Saying her piece. Chloe Dykstra broke her silence after ex-boyfriend Chris Hardwick denied he ever sexually assaulted or abused her.
“Thank you all so, so much,” the 29-year-old wrote on Twitter Wednesday, June 20. “The outpouring of support and love I’ve received over the past few days has been incredible and unexpected. The people who have come forward with both stories validating mine, and stories of their own personal experiences, have helped me immensely with my own healing process. After years of therapy and rebuilding, your support has done so much more for me than all of it combined.”
She continued: “This whole experience has opened my eyes to so much, and my heart goes out to those trapped in unhealthy or abusive relationships who haven’t found the strength to leave, those suffering in the workplace due to abuses of power or unfair treatment, and especially to those that don’t feel their voice can be heard the way mine has.”
“It is my hope, and it always was, that women and men on both sides of abuse will make changes to either protect themselves, or to stop the cycle of pain their own behavior can cause,” she explained. “These behaviors are insidious and often hard to spot- we make excuses for them and, bit by bit, we can lose ourselves entirely.”
She added: “Despite recent events, I hope that everyone personally affected by my story can to find their own closure, through the support of loved ones and friends, the way I have. In addition, my heart goes out to those caught in the fallout. Having been able to lift from my shoulders that which was weighing me down, I’m ready to move forwards in my life, finally, instead of looking back with fear and sadness.”
Dykstra concluded by thanking her supporters again and sharing resources including the National Sexual Assault Hotline and RAINN.
The actress accused an unnamed ex — several clues suggest Hardwick, whom she dated from 2012 to 2014 — of sexual assault and emotional abuse in a Medium.com essay published on June 14. “Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears. He called it ‘starfishing.’ He thought the whole idea was funny,” she wrote. “To be fair, I did go along with it out of fear of losing him. I’m still recovering from being sexually used (not in a super fun way) for three years.” She also alleged that her ex ruined her career by blacklisting her.
The former @midnight host denied Dykstra’s claims in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday, June 15. “These are very serious allegations and not to be taken lightly, which is why I’ve taken the day to consider how to respond,” he said at the time. “I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post. Our three year relationship was not perfect — we were ultimately not a good match and argued — even shouted at each other — but I loved her, and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her.”
He added: “When we were living together, I found out that Chloe had cheated on me, and I ended the relationship. For several weeks after we broke up, she asked to get back together with me and even told me she wanted to have kids with me, ‘build a life’ with me and told me that I was ‘the one,’ but I did not want to be with someone who was unfaithful. I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur. l was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her. As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.”
Nerdist Industries, a content company that Hardwick founded, has since cut ties with the comedian, and AMC pulled his talk show from their lineup.
