Canadian country singer Lindsay Ell has revealed she was sexually assaulted on two occasions early in her life.
“I was raped when I was 13, and it happened again when I was 21,” Ell, now 31, told People. “It's just a difficult thing to talk about, and it's something that I process every day still.”
The Calgary native said a man who attended her family’s church groomed her and eventually assaulted her. “I felt like I had really messed up, that everybody was going to judge me and that the rest of my life was ruined,” she said.
The second incident was “a lot more violent,” said Ell, who declined to elaborate.
“I was pretty messed up emotionally,” she said. “I had a weird relationship with anything about the body because I just hadn't felt safe.”
Ell has released “make you,” a ballad that reflects her journey, co-written with Brandy Clark. The singer is also launching the Make You Movement in Tennessee to support at-risk youth as well as domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors.
“Forgiving people in our past is a huge thing for whatever reason, but forgiving yourself is so important,” said Ell. “There's an incredible amount of healing that can happen, and it can't happen until you can truly open up that forgiveness for your own heart.”
Listen to "make you" below: