Star of Celebrity Big Brother Chesney Hawkes has revealed he was molested when he was a teenager.
The One And Only hitmaker is currently starring in the ITV reality show, which launched on Monday (April 7). Before heading into the most famous house in the country, Chesney released a brand new album, Living Arrows.
Celebrity Big Brother star Chesney Hawkes reveals sexual abuse
Before his appearance on CBB, Chesney participated in promotional interviews for the LP. While speaking to The Independent, the 53-year-old chart-topper opened up about a track titled 13, which is about being abused as a child.
“When I was young – I was 13 years old – I was molested,” he said. “It lasted longer than it should have done, put it that way, and I kind of carried that with me my whole life and didn’t really realise how much it affected me until a little bit later on.”
Without naming names, Chesney revealed the abuser was someone outside of his family. The song came to life after he had a “crying, breakthrough moment” with his wife, Kristina, about it.
Chesney insisted writing the song was “easy”, stating: “It was like I had to write it… it was like vomiting.” However, he knew he “had to be brave”, believing the song was “something that people need to hear”.
‘I did get into drugs and alcohol’
After achieving fame in the early 1990s, Chesney said he was “eviscerated” by the press when his success started to reduce.
“I kind of shoved it down inside myself and put the lid on and didn’t pay attention to the fact that it actually was affecting me,” he admitted.
Chesney confessed that he “did get into drugs and alcohol” but “quickly realised that that’s not the way to go”.
Instead, he “concentrated on music”, declaring he’s “always been quite a tenacious person”.
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