Taraji P. Henson opens up about leaving a past abusive relationship to protect her son
Taraji P. Henson is speaking about gathering the courage to leave a past abusive relationship.
Ahead of her new installment of "Peace of Mind With Taraji," which airs on Facebook Watch, the "Hidden Figures" star shared a clip of the difficult conversation with "Growing Up Hip Hop" star Angela Simmons.
The two opened up about abusive past relationships, with Henson saying she was physically abused by her partner when she was younger, which she first revealed in her 2016 memoir.
"Sometimes, as women, what we do is we fall in love and we go, 'You know what? I'll fix it later,'" the 51-year-old actress explained and revealed when she knew what she had was broken beyond repair. "For me it was when blood was drawn."
"It started with the bruises and grabbing, things like that. And then once the fist came, once the balled hand came and the fists -- and I'm missing a piece of my lip to this day -- that's when I knew I had to go," she explained.
Henson shared that she "grew up around [abuse,]" and knew she had to break the cycle in order to protect her son, Marcell Johnson, who is now 27.
"I was like, 'I don't want my son around this,'" she said.
"Peace of Mind with Taraji" airs Mondays at 9 a.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you're unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
