Back in 2016, fans were heartbroken by news that Courtney Stodden had suffered a miscarriage.
The model and aspiring actress — most famous for her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison and the 34-year age gap in their relationship — was surprisingly candid in her grief.
She updated fans on her emotional state on a daily basis, and they responded with words of love and support.
At one point, Instagram followers became deeply concerned when Stodden revealed that she’d fallen into a deep depression and was using alcohol to self-medicate.
Last month, Stodden finalized her divorce from Hutchison, and this week, Doug shared the first excerpt from his memoir, Flushing Hollywood: Fake News, Fake Boobs, which is set for release on March 10.
Those who can get past he cringe-inducing title have been shocked to discover Hutchison’s claim that he and Stodden faked the pregnancy and the miscarriage in a desperate attempt to boost their careers.
“Courtney came up with a strategy,” he writes.
“I’m not trying to blame her, but it was her idea… She wanted to convince the public that she was pregnant so we can get paid for interviews and possibly a reality show.”
Hutchison says he and Stodden were both broke and out of work.
Their hope was that the miscarriage story would somehow help them land a reality show.
“It was all about survival. It was all about a way to make rent, to pay the bills. It was desperation. I was an accomplice,” he writes.
“I felt at the time there was no other choice in order to survive… We didn’t think about the consequences, the future.”
Hutchison says the full scope of the plan did not become clear to him until after Stodden had announced her pregnancy.
“But if you’re not pregnant, then what? Then came the faux miscarriage. And that part to me hurt the most,” he says.
“Here we were going to the press, going to our families, our friends and announcing we lost our baby. We gained a lot of empathy. And the sad part is a lot of women came forward on social media saying how sorry they were because they went through the same thing,” he continues.
“The press bought it, the public bought it, the family bought it — everybody bought it.”
From there, Hutchison says the most difficult part was receiving messages of support from who had actually suffered miscarriages.
“I didn’t want to look at it. I just stuffed it all down,” he goes on.
“I don’t want to speak for Courtney, but I almost feel she became a poster celebrity and was able to give those people comfort. I know that sounds twisted, but that was the mindset.”
“I supported it to justify this horror – the horror of what we were going through and the horror of what we were putting people through,” he says, adding his “heart drops” every time he reads an article about the miscarriage.
“So enough. It’s time to reveal the truth, as difficult as it is,” Hutchison writes.
“I’m not proud to admit this chapter at all. But all I can say is desperation is the mother of invention. And the invention was unfortunate… We maintained an illusion that we were living large. But it was far from the truth.”
Stodden has not responded publicly to the allegation, but her new rep, Johnny Donovan — who is best known for his work in rehabbing Jenelle Evans’ career — has spoken on her behalf.
“She didn’t know what the repercussions were,” he told TooFab.
“There was a lot of abuse from Doug who is an alcoholic,” Donovan added.
“This led to a sequence of events that spiraled out if control, rape, debt, suicide, manipulation etc. And she’s learning how to come out of it on the other side now as her own woman.”
Hutchison has not responded to the abuse allegations.