Latest news with #TheSqueeze
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mikayla Matthews Says She Was Sexually Abused by 3 Different People from the Time She Was 6 to 15
Mikayla Matthews is candidly addressing the sexual abuse she endured growing up After talking about the abuse in an episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Mikayla shared more of her story on The Squeeze podcast During the episode, Mikayla explained how the sexual abuse affected her through adulthoodMikayla Matthews is sharing more about enduring sexual abuse as a child. Appearing on The Squeeze podcast, Mikayla candidly opened up to host Tay Lautner about disclosing her past in the second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Sharing her story, Mikayla explained that she'd grown up as the second youngest of seven kids in Granada Hills, Calif. "I actually blocked out a lot of my childhood. I remember a lot of the trauma from growing up and like a lot of the bad things that I took from it. But I don't remember a lot of like happy memories... I remember just like a lot of yelling," Mikayla shared. "I remember a lot of like fighting," she recalled. "I remember holidays because those were like the times that we were happy... which I feel like I've taken into my adult years now where I'm like, 'These are like my favorite.' It's like such a special time for me because growing up I was like, that was like the only happy memories I can remember. But yeah, it was a lot." Ultimately, Mikayla's parents divorced. Her mom moved with the children to Utah, where her family was based. Having to work to support the family as a single mom, Mikayla says her mom "never really saw" the rest of them during the day. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "We did a lot of growing up on our own basically... I feel like she wasn't around a lot growing up," Mikayla said. Mikayla then recalled the sexual abuse she endured at a young age. "I feel like it's hard to... I wanna like be able to like pinpoint an age of where it all started," she began. "Because I did open up about being sexually abused, and that happened before we moved to Utah." Later in the podcast, Mikayla claimed that there were "three different people," who abused her at different times between the time she was six until she was 15. She noted that in a household where sex wasn't a subject, it was hard to understand, let alone process. "I went to a sexual trauma therapist that was telling me about like the shame you get growing up around sex in general. I think it's very common just in a lot of households, but also just in like Mormon culture," she said. "You don't talk about sex. I feel like our parents' generation doesn't talk about sex. It's kind of, you don't talk about this — out of sight, out of mind." Mikayla recalled engaging in sexual exploration with herself as a child trying to understand what was happening, only to be reprimanded by her mom. "I would think back to times where, when I did live in California and I was doing things like — when you're younger, you start doing things, you notice things feel good — And ... my mom would always yell at me for doing things," she says. "But also at that time, I was like, I was being sexually abused and I was confused. And I think that's why I started doing those things," she continued. "And I just associated it with the shame because it was like, 'This isn't okay. Don't do this.' And that's something I feel like really carried over into my marriage, which is what I've noticed recently." "It's been like one of the hardest parts of our marriage," she said, referring to her husband Jace Terry, whom she met when she was 16. "Because you don't realize it's happening because again, you're so young, you're not processing it. And then you kind of are raised up with this, or at least I was raised up with my circumstance of, 'This isn't for me. It's for somebody else's pleasure.'" Related: Mikayla Matthews Opens Up About 'Traumatic' Pregnancy at Age 16, Just Weeks After Meeting Now-Husband Jace During season 2, Mikayla talks to her sisters about her past abuse and coming forward to tell her mom about it. "I never had that safe place to tell my mom anything. She just wasn't that person for me," Mikayla noted. "For my whole life, basically, I never had that safe place or felt comfortable telling her things. So when all these things were happening, it was, 'Okay, well, I don't have someone to tell that I feel comfortable telling that would take that information and do something good with it.'" Mikayla claimed that she was being "manipulated and groomed by people that say, 'Oh, this is a fun game,' or 'We're doing this to practice for boys in the future,' or 'Don't tell your mom.'" She added that sharing her truth with others is still a difficult situation to tackle. "I still haven't fully opened up to all the details of my sexual abuse even to like my husband, which he's very patient with me about," she explained. "But again, it's just this thing that's ingrained to me of, 'Well, no one's gonna believe me or I don't know.'" While the conversation with her siblings on the show was difficult — with Mikayla noting it was the first time they spoke openly about her abuse — she added it was "a literal full-circle moment, 10 years later." She credits her chronic illness for helping her tackle her mental health rather than shoving it further into the recesses of her mind. "I think it was really my chronic illness, in the last three years, that really shifted my mindset on all of that and opening up," she said. "Because again, I think my body was truly screaming at me internally and then it just started coming to the surface." If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mikayla Matthews Opens Up About 'Traumatic' Pregnancy at Age 16, Just Weeks After Meeting Now-Husband Jace
Mikayla Matthews opened up in a new interview about how "traumatizing" her first pregnancy at age 16 was The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star had just met her now-husband Jace Terry weeks before Matthews talked about how the long-term effects of the sexual abuse she endured as a child "triggered" her in her marriageMikayla Matthews is candidly opening up about her first pregnancy. Matthews, 25, appeared on the May 21 episode of The Squeeze with Tay Lautner and spoke at length about the sexual abuse she endured in her younger years and how it continued to affect her as she learned she was pregnant at age 16. After moving out of her mother's house at age 15, she met her now-husband Jace Terry through her sister and his roommate, who worked together. 'I think I got pregnant literally a year, almost a year exactly after I moved out of my house at 15,' she said. 'And then I'm jumping into now being a mom and raising a kid at 16, 17. I think all that was traumatizing, but also it was so helpful being with someone like Jace because, again, he's been like so patient with me and he like truly wants me to be the best version of myself.' Even though Jace is now a 'safe place' for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, the start of their relationship was challenging. She explained she 'had only known him for like a month before' she got pregnant. At the time, she was living with her sister and she eventually dropped out of high school when she learned she was expecting. 'I didn't really tell any of my friends. I kind of just dropped off the face of the earth,' she remembered. She explained that she found out she was pregnant after she spent time in a sauna and passed out. Her mom took her to the hospital, and a blood test showed she was in the early stages of pregnancy. 'Immediately,' she decided she wanted to 'keep' the baby, she recalled, noting that Jace's 'immediate reaction' was to support whatever she wanted to do. Even though Mikayla and her mom still hadn't talked about the abuse she had faced, she still relied on her because she was one of the few people who knew about the pregnancy. 'None of my friends knew. So I was just so isolated and alone,' she remembered. 'And at this point, I barely knew Jace. . . . So, although I wasn't comfortable around [my mom], it was just like more comfortable than with Jace at that point.' At the same time, 'being around her [mom] was obviously very triggering," she added. Mikayla and Jace ultimately welcomed their son Beckham in 2017. They married in 2018. The family welcomed a daughter, Haven, in August 2019 and a son named Tommie in November 2021. She is currently pregnant with their fourth child. Mikayla said that after she welcomed her first child, she still 'internalized all of that hurt and abuse' and only recently began working through it in therapy. During her second pregnancy, she noted that 'sex became very triggering,' but Jace didn't know about her past. Mikayla would have sex with him in hopes it would help their relationship but then, she said, 'Subconsciously I was resenting him and making him the abuser where it wasn't the case.' She added that she's already 'learned a lot through therapy' about why that happens and how to deal with those triggers. Mikayla praised Jace as 'really patient' with her as she dealt with both her lasting trauma and her struggles with chronic illness. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. She noted that she started to open up to him about some of the abuse she faced about 'six years ago.' 'I had to kind of tell him because it would get so frustrating," she explained. "And I feel like a lot of that anger was being put on him and he felt a lot of rejection of like, 'I'm not attractive. My wife doesn't want to sleep with me.' And that made me feel so guilty.' She noted that she would react defensively, but opening up to him more helped him 'really understand.' She added, 'He's very gentle with me because he knows the situation.' If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Gabby Petito's Mom Shares Bombshell 'Information' About Brian Laundrie's Parents' Alleged Attempt To Protect Him
Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, has made new claims about her late daughter's killer, Brian Laundrie, and his family. During a podcast appearance, Schmidt said that Brian's room was completely renovated while Gabby was presumed missing by the police. Gabby Petito's mother has since accused Roberta Laundrie of lacking remorse and being the "mastermind" behind shielding her son, Brian Laundrie. In an appearance on Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay's podcast, "The Squeeze," Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, made a startling revelation while recounting the events surrounding her daughter's disappearance. Sharing "new information" she had only just learned, Schmidt claimed that someone who had been inside the Laundrie family home while Brian Laundrie was reportedly "missing" claimed that his bedroom had been entirely cleared out and renovated. "I actually just found out some new information a few days ago," she said, per the New York Post. "There was — I actually don't know their name, which is better — that was at the house when Brian was missing and — I would say he was hiding, he wasn't missing, but he was actually dead — but his room was completely gutted and renovated. None of his things were there anymore. It was gone." Schmidt added: "Cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone. The room was completely empty, just gone." According to Schmidt, the unidentified person expressed serious concern about Roberta Laundrie's behavior, describing her as visibly unwell. "They said that there's something wrong with that mother, she's clearly not mentally well, and I'm like that's just add it to the list because I didn't even know about that," she recalled. Schmidt also expressed her ongoing frustration, saying she often feels helpless when thinking about ways to hold the Laundries accountable. She shared that it drives her "absolutely insane" when she tries to think of any way to make them "pay for what they did." "There is really nothing I can do," Schmidt noted. Despite the pain of her daughter's passing, Schmidt shared a powerful message of healing while speaking at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville. Standing before the audience, she said, "I speak for myself here when I say, Brian, I forgive you." Schmidt continued, "I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, and I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life." Even though she forgave Brian, Schmidt didn't hold back when addressing his mother, Roberta. She accused her of being the driving force behind a calculated effort to shield her son after Petito's death. "Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways, I see no empathy in your eyes," Schmidt said. "No remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions." Schmidt and her family have long believed the Laundries knew Brian had killed Petito and actively helped him avoid facing consequences. According to court depositions, both Roberta and Chris Laundrie admitted they became concerned about Gabby's well-being after Brian called home acting strangely in the days following the murder. Brian eventually returned alone to Florida, driving the van he and Gabby had traveled in. Her remains were later discovered in Wyoming, where he had left her behind. According to the Daily Mail, Roberta wrote a letter to her son Brian, seemingly offering to help him "bury a body." The undated note, labeled "burn after reading," was discovered in Brian's backpack after his remains were found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. He died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after confessing to Petito's murder in a notebook found alongside his remains. Attorney Patrick Reilly, who represented the Petito family, revealed in court that the letter was in FBI custody and contained chilling language indicating Roberta's willingness to help her son evade prison. She allegedly wrote that she would "bring a shovel" and assist in hiding a body. Although Roberta claims the letter was written before Gabby and Brian left on their trip, Petito's family said the content left them "sick to their stomach." Gabby's parents have since taken steps to prevent the white camper van she traveled in with Laundrie from becoming a morbid collector's item. Speaking to NewsNation, they shared that they decided to have the van destroyed, with her father, Joe Petito, stating, "We crushed the van. We didn't want the van to be out there and someone owning the van and then saying, 'Here's the van that Gabby was…' So, we had it crushed." Despite this, he and Gabby's stepmother, Tara Petito, retained the gasoline cap and a sticker from the Great Smoky Mountains as personal mementos. Meanwhile, Gabby's mother, Nichole Schmidt, shared that she has forgiven Laundrie for her daughter's death, stating, "I have forgiven Brian, and I know that's what Gabby would have wanted, and I'm moving forward so that I can help other people." She added, "I don't think everyone has to forgive. They can when they're ready, or they might never be ready. But for me personally, I needed to forgive to let that anger go."
New York Post
22-04-2025
- New York Post
Gabby Petito's mom claims Brian Laundrie's room was ‘gutted' soon after he went missing: ‘All his things were gone'
The parents of murderer Brian Laundrie allegedly 'gutted and renovated' their son's room while he was missing, as Gabby Petito's loved ones were still searching for the missing 22-year-old, her mother claimed. Nichole Schmidt sat down with Taylor Lautner and his wife, Tay, on their podcast, The Squeeze, this week to discuss her daughter's story, and said she recently came across the stunning claim against the Laundries. 'I actually just found out some new information a few days ago,' Schmidt claimed. Advertisement 4 Nichole Schmidt sat down with Taylor Lautner and his wife, Tay, on their podcast, The Squeeze, this week to discuss her daughter's story. Youtube / The Squeeze 'There was — I actually don't know their name, which is better — that was at the house when Brian was missing and — I would say he was hiding, he wasn't missing, but he was actually dead — but his room was completely gutted and renovated. None of his things were there anymore. It was gone.' She claimed that the week her daughter was missing, 'cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone.' Advertisement 'The room was completely empty, just gone,' Schmidt said. The unidentified individual, who claimed to have been in the house during that time, told Schmidt that it was obvious something was 'wrong' with Laundrie's mother, Roberta. 'They said that there's something wrong with that mother she's clearly not mentally well, and I'm like that's just add it to the list because I didn't even know about that,' she said. Schmidt said it drives her 'absolutely insane' when she tries to think of any way to make them 'pay for what they did.' Advertisement 4 An Instagram story video shows the inside of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's camper van. Instagram 'There is really nothing I can do,' she said. Roberta Laundrie is suspected of helping her son sneak away while law enforcement zeroed in on him as a key suspect in Gabby Petito's murder in 2021. His parents also refused to cooperate with authorities and give any information about their son's whereabouts. Advertisement Schmidt took the stage at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tenn., in June and said she forgave her daughter's killer for what he did. 4 Roberta Laundrie is suspected of helping her son sneak away while law enforcement zeroed in on him as a key suspect in Gabby Petito's murder in 2021. William Farrington 'I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you,' she said. 'I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, and I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.' However, as for Roberta, she believed she had 'no remorse in your heart.' 'As for you, Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways, I see no empathy in your eyes,' Schmidt said. 'No remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions.' 4 Petito's body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021, with investigators ruling her cause of death as strangulation. Gabby Petito Instagram Advertisement Petito's family believes the Laundries were aware their son had murdered their daughter and allegedly tried to hide the sinister act while helping him evade justice after he had returned home by himself from a trip the two had been on. Both of Laundrie's parents acknowledged in depositions that they had concerns about Petito's welfare after their son seemed erratic in phone calls shortly after her murder. Laundrie drove to his Florida home from Wyoming, where he abandoned Petito's remains. Advertisement After returning home, he went camping with his parents, sister, and her children as the Petitos' loved ones struggled to piece together what happened and where she was. The 22-year-old's body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021, with investigators ruling her cause of death as strangulation. Laundrie, 23, subsequently killed himself, and his remains were discovered in a Florida nature park alongside his backpack and notebook with a confession about killing Petito.
The Sun
22-04-2025
- The Sun
Gabby Petito's mom makes shock claim about Brian Laundrie & parents and shares chilling theory in bombshell interview
GABBY Petito's mom has made shocking claims about Brian Laundrie and his parents, and shared her chilling theory in a bombshell interview. Gabby, 22, was strangled to death on August 27, 2021, by her fiance Brian, 23, during a van road trip. 6 6 6 Her body was found at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming during a nationwide manhunt. She'd been strangled to death by Laundrie. He had driven back to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, on September 1, in Gabby's 2012 Ford Transit van. Laundrie then disappeared as soon as cops began investigating his fiancee's death. On September 19, authorities found a body in Grand Teton National Park that was later identified as belonging to Gabby. Investigators determines she tragically died by strangulation and had been dead for three to four weeks. And a month later, Brian's remains were found after he killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Found near his body was a notebook, in which he confessed to murdering Gabby. Gabby's mom, Nichole Schmidt, recently appeared on The Squeeze podcast, where she revealed that during the time Brian was missing, his parents had already cleared out his room. She said on the pod, hosted by Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay: "I actually just found out some new information a few days ago. "There was [someone] that was at the house when Brian was missing - and I would say he was hiding, he wasn't missing, but he was actually dead – but his room was completely gutted and renovated. Gabby Petito's body was found thanks to my tip - lack of justice is heartbreaking but it helped me heal from son's death "None of his things were there anymore. It was gone. "So that very same week, Gabby was missing and cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone. The room was completely empty, just gone." Grieving mom Nichole has previously said that she has to forgive Laundrie for what he did to Gabby, but the family remain upset with his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie. His parents have been accused of attempting to help their son cover up the murder before he went into the Florida wilderness and killed himself. The pair repeated refused to speak to authorities while Gabby's family searched tirelessly for their daughter. Schmidt and Joseph Petito, Gabby's father, accused the Laundries of trying to help cover their daughter's murder, citing Roberta's infamous "burn after reading" letter she wrote to Brian. Gabby's parents believe Roberta wrote the note around the time of their daughter's disappearance as she makes references to a shovel and burying a body. Nichole also revealed how the last time she spoke to the couple was when they traveled to New York to pick up Gabby's things to take to Florida to then live with Brian. 6 6 6 She said: "I think we texted a couple times, we were Facebook friends. I thought they were just quiet people and I'm okay with that. "You don't have to be my best friend but I never actually spoke to them after that until I saw them when they did the depositions for our lawsuit." She also recalled her frustration due to the Landries' lack of cooperation in the investigation. Nichole said: "Everybody feels the same. I don't understand. I can't comprehend anything. "If it was the other way around, I would've called them immediately. "I mean, I texted her asking if they'd heard from the kids. I said, 'Did you hear from the kids? I haven't heard from them', and I got nothing back." She also made the bombshell claim on the podcast that it was because Brian's parents knew he had killed Gabby. The Laundries - who have not been criminally charged in connection to Gabby's disappearance - have argued that the undated note was written before Brian and Gabby embarked on their cross-country road trip during the summer of 2021. The Petito and Laundrie families reached a $3 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit in 2022. Nichole added on the pod: "They said that there's something wrong with that mother, she's clearly not mentally well. And I'm like, 'just add it to the list', because I didn't even know about that. That was crazy to hear. "It drives me absolutely insane - that's the one thing I can't let go of, because I'm trying to figure out what can I do to make them pay for what they did, but there is really nothing I can do." Host Lautner asked why things had been allowed to be "stripped and cleaned and thrown away". Nichole responded: "The van was cleaned out, the mattress was never recovered, and then all the things were packed away in a closet - Gabby's stuff was packed away in a closet. "I mean, I don't understand, I don't get it. Just strange behavior." Timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance Here we take a look at the sad events surrounding Gabby going missing: July 2021: Brian Laundrie and his fiancé Gabby Petito leave for a grip across the country. The couple visit numerous national parks across the way. August 12: Police in Utah respond to an incident involving the couple. The bodycam footage is not released for another month but it shows a visibly upset Gabby talking to police after reports of a domestic violence incident outside a grocery store. August 24: Gabby is seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Laundrie. September 1: Laundrie returns to his home in North Port, Florida without Gabby. September 6: Laundrie joins his family on a camping trip about 75 miles from their home in North Port. September 11: Gabby's family reports her missing. September 13: Laundrie leaves home to go hiking in Carlton Reserve, Florida. His family had initially said he departed on September 14, but revised their timeline weeks later. September 15: Laundrie is named a person of interest in the case of Gabby. September 16: Bodycam footage is released regarding the incident between Gabby and Laundrie. September 19: The FBI announces a body found at a Wyoming national park is believed to be that of Gabby's. September 23: The FBI issued a warrant for Laundrie's arrest claiming he "used unauthorized debit cards after Gabby Petito's death." September 26: A funeral is held for Gabby in New York. September 27: Dog the Bounty Hunter announces he will lend a hand and help search for Laundrie. September 28: Gabby's family held an emotional press conference as the search for Laundrie continued. October 5: Laundrie's sister, Cassie, appeared on Good Morning America and urged her brother to come forward. October 7: Laundrie's father, Chris Laundrie, assisted law enforcement in the search to find his son. October 12: Gabby's autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation. October 20: Laundrie's personal items were found near the Myakkahatchee Creek Park trail in Florida. The medical examiner was called to the scene to investigate. October 21: Reports stated the human remains found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park were bones. October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie's. January 21, 2022: The FBI released its final investigative statement on Gabby's case. The statement said, "The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito."
