My abusive ex manipulated me into having threesomes with other women – I was just a body, says Mena Suvari
SCREEN star Mena Suvari has claimed her abusive ex-boyfriend "manipulated" her into having threesomes with other women.
The American Beauty actress, 43, described how she was regarded as "just a body" by her former flame who she met at just 17 years old.
In an explosive interview with The Guardian, the mum of one opened up about her harrowing experiences that have ironically mirrored some of her major film roles.
Mena opened up about her relationship with a lighting engineer, who allegedly verbally and sexually abused her as a teen.
She claimed the mystery man, who she previously described as the "devil himself", would force her to pick up women to have threesomes with - including ones she had met on set.
But she only realized she had been exploited by her former partner years later, after bumping into one of the women.
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The 43-year-old was left mortified after the encounter as she discovered she was simply a "receptacle for his desires".
Mena explained: "I said, 'I want you to know that I never wanted to do any of those things'.
"She was surprised. She said, ‘Oh, he told me you wanted to do that’.
"It was a huge eye-opener for me, how I was being manipulated and I had no idea.
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"The circumstances had been created for me, and I was just swallowed up by it."
The American Pie icon went on to claim she had been coerced into using uncomfortable sex toys by the ex, who she refused to name.
Mena said she had to seek medical attention after enduring repeated rough anal sex.
She solemnly added: "I was not being loved. I was just a body, a receptacle for his desires."
The actress, who openly discusses her turbulent childhood, revealed her horrific experience had affected her current relationship with sex.
Mena continued: "I’ve never wanted to speak negatively about things that can be very healthy for other people.
'DESTRUCTIVE'
"I was not given the choice or the permission to do it, and that’s what was so destructive for me.
"It’s a very messed up thing when you experience sexual abuse, because part of it is like, satisfying.
"But then the other part is an absolute nightmare, so you’re confused, you don’t know what’s right."
She previously found the confidence to tell the world about her "addiction to meth" in her new memoir The Great Peace.
The mum, who is now married to Michael Hope, said she began dabbling in substance abuse after being brutally "raped by her brother's friend" when she was just 12-years-old.
The Paradise Cove star admitted she allowed meth to "take over her life" during her high school days - seeing her sneak a fix during class breaks.
It was a huge eye-opener for me, how I was being manipulated and I had no idea.
Mena Suvari
Looking back on her younger years, Mena mourned the fact she "never got the opportunity to discover" herself sexually.
She said she cannot imagine what it would have been like to have "dated throughout high school and then decided to consensually lose your virginity to one another."
The Six Feet Under alum added: "That sounds so beautiful to me. All of that was lost for me."
She also told the Guardian the sexual abuse she had suffered allowed her to "identify" with her characters - particularly during her time as protagonist Angela in American Beauty.
The mum said: "I identified with Angela. I knew how to play that role, because I was so schooled in it."
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Mena finally found happiness after secretly wedding her husband Michael Hope in 2018.
They welcomed their first child together, a son named Christopher Alexander Hope, in April 2021.
