Mandy Moore Says Ex-Husband Ryan Adams Was 'Psychologically Abusive'

A bombshell New York Times report claims Ryan Adams was having a sexting relationship with a teen while married to Mandy Moore.

Mandy Moore says her ex-husband, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, was "psychologically abusive" to her in a bombshell New York Times report. Adams disputes her description of their marriage.

Moore, 34, who first shot to fame with the pop single “Candy” in 1999, married Adams in 2009, when she was just 25. The couple divorced in two years ago. 

Moore claims in the Times article that Adams took control of her music career when they got married. "Music was a point of control for him ... he would always tell me, 'You're not a real musician, because you don't play an instrument.'"

She added: “His controlling behavior essentially did block my ability to make new connections in the industry during a very pivotal and potentially lucrative time — my entire mid-to-late 20s."

After the couple divorced, Moore hinted at their problems to publications, saying, "It was heavy. It was dark. It was confusing. It was lonely," she told Bustle. 

“My story deviated in a different direction than I expected,” Moore told People magazine after the split. “But ultimately, life is about being happy and fulfilled and sometimes that means making hard choices.

"I wasn’t a participant in my own life for a while," she continued. "I poured so much of myself into my personal life and when that wasn’t as fruitful as I hoped it would be and I extricated myself from that situation, I was able to realize I wasn’t honoring myself and my dreams and what I wanted in life.”

She also called her marriage a "very unhealthy situation" and said she "didn't choose the right person” in an interview with Glamour. 

Those comments drew the ire of her ex, who went on Twitter following the divorce, comparing their marriage to being "stuck to the spiritual equivalent of a soggy piece of cardboard" and adding that he was so high on painkillers, he didn't remember their wedding at the time.
 
Moore is among seven women who are accusing Adams of psychological abuse and even sexual misconduct, according to the Times article.  

One woman said she was just 14 when Adams started sexting her.  At that time, the “Do You Still Love Me?” singer was still married to Moore. 

Adams' lawyer denied the claims in the Times article, saying his client never “engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”

In the wake of the article's release, Moore posted to Instagram about the importance of speaking up. 

"Speaking your truth can be painful and triggering, but it's always worth it. My heart is with all women who have suffered any sort of trauma or abuse."

Moore is remarried to musician Taylor Goldsmith of the band Dawes. Their wedding reception last November ended in a duet by the newlyweds. 

Adams took to Twitter to deny all of the claims against him Wednesday night after the article was published on the Times website. 

“I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes. To anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally, I apologize deeply and unreservedly,” he wrote. “But the picture that this article paints is upsettingly inaccurate. Some of its details are misrepresented; some are exaggerated; some are outright false. I would never have inappropriate interactions with someone I thought was underage. Period. As someone who has always tried to spread joy through my music and my life, hearing that some people believe I caused them pain saddens me greatly. I am resolved to work to be the best man I can be. And I wish everyone compassion, understanding and healing.”

Adams, who is planning to release three albums in 2019, recently announced a European tour. 

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