66 J14.com

See why she’s finally speaking out and how

she hopes to bring awareness to teens

everywhere.

Sarah got a restraining order against MattAfter 5 years of dating, Sarah Hyland made the brave decision to end her relationship

with Matt Prokop, admitting that he was abusive. “I was scared and in fear for my life,” the Modern Family star revealed. Now, she has a restraining order against him.

“We survived abuse!”

“It’s horrifying to know how many young people are dealing with unhealthy relation-ships,” Debby says.

Sarah & Matt

Debby Ryan opens up:

How these celebs got out of nightmare situations!

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MYTH: It can’t happen to me.FACT: Abusive relationships can happen to anyone, male or female. The abuse can be physical, verbal or emotional.--------------------------------------------------------------------MYTH: Jealousy is a sign of love.FACT: Jealousy isn’t a sign of love. It’s a sign of insecurity and possessiveness, and is the most common early warning sign of abuse.--------------------------------------------------------------------MYTH: It’s your fault if you find yourself in an abusive relationship.FACT: Victims don’t bring abuse upon themselves — it’s NEVER their fault.--------------------------------------------------------------------MYTH: If someone stays with an abusive boyfriend, he must not be that bad.FACT: There are several reasons why some-one stays in an abusive relationship, but being happy is not one of them. Some reasons include: Being scared or embarrassed, having low self esteem, not knowing that what’s hap-pening is abusive, thinking that a partner will change or that it was a “one time” thing.

Rihanna spoke outThey were music’s perfect couple, until things went terribly wrong in 2009 when Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna. Ri made it her mission to help girls stay out of those dangerous situations. “I didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls’ lives until that hap-pened,” she says. “It was a wake-up call.” Chris &

Rihanna

Just how common is it?

✔ At what age do most abusive relationships occur?

Violent behavior often begins between 6th and 12th grade,

and girls ages of 16 to 24 years old are up to three times more

likely to be abused than the rest of the population.

✔ How many teens wind up in unhealthy relationships?

Each year, nearly 1.5 million high schoolers nationwide are

physically abused by someone they’re dating.

✔ What are the chances that my friend is in an abusive

relationship? About 40 percent of girls ages 14 to 17 report

knowing someone their age who has been hit by a boyfriend.

✔ How many teens end up seeking help?

Only 1/3 of the teens who are or were involved in

an abusive relationship confide in someone

about the violence.

What every teen needs to know.

Fact vs. FictionAbuse:

“I was in anDebby Ryan opens up:

Debby Ryan never dreamed she’d become a statistic — the 1 in 3 girls who find themselves

caught up in an abusive relationship. But she exclusively tells J-14 that during the height of her Disney days, that’s exactly what happened — not with a guy she was dating, but with someone who she considered to be a friend. “It should be easy to know when you’re in a healthy relationship, but it’s not always easy to know when you’re not — especially when it involves a friendship,” Debby says.

Being in too deepLike other girls in similar circum-stances, Debby didn’t recognize the warning signs until much later in the game. In fact, loved ones looking from the outside in started noticing that things were a little off and spoke up first. “If it weren’t for the people in my life that kept asking me questions and fighting for me saying, ‘I feel like this isn’t right. Are you OK?’ then I don’t think I would have known,” Debby admits. However, after experiencing a pretty scary incident with her “friend,” she finally started seeing how bad her situation actually was. “He yelled at me and threw his phone at me,” Debby recalls. “He even ended up grabbing my wrist, pulling me into the bathroom and

locking the door. [I knew then that] something was wrong and that I was in an emotionally abusive friendship that got too far — to a point where it became physical.”

Breaking the cycleWhile Debby had the strength to cut that friend out of her life forever, she realizes that other victims aren’t so lucky. Because of this, she’s teaming up with Mary Kay’s Don’t Look Away campaign to help other young girls avoid what she went through. “I know too personally what it’s like being broken down in a relationship and that’s not a situation that I would ever wish on anyone,” she explains to J-14. “If your friend or boyfriend is constantly texting you, wanting to always know where you’re at, demanding your password, or looking over your shoulder and trying to see who you’re messaging — that’s not OK. And the instant someone puts their hand on you, a line’s been crossed. If you’re in a healthy relationship, you shouldn’t feel stressed, controlled, cut-down or hurt by someone else’s actions — you should feel loved. It’s my hope that, together, we can break the cycle before it even starts!”

The truth about relationship violence.