Millie Bobby Brown opens up about "unhealthy situation" with ex Hunter Ecimovic

10 August 2022, 16:45

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By Katie Louise Smith

"When you get publicly humiliated this way, I felt so out of control and powerless. Walking away and knowing that I’m worth everything and this person didn’t take anything from me, it felt very empowering."

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Millie Bobby Brown has opened up about her involvement with TikToker Hunter Echo, following the disgusting and harmful comments he made about her and their alleged relationship on Instagram live.

In July 2021, Hunter Ecimovic went live on Instagram and claimed that he "groomed" Millie. He also made lewd sexual comments about the teenager. Millie was 16 at the time, while Hunter was reportedly 20 years old.

At the time, the Stranger Things star remained off social media and did not speak about the situation. Her representatives later issued a statement, calling Hunter's remarks "dishonest, irresponsible, offensive and hateful," adding that they would be taking action against Hunter in private.

In a new cover interview with Allure, Millie has now opened up about that particular time in her life, and how she felt "empowered" after walking away from a situation where she was "publicly humiliated" on social media.

Millie Bobby Brown addresses Hunter Echo situation. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images, @hunter_echo via Instagram

While Hunter's Instagram live happened in the summer of 2021, Millie's relationship with him – which she describes as an "unhealthy situation" – occurred in 2020, and ended in January 2021. (Millie is now in a happy and healthy relationship with Jake Bongiovi.)

Reflecting on what happened, Millie shared: "It was a year of healing. When you get publicly humiliated this way, I felt so out of control and powerless. Walking away and knowing that I’m worth everything and this person didn’t take anything from me, it felt very empowering. It felt like my life had finally turned a page and that I actually had ended a chapter that felt so fucking long."

Hunter "Echo" Ecimovi sparks outrage after admitting he dated Millie Bobby Brown when she was 16 years old & he was 20.

In an Instagram Live, the TikTok creator shared extremely explicit & vulgar details about his intimate relationship with the minor.

🔗:https://t.co/785UC0jmIA pic.twitter.com/DId5Hzp4W3
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 13, 2021

Millie also shared that she was dealing with the situation surrounding the Instagram Live while filming Stranger Things 4. Allure's profile notes that she channelled her feelings and residual trauma from that situation into her powerful performance as Eleven. Millie also explained that she didn't tell any of her co-workers about it either.

"I felt very vulnerable," she recalled. "Also, no one on the set knew I was going through this. So it was kind of nice to be able to just deal with that myself and no one else knew. Then it was harder when the whole world knew."

She added: "Ultimately, all I wanted to do within my career is help young girls and young people out there know that I, too, go through things. I’m not this perfect person that is selling skin-care products and [who is] in Stranger Things. I absolutely have made wrong decisions."

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Elsewhere in the interview, Millie also opened up about her decision to remove social media from her phone following years of online bullying and hurtful comments.

She explained: "It’s really hard to be hated on when you don’t know who you are yet. So it’s like, ‘What do they hate about me? ’Cause I don’t know who I am.’ It’s almost like, ‘Okay, I’m going to try being this today.’ [And then they say], ‘Oh, no, I hate that.’ ‘Okay. Forget that. I’m going to try being this today.’ ‘Oh, my God! I hate when you do that.’ Then you just start shutting down because you’re like, ‘Who am I meant to be? Who do they need me to be for them?’"

"Then I started to grow more, and my family and friends really helped. It helped to be able to understand that I don’t need to be anything they said that I need to be. I just have to develop within myself. That’s what I did...That’s what I’m doing."