<p id=”par-1_29″>In 2014, Cortney Hendrix made reality TV history as one of three women to say “I do” to a total stranger in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/married-at-first-sight-alum-cortney-hendrix-falling-out-jamie-otis.html/”>season 1 of <em>Married at First Sight</em></a><em>. </em></p>
<p id=”par-2_45″>But what might have seemed like a move born out of desire for romance had a darker side, she says. In a recent <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DaGhFdZIDlG/?img_index=10″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram</a> post, Cortney opened up about the biggest question people have for her: “Why did you marry a stranger on national television?”</p>
<p id=”par-3_17″>“The answer is simple,” she wrote. “I wasn’t running toward love. I was running away from pain.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-cortney-hendrix-opens-up-about-trying-to-survive-during-her-time-on-married-at-first-sight”>Cortney Hendrix opens up about ‘trying to survive’ during her time on ‘Married at First Sight’ </h2>
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<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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‘Married at First Sight’ Season 20: Meet the Cast [PHOTOS] </a>
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<p id=”par-4_34″>In subsequent slides, Cortney revealed that she “became a statistic” in December 2013, noting that one out of every three women around the world will experience sexual violence at some point in their life. </p>
<p id=”par-5_37″>Two months later, Cortney agreed to be on <em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/married-at-first-sight-season-18-chicago-cast-year-after-messy-season.html/”>Married at First Sight</a>, </em>and one month after that, she walked down the aisle and met Jason Carrion. The pair remained married for five years, ultimately divorcing in 2019. </p>
<p id=”par-6_50″>“Everyone saw a woman taking a crazy risk,” she wrote. “But they didn’t see a woman trying to survive.” She added that she didn’t feel that she could tell the truth about her experience because she “didn’t want trauma to become my identity.” Eventually, Cortney’s faith led her toward healing.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mafs-alum-was-trying-to-outrun-pain”>‘MAFS’ alum was ‘trying to outrun pain’</h2>
<p id=”par-7_19″>In the post’s caption, Cortney elaborated on her experience, writing that she had been “lying to everyone for years.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_26″>“The lie wasn’t about love. The lie wasn’t that my MAFS marriage wasn’t real. The lie was pretending I had it all together,” she shared. </p>
<p id=”par-9_40″>Cortney – who has since remarried and is now a mom of two – said that she had not processed what had happened to her and that she was “trying to outrun pain that I didn’t know how to face.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_29″>At the time, saying yes to <em>MAFS </em>seemed to be a way to make a fresh start. However, she carried her “unhealed wounds” with her into her new marriage. </p>
<p id=”par-11_43″>“The world watched me struggle during that first year of marriage. They saw the tears, the confusion, the breaking point,” she wrote, adding that she was “navigating trauma, fear, shame, and a version of myself that didn’t know how to ask for help.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_30″>“I wish I could go back and tell that woman she didn’t have to hide anymore,” Cortney wrote. “…This is the context I wish I could have shared 12 years ago.”</p>
<p id=”par-13_33″><strong><em>How to get help:</em></strong><em> In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. </em></p>
<p id=”par-14_11″><em>For more news and exclusive interviews, follow </em><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/showbizcheatsheet/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram</em></a><em>.</em> </p>