Courtney Stodden reveals that she contemplated taking her own life as a teenager, victimized by relentless cyberbullying. Now 30, Stodden features prominently in the ABC News documentary titled "IMPACT x Nightline: Confessions of a Child Bride," slated to premiere on Hulu on Thursday, March 20th. In an excerpt from her poignant interview with Nightline's Juju Chang, shared on YouTube, Stodden opens up about the torment she endured online following her controversial 2011 marriage to Doug Hutchison, who was 51 at the time, while she was merely 16.
"I came perilously close to succeeding in suicide due to the cyberbullying. I had even drafted a suicide note," Stodden confides. "My final thought was haunting: 'Perhaps I don't belong here when influential figures are convinced I don't deserve to be.'" She appears to be alluding to past remarks by Chrissy Teigen, who allegedly tweeted to Stodden in 2011, "My Friday fantasy: you. dirt nap," in a since-deleted post.
"I'm aware she attributed it to alcohol or whatever excuse she chose. But for someone of her stature on Twitter to say such things to a child – it was overwhelming," Stodden laments. (Us Weekly has reached out to Teigen for a statement.)
Stodden, who finalized her divorce from Hutchison in 2020, reflects that if she could revisit that turbulent chapter in her life, she would yearn to "embrace" her younger self and "offer her a comforting hug."
In 2021, Teigen's tweets about Stodden resurfaced, prompting the influencer and wife of John Legend to publicly apologize. "Few are fortunate enough to face accountability for their past indiscretions in full public view. I am horrified and sorrowful for the person I once was – an insecure, attention-seeking troll," she wrote. "I am ashamed and deeply embarrassed by my behavior, but that pales in comparison to how I made Courtney feel."
Stodden has previously shared with The Daily Beast that Teigen was among several celebrities who subjected her to hurtful comments. "Not only did she publicly tweet about wishing me a 'dirt nap,' but she also privately messaged me, urging me to kill myself. Messages like, 'I can't wait for you to die,'" Stodden recounts. "Some of the harshest treatments I received came from women. We can't advance if we continue to tear each other down."
