Chrissy Metz has gained worldwide fame since starring in This Is Us as Kate Pearson, a
30-something struggling with her body image.
Since the series' debut in 2016, the character has been a fan-favorite that many viewers
have found incredibly relatable.
"Here I am a 37 year old woman and you still make me feel like a stupid, fat little kid."
But to achieve her on-screen success, the actress had to suffer through a string of
real-life tragedies.
From family drama and heartbreaking issues related to her weight, to a failed marriage
and financial strain, Metz has gone through a lot over the years.
But it's all made her into the stunningly inspirational woman she is today.
Here's her real life story.
An absent father
When Metz was just 8 years old, her father, Mark, reportedly left her and her mother,
according to the Daily Mail.
In January 2018, Metz revealed to People that she touches on her relationship with her father,
in her memoir, This Is Me.
She said,
"There is a chapter about our lack of relationship and trying to establish one.
But [I realized] that you can only hope that people will want to have a relationship with
you."
She told Today that she's not currently in touch with her father, saying,
"I would love to have a relationship him.
He's really a great guy, but just because he's my father doesn't mean I have to have
a relationship with him."
"You tried."
An abusive stepfather
After Metz's parents split, her mother eventually married Crayton Hodge, a man Metz called "Trigger."
While Trigger was reportedly loving to his biological children, he kept Metz at a distance,
allegedly criticizing her weight at every turn.
Metz wrote in her memoir,
"My body seemed to offend him, but he couldn't help but stare, especially when I was eating."
Metz — who grew up poor — attributed her eating habits to her family's previous lack
of food.
She explained,
"We had lived with a lack of food for so long that when it was there, I felt like I had
to eat it before it disappeared.
[...] Food was my only happiness."
Unfortunately, Trigger's alleged behavior went beyond hurtful stares.
In her book, Metz claimed he physically harmed her, writing,
"[Trigger] never punched my face.
Just my body, the thing that offended him so much.
He shoved me, slapped me, punched my arm.
He would hit me if he thought I looked at him wrong.
I remember being on the kitchen floor after he knocked me over, and I was begging to know
what I did.
He just shoved me hard with his foot."
According to Metz, Trigger was emotionally abusive, as well, claiming that when she was
14 years old, he started making her weigh herself in front of him.
She wrote,
"He'd get the scale from the bathroom and clang it hard on the kitchen floor.
'Well, get on the damn thing!'
Trigger would yell.
'This is what you need to know.'"
Her failed marriage
Before she gained celebrity status on This Is Us, Metz endured a tough divorce.
She married British screenwriter Martyn Eaden, but, according to Radar Online, after five
years of marriage, the couple called it quits in 2013.
"Just because we got married, doesn't mean that we had to be miserable, trying to fix
it, if it just wasn't.
Either you grow together, or you grow apart."
Eaden reportedly filed for divorce in November 2014, citing "irreconcilable differences,"
but Metz allegedly didn't respond to the court filing.
Instead, the actress is said to have ignored the filing altogether.
It was then that Eaden asked the court to declare that his divorce was uncontested — and
in December 2015, the split became official.
"I know what I want, now and there's no reason to settle for anything less."
Broke before the big bucks
Metz revealed to Glamour in 2017 that she was broke before she snagged the gig on This
Is Us.
Despite having booked a recurring role as Ima "Barbara" Wiggles in American Horror Story's
fourth season, she couldn't find much work in Hollywood.
She said,
"I kept auditioning, with no savings and no money, credit card debt gaining interest.
I went on unemployment.
I bought ramen noodles at dollar stores."
Recalling her financial situation before This Is Us, Metz told Jimmy Fallon,
"You had 81 cents in your bank account?"
"81 cents when I booked the show."
Since raking in some serious cash with her acting career, Metz has since paid back all
her debts.
Losing her close friend
While Metz has famously coped with the loss of her TV father on the small screen, the
actress also grieved the passing of a loved one in real life.
During an appearance on E!'s Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry, Metz revealed that the life
of one of her friends had been cut short, and was under investigation.
"It's basically a feeling of it's not fair that my life's taken from me, when it is."
"That's exactly right"
According to Henry, Metz will find peace after the loss of her friend.
He said,
"When he came through, there was this feeling of understanding [...] And I think justice
will be served.
I think there will be closure to this."
Learning to love herself
Despite the hardships, Metz has been able to move on with her life, and look toward
to the future.
She told People,
"I've found a lot of freedom in speaking my truth.
[...] I think the past two years of my life have been so well-received because [the way
I play Kate Pearson] and the way that I try to live my life is through vulnerability."
Metz is also happy to be able to portray a woman of her size on the small screen, telling
Glamour,
"It seems so silly that it's taken this long, but people are finally getting to see themselves
through these beautiful projects."
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