her a sense of closure, and when she later found that he had kept her book with a bookmark inside, it made her realize that he “really did try.”
Lessons in Forgiveness
What can you learn from Chrissy Metz’s story? Forgiveness is not about excusing someone’s actions or pretending the pain didn’t happen. For Metz, it’s about releasing the anger and hurt that can keep you stuck in the past. She hopes that by sharing her story, you too can find healing. On The View, she expressed that “you can forgive anybody” and that it’s one of the most powerful lessons she’s taken from her experience.
Chrissy Metz’s story is a reminder that while abuse can shape who you are, it doesn’t have to define you forever. Her journey toward healing and forgiveness is both painful and inspiring, encouraging you to reflect on your own experiences and consider how forgiveness might play a role in your healing process. You deserve peace, just as Metz is learning to embrace hers.