Selling Sunset Star Amanza Smith Says Two Family Members Sexual Abuse Her
Reality star Amanza Smith recently shared that she was sexually abused when she was a child. In an interview with Mr. Warbuton published on Thursday, the 46-year-old told tales of a traumatic childhood in which she was sexually abused by two different family members.
As if getting abused sexually by two family members was not enough, Amanza said she suffered physical and mental abuse from another family member.
“‘I put on a very strong face, which comes from the fact that from the time I was three years old, I was sexually abused by someone very close to me, and I had to pretend it was not happening,” the 46-year-old shared.
According to the Selling Sunsets star, she was always in the care of her alleged abusers at one point or the other, so she had no “safe place” as a child.
Now, she said the abuse impacted her so much she has to present a different persona than what she feels inside to the public. She said she developed a habit of not being aware when things are bad. That “survival skill,” which she described as “a blessing and a curse,” has earned her the nickname “miss benefit of the doubt.”
“If somebody’s doing something really foul to me, I see the benefit of the doubt,” she stated. She added that she is also told that things roll down her shoulder.
The mother of two further shared that the impact of the alleged abuse did not hit her until she had her own daughter and tried to imagine her going through what she was put through.
“Until God gave me a baby girl, it did not click. It hit me one day when my daughter was almost two, and I was pregnant with my son. I imagined everything that happened to me happening to her. And it changed everything. Suddenly everything made sense,” she stated.
The first family member Amanza accused of sexually abusing her, died when she was 15 years old. The other did not respond to Mr. Warburton’s request for comment on the accusations leveled against them. They, however, acknowledged that they were truly her family member.
The family member, the reality star accused of physical and emotional abuse, did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Despite the trauma of her past, Amanza said she is staying strong and sharing her story to encourage others who have suffered similar abuse to come forward, “speak out,” and get help.
