Tragic Details About Chrissy Metz's Life

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After capturing hearts in her role as Kate Pearson in "This Is Us," actress Chrissy Metz has continued to shine bright. Metz has kept herself busy after "This Is Us" ended, expanding her portfolio to include writing several books and making a country album. While she's certainly riding the highs of fame for now, she's often been honest that her life hasn't always been kind to her. There's certainly things people don't know about Metz, and that includes some tragedies she had to overcome to get to where she's at today.

Metz has admitted to some of her challenges, often taking them in stride and pushing herself forward. As an actress, it can help to harness previous pain into character motivation and personal transformation. But as a person, it can just simply be exhausting. Metz has shown grace in sharing her tragedies and building up herself and others to follow suit. From growing up in a household that shamed her for her weight, to dealing with casual discrimination, to clapping back at online trolls, there are some major hurdles Metz has had to overcome in life.

Growing up in the ages before the evolution of the body positivity movement often meant parents didn't quite know how to handle having larger children. Not only was dieting shoved on Chrissy Metz early in life — the "Breakthrough" actress admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that she joined Weight Watchers at the tender age of 11 — but she lacked any semblance of support from her stepfather. His tactics were often cruel and could potentially border along the lines of emotional abuse.

In her memoir "This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today," Metz details some of the brutal routines her stepfather would impose on her. "My body seemed to offend him," she writes, continuing that "He joked about putting a lock on the refrigerator." Metz also discussed in her memoir that he would often force her to weigh herself when she was just a teenager. According to Metz, "He'd get the scale from the bathroom and clang it hard on the kitchen floor." These types of mandatory weigh-ins made it hard for Metz to feel accepted and led her to become overly self-conscious, especially around food. Telling The Hollywood Reporter, Metz said, "My friends could eat whatever they wanted to, but I knew that as a kid...I had to be really cognizant of what I ate."

Chrissy Metz has only been married once, and it seems the divorce was difficult for the "This Is Us" star. After Metz's marriage to Martyn Eaden dissolved in divorce in 2015, she kept generally quiet about it. In a 2017 interview with Radar, Metz's mother, Denise Hodge, admitted that Metz didn't even divulge to her why they split. "Martyn was a nice guy," Hodge claimed, "her first real love." Even though Metz has yet to fully open up about her marriage, she was able to open her heart to new love.

In 2018, Metz began dating Hal Rosenfeld, though the two eventually split in 2020. Once again, "The Masked Singer" contestant was quick to find a new beau, and in 2021, Metz started dating boyfriend Bradley Collins. During their time together, the couple released a book titled, "When I Talk To God, I Talk About You." Not only that, they also released a companion album for the book entitled "Prayed For This Day." While Metz and Collins ended their relationship in 2023, the two have continued to work together in creative ways. In 2025, Collins and Metz released a follow-up book titled, "When I Talk To God, I Talk About Feelings." Whereas it might appear difficult for Metz to maintain a long-term relationship, it does seem like she's a wonderful creative collaborator.

In a candid moment that came with some confusion, Chrissy Metz divulged to TVLine in 2016 that there was a weight-loss clause attached to her "This Is Us" contract. Metz said, "In our contract, it did state...to lose the weight in the trajectory of the character." Metz followed this up by claiming she was totally onboard with it, that it was "a win-win" for her. However, when concerned backlash approached after admitting this, the "Girl Go" singer did return to set the record straight.

In an interview with People, Metz clarified that "it wasn't mandated in the contract." The suggestion of incorporating weight loss into Metz's performance came about in a more organic way, with Metz saying, "I was pitched that the trajectory of Kate is that she's going to lose weight." The "Stay Awake" star reminded everyone that being an actress means embodying the role. "Every actor does that," she continued, "you lose weight, you gain weight, you change your hair or whatever." According to Metz, the character arc of Kate Pearson and what has asked of her to fully imbue the role, ultimately worked for her.

Sitting down with Jamie Kern Lima for an October 2024 episode of the "Jamie Kern Lima Show," Chrissy Metz discussed why you don't really see her as much since "This Is Us." It's not that she's not out there doing amazing things, it's that her newfound fame has brought a level of distrust between her and strangers who suddenly appear friendly. Metz discussed with Kern Lima that "Before ['This Is Us'] I could go on an airplane and someone could, like, not want to sit next to me." Metz continued to detail the ways in which it was often hard for her to be in public before her fame, with strangers often wanting to avoid her gaze or refusing to talk to her altogether.

"But because now I'm on a TV show they don't care," Metz said. However, just because strangers might now be more inclined to sit next to her on an airplane, it doesn't mean Metz trusts their intentions. Metz pointed out to Kern Lima that she still feels a sense of entitlement coming from strangers, that perhaps they're looking for "what I could provide to them or what insight could I share with them." She also went on to wonder if folks just want to be around her simply because she's a recognizable famous person. "It's such a weird mind twist of things," she admitted.

Even though Chrissy Metz is fully enjoying her own weight loss journey, there's always someone online ready to be a bit of a troll. In 2017, Metz stepped out on the red carpet in a red latex dress and was bombarded with harassers online over it. Proving she's always one to keep her head above the fray, Metz turned this moment into praise for her fans. In a heartfelt post on Instagram Metz said, "The outpouring of love and support from all of you lovely people has not gone unnoticed." In fact, this type of reaction, pivoting to remind everyone to "treat people the way you want to be treated," is very much so part of Metz's personal brand.

Sitting down with People Now, Metz discussed how she handles online antagonists. "The way I stand up to bullies is with kindness and love," she said before continuing, "because I think that's what they really need." Not only is this a good reminder for everyone, but so is the rest of Metz's advice about responding to hurtful comments, "I just either don't respond or respond with kindness." It's okay to ignore the haters, take it from Metz.