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Lily Collins -

Lily Collins is now in her thirties and happily married, but when she was in her early twenties, she suffered a great deal at the hands of an unnamed romantic partner. She opened up about the experience in a Feb. 6 episode of the podcast, 'We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle.' Collins told Doyle that she was subjected to verbal and emotional abuse which made her feel very small. "I became quite silent and comfortable in silence and feeling like I had to make myself small to feel super safe."

After a while, her body began to send her warning signs that she was in serious distress. "My skin was breaking out. I was having these panic attacks and I had kidney infections," she explained. "All of these weird physical manifestations but I didn't, at that time of my life, put the two and two together as your body is telling you, ‘This is not something you're supposed to be in.'" Collins revealed that she sometimes still has moments where she's pulled back to that dark place, but she and husband Charlie McDowell are able to communicate about it in a healthy and loving way. 

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Mel B -

Spice Girl Melanie "Mel B" Brown opened up about the horrific relationship she endured for 10 years. While taking part in the reality TV series 'Special Forces: World's Toughest Test,' Brown revealed that she was trying to heal from her past. "This for me is just about taking back my own power, my own control." She continued, "I dealt with it in bits and pieces, but then the reminder of the self-worthlessness and being called so many names day after day for 10 years, it comes back when I get told, for example, that you've done really well, because when that happened, I would always go home to something that was just devastatingly bad."

The abusive partner is likely Brown's ex-husband Stephen Belafonte, as she stated, "10 years I was in that and I've been out of it for seven years." Brown and Belafonte were married from 2007 to 2017. In court documents from their divorce, Brown accused Belafonte of mental and physical abuse. "He threatened me with violence and threatened to destroy my life in every possible way...destroy my career and take my kids from me." 

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Selma Blair -

Selma Blair was granted a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, the film producer Ron Carlson, in March of 2022. She applied for the restraining order after he allegedly carried out a violent assault in her home. Blair says that Carlson came to her house to drop off some items and return his keys after their breakup. Blair had been receiving IV treatment for her multiple sclerosis and was in a weakened state when Carlson became verbally abusive. The situation escalated and Carlson allegedly grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the ground. Court documents say he banged her head on the floor multiple times, causing her to pass out, and slapped her across the face after she managed to get up. Carlson threatened to kill her and then left the house.

He was later arrested at his home on charges of felony domestic violence. Carlson asserted that he didn't touch Blair during his visit, although police noted defensive wounds that were consistent with Blair's story. She had also taken photos of her own injuries shortly after the assault. A judge granted Blair a temporary restraining order while legal proceedings are underway. Carlson later took out his own restraining order against Blair, but eventually, they both dropped the legal action against each other. 

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Will Smith -

Will Smith's 2021 memoir gave a raw account of his own experiences with domestic violence. The beloved actor has revealed that his father, who passed away in 2016, was extremely violent towards his mother. He recalled one particularly traumatic attack he witnessed when he was nine years old: "I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am." He shared that he felt guilt and shame for being unable to protect his mother, and vowed to avenge her when he was strong enough. At one point, when he was wheeling his elderly, ailing father to the bathroom one night, he says he considered pushing him down the stairs. 

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Halle Berry - The Academy Award-winning actress grew up watching her mother be beaten by her father and Berry, unfortunately, fell into the same cycle. At The Mayors Fund Benefit in New York, the actress shared her story of being physically abused.

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Halle Berry - Berry stated, "It was only when I was in an abusive relationship and blood squirted on the ceiling of my apartment and I lost 80 percent of my hearing in my ear that I realized, I have to break the cycle."

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Madonna -

During her four-year marriage to Sean Penn, the pop sensation claimed that she suffered from physical and mental abuse.

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Madonna - Penn was arrested in 1989 for allegedly beating Madonna for nine hours straight. She filed for divorce the following day but has never made a public admission that this specific incident occurred, and the pair has maintained an amicable relationship.

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Rihanna - Rihanna's run-in with domestic abuse was much easier to prove. Photos surfaced of the singer's face swollen and bruised after a brutal altercation with her then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009.

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Rihanna - In the documentary 'Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life' the rapper admitted, "I remember she was trying to kick me. It was just her being upset. But then I really hit her. With a closed fist, like I punched her and it busted her lip. And when I saw it I was in shock."

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Tina Turner - The biopic 'What's Love Got to Do With It' depicts the brutal abuse the iconic singer Tina Turner underwent at the hands of her husband Ike Turner.

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Tina Turner - Her husband nearly killed the singer on several occasions and forced himself on her sexually. Turner put an end to the abuse in 1976 and filed for divorce. She then went on to have an extremely successful career.

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Christina Applegate - The 'Married with Children' actress was severely beaten by her boyfriend for three years. She has courageously opened about the abuse to raise awareness about the issue and fight the culture of victim-blaming.

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Christina Applegate - Applegate told the Women’s Progress Alliance, " I lived in fear for my life from the time that I woke up to the time I went to sleep." She continued, "I almost lost my life."

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Pamela Anderson - The actress and model had publicly claimed that her ex-husband Tommy Lee emotionally and physically abused herself and their children during their marriage.

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Pamela Anderson - Lee was arrested in 1998 for spousal battery after allegedly kicking Anderson while she held their son Dylan. The couple divorced that year and Lee served six months in jail for the charges, according to New York Daily News.

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Lindsay Lohan - In 2016 Egor Tarabasov was caught aggressively grabbing his then-fiancée Lindsay Lohan's arm and pinning it behind her back during an argument.

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Lindsay Lohan - During the video of the alleged attack Lohan can be heard saying, "Please please please. He just strangled me. He almost killed me." 

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Whitney Houston - The legendary singer's 15-year marriage to Bobby Brown can be easily described as tumultuous. During this time Brown has admitted to physically assaulting Houston.

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Whitney Houston - In 2003 the police responded to a domestic violence call at the couple's home and found Houston with a bruised face and a cut lip. Brown and Houston ultimately divorced in 2007.

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La Toya Jackson - Jackson has publicly admitted that her ex-manager and husband Jack Gordon would throw her in the closet and severely beat her during their marriage.

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La Toya Jackson - In an interview with 'The Wendy Williams Show,' Jackson said, "It's important for women to know one time is one too many. If he hits you once, I promise you he will hit you again, so please walk away, please."

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Amber Heard - In 2016 actress Amber Heard accused her then-husband Johnny Depp of physically assaulting her. She also made the claim that drugs and alcoholism played into the abuse.

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Amber Heard - The 'Friday Night Lights' actress opened up about the abuse in a video stating,  "When it happens in your home, behind closed doors, with someone you love, it's not as straightforward. If a stranger did this it would be a no-brainer."

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Robin Givens - Robin Givens was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband, heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Givens and Tyson divorced in 1989.

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Robin Givens - In an essay for Time magazine, Givens wrote "We have made progress in this journey of empowerment for women. But we need men to be part of it. We need them to say there can never be hitting. Ever. I’ve always believed that when men stand up things will change."

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Kelly Rowland - The former Destiny’s Child singer told the story of abuse she was subjected to in her hit song 'Dirty Laundry.'

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Kelly Rowland - In the song Rowland sings, “He hittin the window like it was me, until it shattered / He pulled me out, he said, “Don’t nobody love you but me / Not your mama, not your daddy."

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Jenny McCarthy - The actress and television host has been open to the public about the physical and emotional abuse she underwent at the hands of an unnamed ex-boyfriend.

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Jenny McCarthy - During a speech, McCarthy said, “I no longer had my own thoughts. They were replaced with his thoughts about me. That I was worthless, disgusting, talentless, ugly, fat, smelled so badly. I was no longer worthy of being kissed.”

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Sarah Hyland - In 2014, the 'Modern Family' actress filed a restraining order against her then-boyfriend Matthew Prokop for allegedly pushing, threatening, and choking her.

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Sarah Hyland - At the time of arrest, Hyland told the police, “His grip was so tight that I could not breathe or speak… I was scared and in fear for my life.”

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Kim Kardashian - When the 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star was 19, she married music producer Damon Thomas. Three years later she divorced Thomas for physically abusing her.

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Kim Kardashian -

Kardashian said that on various occasions Damon hit her in the face and cut her lip open as well as picking her up and throwing her across the room. She decided against calling the police during this time because she was frightened, according to New York Daily News.

See also: Celebrities accused of domestic violence

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