Millie Bobby Brown is looking back on a painful moment in her life.
In a cover story with Allure published on Wednesday, the Stranger Things actress opened up about her former relationship with TikTok star Hunter Echo (real name Hunter Ecimovic) for the very first time. Millie shared with the outlet the pair were in an “unhealthy situation” before she decided to walk away from him in January 2021. While going through the troubling time, she recalled how she channeled all her energy into her performance as Eleven for season 4 of the popular Netflix series:
“I felt very vulnerable. Also, no one on the set knew I was going through this. So, it was kind of nice to be able to just deal with that myself and no one else knew. Then it was harder when the whole world knew.”
News broke in July 2021 that Millie and Hunter had been in a relationship when she was only 16 years old and he was 20. And after fans called him out about their age difference, the influencer took to Instagram Live to make hurtful and crude comments about Millie, including that the two were in a sexual relationship, living in her parents’ house for eight months — he also called her a “coward.” He even claimed at one point he “groomed” the young star.
Related: Millie Says There’s A ‘Difference’ In How People Treat Her Now That She’s 18
Her reps denied his “offensive” remarks about the Enola Holmes star at the time, saying:
“Mr. Ecimovic’s remarks on social media are not only dishonest, but also are irresponsible, offensive and hateful. Instead of engaging in a public discourse with him through the press or on social media, we are taking action to ensure that he stops this behavior once and for all.”
Meanwhile, Hunter — who said he would “never apologize” — did eventually post a (since-deleted) TikTok video apologizing for his public outburst, saying it “should have never happened in the first place.” He also walked back his admission of grooming her, saying:
“4 years isn’t a big deal. I never groomed her. I never put pressure on her to like me? So crazy how you guys care about other peoples lives this much. … It was consensual on both parts. Her parents approved of everything. I was living under their roof.”
See how he’s trying to downplay any wrongdoing? Definitely feels like an apology made out of a sense of self-preservation and NOT contrition.
While Millie views this ordeal with Hunter as nothing more than a “blip” in her life — she’s since moved on with Jake Bongiovi — his comments were still hurtful nonetheless, and she’s spent the past year “healing” from it. She explained to Allure:
“When you get publicly humiliated this way – I felt so out of control and powerless. Walking away and knowing that I’m worth everything and this person didn’t take anything from me, it felt very empowering. It felt like my life had finally turned a page and that I actually had ended a chapter that felt so f**king long.”
The 18-year-old added:
“Ultimately, all I wanted to do within my career is help young girls and young people out there know that I, too, go through things. I’m not this perfect person that is selling skin-care products and [who is] in Stranger Things. I absolutely have made wrong decisions.”
It is awful that Millie had to go through this situation. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below). You can also read the entire interview HERE.
[Image via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube/Hunter Echo/Instagram]
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