Jana Kramer was showered with love and support from her followers after recently opening up about an abusive former relationship, in which she described herself as a "broken girl."
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The One Tree Hill star has been married three times: first to Michael Gambino in 2004, but that ended six months later, then to Johnathon Schaech between 2010 and 2011, and most recently to Mike Caussin whom she divorced in 2021 amid claims he cheated on her several times during their six-year marriage.
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To mark Domestic Violence Awareness month, Jana discussed hiding the physical and emotional abuse from her family, admitting she felt "so full of shame" and believed she "deserved it." Next to a snap of the actress sitting on her mother's lap as she grinned for the camera, Jana explained what was going on behind the scenes during her brief marriage with Michael, who was later convicted of attempted murder.
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"This is a very hard photo for me to look at. One might look at this and see two smiling faces. A daughter with her mom. But what was under the smile is something that I still to this day have a hard time talking about. I don’t remember the excuses that I told people when I flew home to escape my abuser about the cuts and scrapes on my shoulder and arms, or why my ribs were hurting. But when I look at this photo that’s all I see.
Jana opened up about her abusive ex Michael Gambino, whom she married in 2004
"I see a broken girl who was weeks prior pinned to the ground while the man that 'loved' me was strangling me saying that he was going kill me. I was so full of shame. I was made to feel like I had no one, and no one would believe me and that the reason I would be choked or hit was because I was bad. That I was wrong and I deserved it.
"For years I have held on to those beliefs and one day soon I will speak more on the abuse that followed that one and the patterns that continued, but to be honest it’s been a journey and one I’m still trying to walk through knowing that wasn’t the last abusive relationship."
She added that she is coming forward with her story in a bid to help others in the same situation, and encouraged her fans to seek help from places such as the nonprofit Safe Horizon, which provides social services for victims of abuse and violent crime.
"I speak out to help others and to hopefully help at least one person who is reading this to talk to someone. YOU DO NOT DESERVE ABUSE. You do not deserve any form of abuse…physically, sexually, mentally, verbally, financial, emotionally abusive relationships etc. THAT IS ALL ABUSE.
"There are people who want to be there for you. That are there for you. Please don’t wait until you lose your breath. Your life, Your heart, your soul is meant to be here and is meant to be loved and cherished," she concluded.
Jana's followers rushed to share their supportive words in the comments section and praised her honesty. "I'm so proud of you for sharing. You are one of the strongest humans I know and your capacity to help others with your stories is inspiring," remarked one, while another penned: "Sending you love sis. You’re brave as hell for this." A third wrote: "Wow. You are so strong, brave, and so worth loving! Thank you for sharing your story!"
After splitting from her third husband Mike, with whom she shares daughter Jolie and son Jace, Jana dated Ian Schinelli for six months, during which time she described him as "handsome", "charming" and "kind."
However, their relationship ended in April 2022 and Ian opened up about their breakup to Us Weekly, explaining: "There were certain things that were not good for me," adding that "there was just a very strong, anxious attachment she has, and this may be due in part to her ex."
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