MTV The "Teen Mom OG" star opened up about the abuse publicly for the first time.
“Teen Mom OG” star Mackenzie Douthit McKee opened up about the sexual abuse she survived as a child in her new memoir, “Straightening My Crown: Conquering My Royal Mistakes.”
According to The Sun, Mckee wrote she was molested “multiple times” by two boys when she was younger. The Oklahoma native wrote that she longed to be accepted by her peers, and that type of yearning set her up to become a childhood victim of sexual abuse.
McKee, 26, said she was “tiny and scrawny,” which allowed older kids to “easily take advantage.” Since she was “desperate to have friends and be liked” they could “manipulate her,” her memoir said, per The Sun.
The “Teen Mom OG” star remembered being 4 years old and playing with boys who were 8 or older at the daycare her mother, Angie Douthit, ran from their home.
She said the abuse started as a game where they pretended to be dogs, The Sun writes:
We often played together, and one day, he told me we were going to play a new game where we would pretend to be dogs. I loved games and dogs, so naturally, I was excited.
We began imagining that we were puppies, and he told me I would have a special role to play. I was going to be the mommy dog, and he would be the daddy dog. ‘Mommy dogs,’ he explained, ‘didn’t wear pants,’ and he pulled me into the closet and shut the door where no one could find us.
I was the mommy dog, and I had to do ‘puppy things’ as all mommy dogs do. The boy did inappropriate things, and this happened a few times. I was confused, but I played along since I wanted so desperately to be liked.
McKee experienced another instance of sexual abuse with a boy who was in her teens and would “wrestle” with her.
The current season of “Teen Mom OG” has focused on McKee’s relationship with her husband Josh, running her fitness business in Florida and handling behavioral problems with her youngest son, 4-year-old Broncs. The McKees have two more children, 7-year-old daughter Jaxie and 10-year-old son Gannon.
It wasn’t clear if McKee discussed the molestation on “Teen Mom OG.” Her description for the new season doesn’t hint at abuse.
After struggling with a long-distance relationship during a rough patch in their marriage, Mackenzie and Josh’s relationship now gets stronger by the day with Josh permanently living in Florida. Mackenzie’s fitness business is booming, but her busy life may be having a negative impact on her kids, who struggle with behavioral and education issues at school.
McKee Didn’t Know She Was a Survivor of Sexual Abuse Until She Was in Fifth Grade
It wasn’t until McKee watched porn for the first time in fifth grade that she realized the puppy game and wrestling were forms of sexual abuse, she wrote in her memoir, cited by The Sun.
“As the movie went on, I started having flashbacks of the puppy game and wrestling,” the “Teen Mom OG” star wrote. “I felt a sense of extreme discomfort wash over me as I realized that what we were watching was an awful lot like the puppy game and the wrestling that the older boys had convinced me to do when I was younger.”
McKee wrote she felt as if she had been “ruined” and was afraid to talk to her parents about the molestation. The “Teen Mom OG” star wanted to tell her story so she could help other people who might have endured something similar.
“I couldn’t tell my parents what happened,” she wrote, according to the outlet. “I couldn’t tell anyone. In fact, this is the very first time I’ve shared these stories publicly. I kept this in for so long, but I felt this was the time to share.”
McKee Is ‘Nervous’ & ‘Excited’ for Fans to Read Her Memoir
While there is plenty of excitement surrounding McKee’s first memoir, she’s also anxious for it to be released.
“Look what just came in the mail today…I’m so excited! 5 days left before it’s on bookstore shelves, but you can still pre-order it now on Amazon (or other booksellers) and start reading it this Tuesday,” she wrote via Instagram on October 14, 2021.
“Just search for ‘Mackenzie McKee’ and it’ll be the first result,” she continued. “I’m really excited to share all my stories that weren’t on the show, and honestly a little nervous too.”
READ NEXT: Mackenzie McKee Faces Backlash Over Son’s ‘Bad’ Behavior