Melissa Benoist Details Past Domestic Violence: Is Her Abuser Ex Blake Jenner?
Melissa Benoist opened up about being a victim of domestic violence.
The Supergirl star shared a deeply emotional Instagram video on Wednesday (November 27), recounting her personal experience with an abusive relationship. In it, she describes the person as "magnanimous," "charming" and funny" but also "manipulative" and "devious" — and fans believe she's referring to her ex-husband, Blake Jenner.
"I am a survivor of domestic violence or IPV (intimate partner violence), which is something I never in my life expected I would say, let alone be broadcasting into the ether," Benoist began.
“The first time it happened, he threw a smoothie at my face. It smacked my cheek and exploded all over the floor and the sofa," she recalled. "I ran to grab paper towels, rushing back because I was so worried about cleaning the couch than the fact it was all over my face, my hair, my clothes, and that my cheek was painfully throbbing. I was more worried about the furniture than about the fact I had just been abused.”
From there, things only got worse.
The 31-year-old actress continued, “I learned what it felt like to be pinned down and slapped repeatedly, punched so hard I felt the wind go out of me, dragged by my hair across pavement, head-butted, pinched until my skin broke, slammed against the wall so hard the drywall broke, choked.”
However, it was one incident, in particular, that was Benoist's breaking point.
“And then he threw something at my face again, only this time it was significantly worse. It was a blow to my face with his iPhone. "The impact tore my iris, nearly ruptured my eyeball, lacerated my skin, and broke my nose. My left eye swelled shut, I had a fat lip, blood was coursing down my face and I can remember screaming at the top of my lungs," she shared. "Something inside of me broke. This was too far."
You can watch Benoist's full Instagram video, below:
Though Benoist does not name her abuser, fans believe they know who she's talking about based on the stories she described. She says her ex was younger than she was and Jenner is the only person who fits that description. The two first met on the set of Glee and were in a relationship from February 2013 to December 2016.
Another big clue is her eye injury. In the video, she said her abuser came up with a story about her tripping and hitting her face on a potted plant, which is what she told Jimmy Fallon during an interview on the Tonight Show in 2016. She was still very much with the actor at the time, but the pair eventually divorced in 2017.
As of right now, this is all just speculation and there's no way to confirm Benoist is, in fact, accusing Jenner of abuse. However, we believe her domestic violence story and applaud her for finding the courage to share it.