The followingarticle containsreferences to abuse, sexual assault, mental health challenges, and suicidal ideation.
TikTok star Bella Poarch is one of the most popular creators of all time.
But she’s more than just a TikTok star.
Today, Poarch is at the top of her game, smashing records and dominating our screens.
Here are tragic details about Bella Poarch.
The family adopted two more girls and a boy, and they were all raised on a farm.
On an episode of the H3 Podcast, Poarch opened up about her troubling childhood.
She was forced to do extremely labor-intensive chores that would be tough on anyone, never mind a 7-year-old.
“Sometimes I’d have to wake up at 3 if I wanted to get to school on time …
I had to be able to finish all the chores.
I’d be sweeping the yard … picking up dog s***.
I’d be cleaning up the cat house … sweeping goat poop.”
While her mother was not abusive, she allegedly remained silent.
“To me, it was normal.”
Growing up, Poarch’s nickname was “stupid b*tch.”
Poarch even showed up to school with a swollen, bleeding hand.
Instead of receiving help from her teacher, she was reprimanded for writing too slowly.
“[My sisters] were also bullying me,” she said on the H3 podcast.
“You have to have really pale skin and straight hair,” she said.
Bella Poarch had no freedom growing up
Bella Poarch’s parents were extremely strict and controlling.
She and her siblings were only allowed to speak English at home so that her father could understand them.
“But I was basically not allowed to go hang out with friends after school or anything like that.
I never went to the mall …
I never had a childhood, basically.”
Her parents also controlled the way she looked and expressed herself.
“Growing up, I was not allowed to wear makeup in school,” she told Vogue.
After enduring years of emotional and physical abuse, she saw it as her only option to escape.
“At first I was scared,” she said on the H3 podcast.
“But I was like, ‘This is the only way.
This is my only way out and I have to do it.”
She signed a four-year contract with the Navy and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Japan.
“The last words from my stepdad was, ‘Don’t ever come back here.
This is not your home.'”
“I was really depressed, like very depressed.
And my PTSD was getting worse,” she said.
“My first year in the military, I got sexually assaulted.
I was 18 and it was my first duty station.”
Why do you have bruises on your neck?
What’s going on?'"
According to Poarch, the perpetrator was someone she knew.
She was empowered by her friends to come forward so he couldn’t hurt another woman again.
“It was a long process, a lot of interrogation.
It was like I was a suspect and they were interviewing me,” she said.
Her perpetrator was tried in court but sentenced to only four years in prison.
“I honestly live with so much anxiety because I know he’s out there …
I’ve just been scared,” she said.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available.
Visit theRape, Abuse & Incest National internet websiteor contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
“I would get triggered at work, literally.
My coworkers would be kind of like freaked out like, ‘Why are you shaking right now?’
and it was scary,” she said on “Call Her Daddy.”
“Sometimes you forget where you are, especially when you get flashbacks.
And whenever I see a person that looks like him my body just shuts off.
Poarch decided to transfer to a different station where no one knew what had happened.
She requested Japan, where her brother was stationed.
It was he who encouraged Poarch to seek treatment for her PTSD.
While she initially tried to convince him she was fine, she reluctantly agreed to see a therapist.
Poarch still struggles with her PTSD today but says her symptoms are more manageable.
She met her now ex-husband shortly after the incident and credits him for being there for her.
“He definitely helped me through a lot of the dark times,” she said.
“My friends actually found me.
I just saw a bottle of Percocet … “I was just really depressed.
I was talking to a therapist actually, twice a week and I was still struggling very hard.”
At the time, her then-husband was stationed in Japan while she was in Hawaii.
“He was far…
The only thing he could do was call me,” she said.
Today, Poarch is working on healing.
That made me feel a little better and hopeful.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
When one user commented onTikTok, “Why do you have so many tattoos?
They don’t fit you,” she got candid about the reason behind them.
“I had a rough childhood.
My scars from abuse made me insecure.
Poarch experienced backlash back in 2020 for getting a Rising Sun tattooed on her arm.
Many fans, particularly her Korean fanbase, found the tattoo racist and offensive.
Poarch took to Twitter to apologize, explaining she was ignorant of the symbol’s meaning.
At that time, I didn’t know the history.
But when I found out, I immediately had it covered and scheduled for removal.
I am ashamed of myself for not doing my research.
I sincerely apologize,“she tweeted.
Many fans were unaware that Poarch was even dating anyone, let alone married.
“I’m sorry if everyone thinks I’ve been keeping it a secret.
Poarch opened up about the relationship on an episode of “Call Her Daddy.”
The couple met when they were both 19 years old, serving in the military.
“We were both very introverted.
And as soon as we saw each other, we kind of fell in love.
It was like love at first sight,” she said.
After a few months together, he proposed in Guam.
Poarch attributed her overnight fame as the ultimate reason for the divorce.
“He didn’t want to be in a spotlight and I respect that,” she said.
“I want to be an artist.
Poarch clapped back at the criticism onTwitter,writing, “Why is it not allowed to act cute?
It’s a natural thing to most Asians.
But people seem to hate me for it.
I’m Filipino and in the Philippines, we love Ulzzang and kawaii culture.
I grew up with it so why can’t I just be myself?”
