Courtney Stodden slams child marriage as 'America's dirty little secret'
Courtney Stodden slammed child marriage as "America's dirty little secret" as she revealed she was the "breadwinner" in her marriage at just 16 years old.
Stodden, who told the story of her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison in Lifetime's "Ripped from the Headlines," revealed her role in the marriage "seemed to shift" very quickly as she realized she was making money for a man older than her father.
"Realizing everything that has happened to me in present time has been a lot to process. When I first hit the spotlight as a young girl, my brain wasn't developed yet. And I had a certain image of what my life was. I thought I knew everything. I mean, what kid doesn't at 16," Stodden explained to Fox News Digital. "Then as things started to escalate quite quickly – and my role seemed to shift in the marriage quite quickly – I became the breadwinner."
COURTNEY STODDEN SAYS WRITING MEMOIR ‘SHINED A LIGHT’ ON ALLEGED GROOMING THAT LED TO MARRIAGE AT 16
"People have a misconception that I married for money as a child, which they like to victim blame, which is insane," she added. "I mean, looking back on it, I was a child who was making money for a man older than my dad. And a lot of stuff I couldn't talk about. So when I would realize it then, I couldn't talk about it and I stuffed it down. And that just led to a lot of self-destructive habits that I kept to myself. Now in current day, present day, I'm 31. My brain is developed. And I'm starting to realize what really did happen to me. And it's been a pretty hard pill to swallow."
Stodden famously married Hutchison at the age of 16. He was 51 at the time.
"Obviously there is a problem in America," she emphasized. "We think of child marriage as something that's like overseas or foreign, but really America's dirty little secret is the loophole in the judicial system for, in my opinion, pedophiles to marry children."
"And the scariest part of this whole thing is that I'm not alone," Stodden added. "There are so many people that reach out to me and tell me their horror stories of being a child bride."
A rep for Hutchison did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Hutchison and Stodden separated and reconciled multiple times throughout the relationship. Eventually, Stodden filed for divorce in 2018 and the couple finalized the split in 2020.
Stodden was intensely criticized over the marriage to Hutchison – due to their 35-year age gap. She dealt with scrutiny and public shaming for years. Stodden explained she "created a caricature" of herself at a young age in an attempt to protect her mental health.
"I created something, at the time, I feel like I used my fashion as rebellion. And that's kind of how I would rebel and act out," she explained. "And so, when people would criticize me – which they criticized me, the child more than they did, the abuser – I just kind of brushed it off and would rebel in my fashion."
"And to me, they were not talking about me," Stodden added. "They were talking about the character I created. And I think, in a sense, that actually saved me in a lot of ways back then as a kid."
Stodden admitted she did eventually "become that caricature" of herself.
"Because, you know, I was pushed to embrace it as I was entering adulthood," she explained. "And I just kind of became that Courtney Stodden character. So I did lose myself in that process quite a bit."
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Stodden revisited her experience of being married at age 16 in the Lifetime "Ripped from the Headlines" episode, "I Was a Child Bride: The Courtney Stodden Story." The episode premiered on Sept. 27 and featured Stodden as a producer and narrator.
As Stodden helped shape the episode by sharing her story, she found it reopened wounds in her relationship with her father.
"I think a lot of it stems back to the relationship with my father," she explained. "Because if you look at it, I got married at 16 and both of my parents believed that he was a good guy. And not having my dad, really emotionally, was a big catapult to this whole thing. So I think reopening that wound has been the most difficult thing for me to try to grasp."
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Stodden has since moved on from her past relationship. The model married TV producer Jared Safier in December 2024. The two tied the knot in an impromptu ceremony in front of 20 people, according to US Weekly. Stodden explained she has "a lot of hope" for her marriage to Safier.
"He has shown me a new way of loving, like a fresh start almost," she told Fox News Digital. "He's really been a pivotal person in my life that has somehow gained, not complete trust, but a lot of my trust. I don't know if I will ever completely trust again. But he's gained a lot of my trust and I just feel safe with him."
"That does not come easy for me to feel safe around anyone, let alone a male. So it's an everyday thing. I mean, he's a strong guy. Definitely can't be with someone who isn't strong. But he's just teaching me a new way of loving. Introducing me to what a healthy love looks like."