Rebecca Humphries has said the support she received after her ex-partner Seann Walsh was pictured cheating was “one validation after another” that her suspicions were correct despite his previous denial.
The actress, 34, was swept into a media storm in 2018 after her then boyfriend was caught kissing his married Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones.
After the pair were photographed, Humphries issued a statement accusing comedian Walsh of calling her “psycho/nuts/mental” when she suspected something was going on, and said the kiss took place on her birthday.
— Rebecca Humphries (@Beckshumps) October 8, 2018
Reflecting on the situation during ITV’s Lorraine on Friday, she said: “It’s surreal being in that situation. It’s horrible seeing stories about yourself and about your life.
“It’s completely overwhelming. I’ve been obsessed with telly and magazines since I was about 12, and suddenly there I am in them all.
“It felt like a bizarre stress dream I was having but the one thing I will say about that time is that all of that support was just like one validation after another.
“You are not crazy, you are not the things you’ve let yourself believe for years that you are… In fact, in that particular situation, you were right, and all of that just flooded me.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to say thank-you so much to everyone who was so supportive at that time.”
Humphries also spoke about how she has seen other women lose their “shine and sparkle” while in negative relationships.
She said: “Before I got into this relationship, I would’ve self-identified as someone who was confident, smart, sassy, sexy.
“I see it all the time, these fabulous women who dim themselves and who allow their shine and their sparkle to be taken away from them to keep these relationships alive that (are) hurting them.”
The actress said she feels pop culture has “conditioned” into society the belief that “love and having a partner, getting married, having children is the most important thing in our life, and when we have it we have to cling on to it at all costs”.
She added: “Every single story I’ve watched since I was about four years old, in Disney films, fairytales, romcoms, has been about women tearing off chunks of themselves, the bits they like the best often.
“Their confidence, their voice and stepping into a man’s live, and he doesn’t have to change a thing.”
Humphries has now released a book, Why Did You Stay?: A Memoir About Self-worth, where she seeks to reclaim her identity after the incident and reflects on the effects of toxic relationships.