The former couple who share an 8-year-old son separated in July 2020 amid allegations of "severe physical and emotional abuse."
Christina Ricci is opening up about a difficult time in her life. The Yellowjackets star claimed she was in an unsafe relationship with ex-James Heerdegen. The two tied the knot in 2013 and share an 8-year-old son, Freddie. They split in 2020 amid domestic abuse allegations. Not only was the relationship unhealthy according to Ricci, but she also described their divorce as full of of “financial traumas, extended court situations, custody situations, fighting restraining orders.” The 42-year-old actress told the Sunday Times Style, she “learned to be a little bit more intelligent about my investments.”
Ricci revealed that she sold off her Chanel bag and jewelry collections, along with other luxury goods, to pay for the divorce. “I burnt a lot of money on bags and shoes and jewelry when I was younger. You know, coming from no money and suddenly having money … So that was a mistake,” she said. “I don’t buy a ton of fashion. There are certain things that I have collected, certain bags. I had quite a Chanel-handbag collection for a while, but I sold a lot of things.” In a recent interview, Ricci said she's "so much better than okay" and that she’s “absolutely doing fine, there’s no issue” following the sale of these items to address those “certain traumas.” According to her, it turned out to be an opportunity “to use these investment pieces in different ways.”
"I think it is important to say that I don't feel like a victim in any way," the Golden Globe nominee explained. "I don't feel sorry for myself. I don't even feel like saying, 'Well, it's been a really hard road for me.' Everybody has their personal issues and this has been mine, and it has been about finding my own self-worth and position and strength and power." The actress is sharing her story "only because I know that having been in situations like the one I was in, I searched for success stories, stories of people who could get out, could get over it and just be okay. And so the fact that now I am in this place where I am so much better than OK, that is my impetus for being honest about it. Today I am not ready to talk about it in more depth, but I do think it is important that we have examples for other women — that, as scary as it is, changing your life and saving yourself is the only choice."
Six months after Ricci filed for divorce, she filed a domestic violence restraining order against her estranged husband. In the filing, she claimed she was subjected to "severe physical and emotional abuse" by Heerdegen with "many of these acts of abuse" taking place in front of their son, according to PEOPLE. The Addams Family actress is now happily married to hairstylist Mark Hampton, with whom she shares a daughter, Cleopatra who is almost a year old.
References:
https://people.com/movies/christina-ricci-obtains-restraining-order-against-estranged-husband/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/christina-ricci-interview-addams-family-jrvtlj5r9
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Jamie McCarthy
