Lauren Alaina’s Message to Others Who’ve Been Hurt Like She Was: ‘I Believe You’
Lauren Alaina wants the women who were wrapped up in the same traumatic narrative as her to know she believes them. A four-photo message on social media finds the singer opening up about a very public end to her relationship with a person she implies was a sex addict.
She captions the message with a note that she's put the painful chapter in her life behind her, saying she is grateful for those who've supported her. "I hope we can all find the forgiveness and healing we need," Alaina writes.
Readers are asked to use context clues to decipher who she is referring to as she never names the person, saying only, "I went through a personal experience that truly stopped me in my tracks. It was very public, and it was very hurtful." She also says it's been nearly two years and that "being in a relationship with an addict is scary, deceitful and hard to manage."
In November 2019, Alaina's relationship with Christian comedian John Crist had just come to a public end when five different women accused him of his using his Christian reputation and platform to harass, manipulate and exploit young women. The accusations were that this was a years-long pattern, and Crist acknowledged the complaints by apologizing for "sexual sin" and "addiction struggles."
In his response, he didn't deny the accusations, which including sexting, sexual relationships with married women and using his celebrity status to gain sexual favors from women, often fans. In fact, he admitted that he'd been receiving treatment for addiction, off and on, for several years.
"It has been almost two years, and I am still getting messages from women who were wrapped up in the same narrative I was wrapped up in," Alaina writes. "I am posting this for us. I want you to know that I believe you. I see you. I pray for you. I know what you went through. I went through it too."
On April 25, Alaina teased that she'd be addressing her experience when she shared one of those messages on social media. All names are blacked out, but the person messaging the singer is ultimately thanking her for taking her relationship with this man public.
Ending her newest social media message on a positive note, Alaina shares that her My Kinda People Foundation has made a donation to Mental Health America. May is mental health awareness month in America.
Musically, Alaina's current single is "Getting Over Him," a duet with Jon Pardi. Prior to dating Crist, Alaina was engaged to Alex Hopkins, who she'd been dating since high school.
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