Jeannie Mai Reveals Childhood Sexual Abuse Made Her Question If She Should “ Be a Mom”
Jeannie Mai Jenkins is opening up about why she initially thought she was not meant to be a mother.
While she is waiting for the next chapter in her life with Jeezy, Mai opened up about her motherhood journey on her Hello Hunnay with Jeannie Mai YouTube channel, with PEOPLE,
“I was always — and still am — very protective of women and people who don’t want to have kids,” she said. “I don’t like the guilt and the pressure that’s placed on women to have children. Just because we’re women, it means that we have the choice; it doesn’t mean that we have to have children.”
Mai gets emotional while trying to reflect on the childhood trauma she experienced at the hands of a family member, and whether she will be able to keep a child safe from the horrors of the world.
“As a child, when you are taken from things that feel good and whole and safe, it’s hard to see anything as trustworthy moving forward. I realize that the reason I didn’t want to have kids is because that feeling when I was a kid was so real and so damaging to the point that I’m 42 today still dealing with trust issues and confidence.”
“It still scares me whether or not I can keep a kid safe from someone else who might hurt them.”
Mai also spoke about the effect it had on her mental health to PEOPLE.
“I know it comes from that feeling of not being safe in my own home for those five years and because the two people that I thought I could trust most let me down when I was young. These issues keep following me into my work life, my friendships and my relationships, and I’m sick of it. I don’t want to be 41, 44, 58 and still dealing with this heavy a– cloud over me because of what happened to me when I was 9.”