Emily Atack has disclosed that she became pregnant at the age of 16, reflecting on her 'troubled' teenage years during a new interview. The actress, now 36, stated that the trauma of being sexually assaulted when she was just 10 years old led to her developing 'really unhealthy relationships with men'.
A Difficult Past Revealed
Emily, who is now the proud mother of 24-month-old Barney, appeared on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast. She spoke about how her fiancé, Dr Alistair Garner, 'helped me save myself'. The Inbetweeners star left school at 16, and her parents, actress Kate Robbins and musician Keith Atack, 'didn't know what to do' with her when she began associating with older men and the 'wrong crowds' during their divorce.
The Rivals star explained that she was in an 'awful, abusive and horrible relationship' when she became pregnant with an unplanned child 20 years ago. Speaking about the pregnancy for the first time, Emily said: 'I was such a troubled teen, my poor parents, they just didn't know what to do with me a lot of the time, and I was hanging around in the wrong crowds.'
Unhealthy Relationships and Loneliness
She continued: 'I was sexually active with older boys and men, and that was very difficult for my parents. I remember when my dad left, I remember, at the time, and I've never actually told anybody this but I was pregnant, and I was very young. I was in this awful, abusive, horrible relationship, and I fell pregnant.'
Emily elaborated: 'It was just in the middle of all this stuff going on with my mum and dad I remember because all of that awful stuff was going on, and obviously the pregnancy. I've never spoken openly about how or what happened, and I don't know if I'm ready to yet, but obviously that pregnancy didn't continue.'
The actress explained that she and her sister Martha decided to move to London when she left school, after her parents split up. She recalled: 'So when we moved into this flat, I remember little Martha looking at me and going, "What we going to do?" And I said, "I'm going to become a famous actress." I just said it. I just made sure that I did.'
Emily emphasized that her parents are 'amazing people' and she does not blame them. 'Everybody makes mistakes, and this was just a period of time where lots of mistakes were being made, but now as a mother, I understand. Also, those mistakes, I think actually they've led me to be where I am now because I think a lot of people think that I had it all handed to me on a plate because of who my parents were and because my mum was an actress, but I did it by myself.'
Sexual Assault at Age 10
Elsewhere in the interview, Emily revealed she was 'sexually assaulted when I was 10-years-old' and explained how she was 'treated appallingly by older men'. She said: 'I was keeping so much from my parents when I was young. Again, it's going a little bit dark, but I was sexually assaulted, first of all, when I was 10. That was when I was first ever sexually assaulted, and I remember being 10 years old, and from that moment I was treated appallingly by older men from that age, throughout my life.'
She added: 'I think the loneliness came a lot from that, and lots of things happened that my parents to this day still don't know the detail of how men have treated me, and touched me, and whispered things to me in my ear when people aren't in earshot.'
The star, who found fame on The Inbetweeners in 2007 at age 17 playing Charlotte Hinchcliffe, said older men would 'take advantage' of her loneliness. Emily continued: 'I think a lot of the loneliness stemmed from that and developed a really unhealthy relationship with sex and with boys, because I lent into that behaviour a little bit, and I also found that I felt I knew I was wanted and desired by men from a really young age, sexually desired.'
She explained: 'That, to me, as a child, it's really confusing because I think I needed, I didn't want to do the sex stuff, but I liked that feeling of feeling wanted and validated, and being called pretty, and I had crushes on older men who would then take advantage of that but then made me feel that that was a good thing.'
Finding Strength in Her Fiancé
Emily spoke about her 'unbreakable bond' with her fiancé, Dr Alistair Garner. The couple, who are step-cousins but not biologically related, have been together for over three years. She said: 'He's so cool and he is a very key ingredient in all of this, and he ties my life up in a bow at the end.'
She recounted their reconnection as adults: 'Long story short, we reconnected as adults but going "Oh, we've got such a connection, and it is a bit confusing and a bit odd, but we really fancy each other". We were going, "Yeah, but we're not allowed to fancy each other because my auntie is married to your dad. It's weird." Obviously, there was all that back and forth, but we couldn't help it in the end.'
Emily added: 'There's this really unusual and unbreakable bond Al and I have, and people find it strange but I think when you know my stories, this is why I'm quite keen to tell all those details of my upbringing and all of that, because I think it makes a bit more sense as to why I've decided that I need to be with Al and he needs to be with me, and we need each other.'
She recalled a pivotal moment: 'I remember somebody saying to me when I was younger, "Nobody's coming to save you, so you need to get a grip and you need to try and find out a way to save yourself." I just remember thinking that was so crushing when I was younger. But then when Al and I got together, someone said, "Yeah, Al saved you." I said, "No, he helped me save myself."'
Workplace Sexual Assault and Advocacy
Last year, Emily claimed she has been sexually assaulted while making TV shows and movies throughout her career. She revealed she has been a target of sexual abuse in the workplace and would now like to explore the issue in a documentary. Emily has been impressed by the use of 'intimacy co-ordinators' on the set of her latest show Rivals, which includes several sex scenes, for encouraging a welcome shift in behaviour and allowing stars to feel more comfortable.
She told Radio Times: 'Intimacy co-ordinators are there for support if you feel uncomfortable, whether you're a man or a woman. I've seen people roll their eyes about them and say, "I don't need one". There's a defensiveness about it. I've been sexually assaulted at work throughout my career, whether it's on the actual set, or at a wrap party. And since the #MeToo movement, it shows that people are listening and that there has to be a shift in behaviour on sets.'
She explained how filming Disney+ hit Rivals was a completely different experience. 'I'm really proud of the Rivals gang because, throughout my life, I haven't felt safe all the time, and we're all so respectful of each other. We have to do a lot of sexual scenes and we're very looked after. It's a really positive thing.'
Emily added that she is in conversations to follow up the success of her 2023 documentary about online sexual harassment with a new TV project on the role of intimacy co-ordinators. The actress explored the alarming rise in online sexual harassment for BBC Two documentary Emily Atack: Asking For It after experiencing repeated daily abuse across her Instagram and TikTok accounts.
She told the BBC at the time: 'We were in lockdown, everyone feeling really isolated and my whole life I had noticed the behaviour that men throw towards me. But I really noticed a surge in sexually violent threats being sent to me on social media. And it was getting worse and worse and I used humour as a way to cope with it and put it out there to say is this normal? I screenshotted the stuff and I just wanted to see the reaction. It was fascinating to see how huge this problem is.'
Speaking about the vile things she's been sent, she said: 'I've had things sadly that have happened to me in person too. The reason why I say this online abuse is as bad as in the street, is the feeling I get when I'm sent something stirs up the same feelings as if it happened in the street. When someone sends me a message like that, I can delete it but that message has already gone in, I have to go about my day seeing that. People are asking me to [turn] a blind eye by blocking and deleting. All these behaviours can escalate and become way worse.'
Emily launched her acting career 18 years ago with small parts in dramas including ITV's Heartbeat before making her breakthrough as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners. The sitcom ran from 2008 to 2010 on Channel 4 and is one of Britain's best-loved comedies. Emily also appeared in Only Fools and Horses prequel comedy Rock & Chips on BBC One in 2010, the 2013 gangster film Get Lucky and the 2016 movie remake of Dad's Army. The actress finished second on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2018.
