{"id":2086279,"date":"2025-10-12T19:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T19:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2086279"},"modified":"2025-10-12T19:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T19:35:12","slug":"courtney-stodden-calls-child-marriage-americas-dirty-little-secret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/courtney-stodden-calls-child-marriage-americas-dirty-little-secret\/","title":{"rendered":"Courtney Stodden calls child marriage &#8220;America&#8217;s dirty little secret&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F10%2F113333962.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/20\/entertainment\/courtney-stodden-wrote-suicide-note-after-chrissy-teigens-cyberbullying\/\">Courtney Stodden<\/a> slammed child marriage as \u201cAmerica\u2019s dirty little secret\u201d as she revealed she was the \u201cbreadwinner\u201d in her marriage at just 16 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Stodden, who told the story of her <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2012\/10\/03\/teen-bride-courtney-stodden-lands-in-couples-therapy\/\">marriage to actor Doug Hutchison<\/a> in Lifetime\u2019s \u201cRipped from the Headlines,\u201d revealed her role in the marriage \u201cseemed to shift\u201d very quickly as she realized she was making money for a man older than her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRealizing everything that has happened to me in present time has been a lot to process. When I first hit the spotlight as a young girl, my brain wasn\u2019t developed yet. And I had a certain image of what my life was. I thought I knew everything. I mean, what kid doesn\u2019t at 16,\u201d Stodden explained to Fox News Digital. \u201cThen as things started to escalate quite quickly \u2013 and my role seemed to shift in the marriage quite quickly \u2013 I became the breadwinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople have a misconception that I married for money as a child, which they like to victim blame, which is insane,\u201d she added. \u201cI mean, looking back on it, I was a child who was making money for a man older than my dad. And a lot of stuff I couldn\u2019t talk about. So when I would realize it then, I couldn\u2019t talk about it and I stuffed it down. And that just led to a lot of self-destructive habits that I kept to myself. Now in current day, present day, I\u2019m 31. My brain is developed. And I\u2019m starting to realize what really did happen to me. And it\u2019s been a pretty hard pill to swallow.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Courtney Stodden slammed child marriage as \u201cAmerica\u2019s dirty little secret.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency\/MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Stodden\u2019s marriage to actor Doug Hutchison is the focus of Lifetime\u2019s latest \u201cRipped from the Headlines\u201d project. <span class=\"credit\">Zodiac \/ Splash News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Stodden famously married Hutchison at the age of 16. He was 51 at the time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously there is a problem in America,\u201d she emphasized. \u201cWe think of child marriage as something that\u2019s like overseas or foreign, but really America\u2019s dirty little secret is the loophole in the judicial system for, in my opinion, pedophiles to marry children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the scariest part of this whole thing is that I\u2019m not alone,\u201d Stodden added. \u201cThere are so many people that reach out to me and tell me their horror stories of being a child bride.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cWe think of child marriage as something that\u2019s like overseas or foreign, but really America\u2019s dirty little secret is the loophole in the judicial system for, in my opinion, pedophiles to marry children,\u201d Stodden said. <span class=\"credit\">Splash News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"50\" src=\"https:\/\/embeds.nypost.com\/protected-iframe\/ae07a3726bec0fc91a840dddea9d294c\" scrolling=\"auto\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"\" allow=\"camera; fullscreen;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A rep for Hutchison did not immediately respond to Fox News\u2019 request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Hutchison and Stodden separated and reconciled multiple times throughout the relationship. Eventually, Stodden filed for divorce in 2018 and the couple finalized the split in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Stodden was intensely criticized over the marriage to Hutchison \u2013 due to their 35-year age gap. She dealt with scrutiny and public shaming for years. Stodden explained she \u201ccreated a caricature\u201d of herself at a young age in an attempt to protect her mental health.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Hutchison and Stodden separated and reconciled multiple times before finalizing their split in 2020. <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cI mean, looking back on it, I was a child who was making money for a man older than my dad,\u201d Stodden said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t talk about it and I stuffed it down. And that just led to a lot of self-destructive habits that I kept to myself.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI created something, at the time, I feel like I used my fashion as rebellion. And that\u2019s kind of how I would rebel and act out,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd so, when people would criticize me \u2013 which they criticized me, the child more than they did, the abuser \u2013 I just kind of brushed it off and would rebel in my fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd to me, they were not talking about me,\u201d Stodden added. \u201cThey were talking about the character I created. And I think, in a sense, that actually saved me in a lot of ways back then as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stodden admitted she did eventually \u201cbecome that caricature\u201d of herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause, you know, I was pushed to embrace it as I was entering adulthood,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd I just kind of became that Courtney Stodden character. So I did lose myself in that process quite a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stodden revisited her experience of being married at age 16 in the Lifetime \u201cRipped from the Headlines\u201d episode, \u201cI Was a Child Bride: The Courtney Stodden Story.\u201d The episode premiered on Sept. 27 and featured Stodden as a producer and narrator.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cThey criticized me, the child more than they did, the abuser \u2013 I just kind of brushed it off and would rebel in my fashion,\u201d she said. <span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The model is now married to TV producer Jared Safier. <span class=\"credit\">Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency \/ SplashNews.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As Stodden helped shape the episode by sharing her story, she found it reopened wounds in her relationship with her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think a lot of it stems back to the relationship with my father,\u201d she explained. \u201cBecause if you look at it, I got married at 16 and both of my parents believed that he was a good guy. And not having my dad, really emotionally, was a big catapult to this whole thing. So I think reopening that wound has been the most difficult thing for me to try to grasp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stodden has since moved on from her past relationship. The model married TV producer Jared Safier in December 2024. The two tied the knot in an impromptu ceremony in front of 20 people, according to US Weekly. Stodden explained she has \u201ca lot of hope\u201d for her marriage to Safier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has shown me a new way of loving, like a fresh start almost,\u201d she told Fox News Digital. \u201cHe\u2019s really been a pivotal person in my life that has somehow gained, not complete trust, but a lot of my trust. I don\u2019t know if I will ever completely trust again. But he\u2019s gained a lot of my trust and I just feel safe with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not come easy for me to feel safe around anyone, let alone a male. So it\u2019s an everyday thing. I mean, he\u2019s a strong guy. Definitely can\u2019t be with someone who isn\u2019t strong. But he\u2019s just teaching me a new way of loving. Introducing me to what a healthy love looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Courtney Stodden slammed child marriage as \u201cAmerica\u2019s dirty little secret\u201d as she revealed she was the \u201cbreadwinner\u201d in her marriage at just 16 years old. Stodden, who told the story of her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison in Lifetime\u2019s \u201cRipped from the Headlines,\u201d revealed her role in the marriage \u201cseemed to shift\u201d very quickly as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2086280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21751,363829,374403,374404,21741,310876],"class_list":["post-2086279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-celebrities","tag-child","tag-courtney-stodden","tag-doug-hutchison","tag-entertainment","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Courtney-Stodden-calls-child-marriage-Americas-dirty-little-secret.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2086279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2086281,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086279\/revisions\/2086281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2086280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2086279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2086279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2086279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}