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Social media star and aspiring musician India Love recently opened up on an episode of BET’s College Hill: Celebrity Edition about experiencing sexual abuse as a child.
The 26-year-old discussed the troubling part of her childhood during a conversation about her mental health with Dr. Melanie Lawson.
“Everything takes a really hard toll on me. I’m my biggest critic,” said Love.” I feel like I found my voice…. but it’s hard for me to use it because of like trauma when I was younger. Probably when I was 10 or so, around that age.”
Emotionally, Love said, “Something happened to me with a family member to where like, I felt like I couldn’t use my voice and say what I wanted to say.”
“I used to get touched by someone in my family when I was younger and it felt like it was swept under the rug,” Love ultimately revealed in her confessional.
“It definitely scarred me mentally for a long time, probably still to this day.”
Earlier in the episode, Love said she realized she needed to get her mental health in order after a nerve-wracking college presentation.
The model shared that she confided in Dr. Lawson because the professor is also a life coach.
“After panicking about the presentation in business class, I realized that my mental health is very important. I don’t feel like I can work through this alone,” Love candidly shared in her confessional.
Thankfully, Lawson offered Love words of encouragement and healing.
“So the first thing you have to do is self-talk — honest and authentic reflections… You were silenced then, look at the influencer you are now!”
See a clip of the moment down below.
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