When making an appearance on 'Red Table Talk: The Estefans', the season 16 star of 'The Bachelorette' reveals that she was mistreated by a priest while attending Catholic school.
- Sep 30, 2021
AceShowbiz - Clare Crawley is opening up more about her experience as a survivor of sexual abuse. Detailing her childhood sexual assault in a recent interview, the season 16 star of "The Bachelorette" called herself "the victim of a predator" priest.
On Wednesday, September 29, the "Red Table Talk: The Estefans" released a sneak peek of the upcoming episode. In the clip, the 40-year-old reality star was speaking out about her past trauma.
"I grew up going to a Catholic school and I was the victim of a predator," Clare explained in the video. The Bachelor Nation alum went on to add, "My parents looked at Catholic priests as -- they held them on a pedestal."
Clare, whose mother is of Mexican descent, went on to say that faith and religion run "very deep in [her family's] roots." Upon learning Clare's story, the show's co-host Gloria Estefan was shocked. Gloria then asked, "How could you not trust a priest?"
Elsewhere in the clip, Clare explained that the priest was considered a counselor at the Catholic school she attended. During her younger years, her parents "reached out for the resources they could at the time and sent me to this priest." Near the end of the clip, she said, "I don't think there was any counseling that was done. It was a one-on-one time to be a predator."
Clare first divulged that she was a "child of sexual abuse" in a July Instagram post about her decision to remove her breast implants. In her lengthy caption, she called the traumatic experience a "vicious cycle."
"Self love is the act of giving a voice to your truth. So here is mine," Clare began. "As a child of sexual abuse, my young adult years were spent in unhealthy relationships feeling unworthy of the good ones. It was a vicious cycle, because the more I chose the wrong men who treated me poorly, the more I believed I wasn't good enough."
