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Hate to Respect: Eileen Davidson’s traumatic childhood story
In a recent podcast with Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson opened up about a heartbreaking and traumatic childhood experience. It just goes to show that life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and people can be dealing with all sorts of hidden struggles. And you would never expect it to be like that. Let’s get to know more about Eileen and look at her story.
Overcoming Childhood Struggles: Eileen Davidson’s Story
Ashley’s longtime portrayer Eileen Davidson from The Young and the Restless bravely opened up about how she lived her life with constant struggle with shame. On a recent episode of “State of Mind” hosted by General Hospital’s Maurice Benard, she talked about how even the simple act of existing and occupying space made her feel this way. As the youngest of seven kids in a Catholic family from La Mirada, California, Eileen explained how this feeling has been with her since childhood. It was a raw and honest conversation that you don’t want to miss out on at all.
Eileen has had a very rough childhood especially as her dad was a manic depressive. Although he wasn’t diagnosed, it was very serious and scary, at least for a child at that time. Eileen was just 8 years old, and she had to see her dad suffer from it and adjust her life with it.
She told Maurice that her father’s behavior was very bizarre and that made her feel ashamed. When she was only eight years old, her dad would go to his room and give her the cold shoulder and not talk to her for six whole months. Even when he walked by, he acted like she wasn’t even there. “At that point, he was arguing with my mother, and I would get pushed into that category of somebody he doesn’t want to deal with.” That’s how she felt.
Suddenly everyone would go back to normal and act like nothing happened. But for Eileen, it was traumatic and not okay at all. Not just that. She felt a lot of shame as her parents would fight in public, and her neighbors, friends, and everyone around her knew about it. And for a kid, she did not understand anything at all. Her mom even justified her dad’s behavior saying “You know your dad fell off a horse when he was a kid. Maybe that is what is wrong with him.”
Eileen Davidson opens up about childhood trauma, bipolar disorder, and finding peace
Eileen realized her father’s odd behavior was due to bipolar disorder, not from a horse fall. She shared how he went from fighting to buying jewelry and taking everyone on vacation. As if it wasn’t enough, she opened up about how her mom was also an incest survivor.
She said, “So you’ve got these two people that were so fragile, and they were raising seven children. I used to pray that my father would die. It’s the truth because there was so much chaos in the house, and when he came in, we were other people. When he was gone, we felt more relaxed.”
Just to hear her childhood story we all felt so sad for her. At such a young age, she had to go through so much trouble, something that even adults cannot handle. Feeling trapped and scared at home with parents, supposed to be safe, one can’t imagine how she felt.
Her father died of a heart attack when she was 22 years old. Meanwhile, her mom passed away during her time in The Real Housewives. Since then, therapy has been a great help for her making peace with her life. Her own life experiences have helped her turn a new leaf and look at it in a positive way.
Now that she looks back, she said, “I realized that they were dealing with this stuff that was so huge and traumatic. It’s heroic. I love the fact that they were able to raise the kids, there were seven of us, and go to work and support us.”
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Podcast host Maurice also opened up about his own struggles with bipolar disorder as well, and at this point, both were very emotional. Eileen, tearing up, added, “My father was a hero. He worked his ass off, 14-hour days. It’s heroic, And understanding that, I have so much love for my father. It sounds crazy, but I have a better relationship now than I did when he was alive.”
It was wonderful seeing her turn her hate for her dad to respect. She also talks about how her own private losses helped her shape her current spiritual journey. All that she went through has helped her leave a positive legacy for her son as well. She also opened up about her 20 years of marriage to Vince Van Patten and how working on Y&R allowed her to be present for all of her son’s milestones. And for that, you have to give it a listen!!
Every struggle has its own beauty too. Some of you guys might even find this relatable. We hope Eileen’s story made you feel at comfort. So let’s take a moment, and feel grateful to Eileen for sharing her inspiring story with all of us.