- The 26-year-old influencer held back tears during the Call Her Daddy podcast.
- She said that “something really screwed up” happened to her in the Navy.
- Bella, real name Denari Bautista Taylor, said she is “still struggling with it”
TikTok’s “most loved” influencer Bella Poarch broke down in tears as she spoke candidly about being kidnapped while serving in the Navy at 18, and revealed how the lasting trauma of the attack led her to try to take her own life.
The internet sensation, whose real name is Denari Bautista Taylor, fought back tears while discussing the incident with host Alex Cooper on the popular podcast Call Her Daddy.
The 26-year-old, who is originally from the Philippines but moved to the US with her adoptive parents as a child, laid bare the trauma she faced at the hands of “someone she knew.”
Her attacker was sentenced to four years in prison, but Bella admitted she was “still struggling” after the attack left her with crippling post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bella, who now lives in Los Angeles, said she was eager to move away from her childhood home due to a troubled home life, but “the only way was to join the army.”
She explained that she grew up in an abusive home, and after graduating from high school at age 16, she felt the only way to escape was to join the military.
However, during the podcast, she spoke candidly about how the Navy was not the refuge she had hoped for.
She began: “I’ve never talked about it, but something really terrible happened to me in the army.
“In my first year in the army, I was sexually assaulted. I was 18 and this was my first duty station.
“I don’t know, I was very motivated. I was a motivated sailor, I wanted to get the rank very quickly so I did a lot of extra things like studying really hard to get my wings – you study aviation and it has to look good in uniform and on paper.
“But I studied really hard and wanted to increase my rank to earn more money, and then it happened.
“I didn’t want to talk about it at first, but the women around me knew something was wrong.”
Host Alex asked Bella if this person was in a position of power, to which she replied, “It was someone I knew.”
She continued: “I came to work and they said, ‘Why do you have so many cuts on your face? Why do you have bruises on your neck? What’s happening?”
“I was late for work that day too and just started crying. I didn’t know if I wanted to say what really happened because I didn’t want anything to change.
“I worked really hard and I just didn’t want anything to change, and we all knew this man. I didn’t want to make things awkward.
Revealing further heartbreaking details, Bella said: “I fought really hard.
“I was very grateful to be surrounded by people who cared about me.
“They kind of forced me—really forced me—to go and get a rape kit because you have to do it in a certain amount of time.
“I just said, ‘I don’t want to,’ but they said, ‘No, you have to, you have to speak up, this man can’t keep doing this, what if he does it to another girl?’ ‘
Bella continued: “I went after him and it was a long process – a lot of questioning. It was as if I was a suspect and was being interrogated.
“And they thought, ‘Oh, this actually happened,’ when they obviously saw the physical (wounds).”
She said that the case went to court and the offender was sentenced to four years in prison, Bella concluded: “That’s all.”
Asked what prompted Bella to come forward, she said: “Honestly, I was just thinking about what they said, like what if it wasn’t the first time he’d done it – and it actually wasn’t.
“He did it a few times, and I think when I came forward, other women came forward.”
She admitted: “I live with such anxiety because I know that he is somewhere nearby. I was just scared.
“I feel like this is such a mess. I think there should be a system where when this happens we always know where that person is because four years is not that long.
“He could do anything, literally. The last few years I was just afraid.”
Bella said she didn’t seek help for two years after discovering she had PTSD, and it wasn’t until her work colleagues started noticing her symptoms that she made the decision to seek help.
“I would be nervous at work. My colleagues were shocked: “Why are you shaking now?” and it was scary.
“Sometimes you forget where you are, especially when memories come back to you, and whenever I see someone like him, my body just shuts down… this has happened several times.”
“I also think that’s why I try to stay away from crowded places.”
Instead of returning home after the accident, Bella decided to transfer to another duty station to start over, where people “didn’t know what happened.”
She explained that she ultimately asked to be transferred to Japan, where her adopted brother was stationed, explaining that he was the “only person” in her life at the time.
It was her brother and sister who encouraged her to seek help from a therapist.
“He was very worried and was one of the people who encouraged me to go to a therapist,” she explained, admitting that she was very reluctant at first, recalling how she told him: “I was like, ‘No, I am.’ I’m done!”‘
However, shortly before Bella left the army in 2020, her mental health deteriorated and she revealed that she tried to take her own life.
“I tried to commit suicide a few months before I left the military because my PTSD was getting worse,” she recalls.
“My friends really found me. I overdosed. I just saw a bottle of Percocet… I had a roommate and she had a bottle of Percocet in her bathroom and I just drank the whole thing.
“It was probably about 40 pills… I was just really depressed. I was talking to a therapist twice a week and I was still having a really hard time.”
Asked how she started to recover, she replied: “I’m still struggling with it, but it’s definitely a lot better than it was before.”
Bella explained that she was taken to a mental hospital after her overdose, and it was there that she met other people who were “struggling with the same thing” and who helped her deal with her own issues.
“I was actually forced to go to a mental hospital and I met a lot of people there who were struggling with the same thing,” she shared. “I think I just needed people who understood me, and I needed to talk to people who had been through the same thing.
“(It) made me feel a little better and hopeful.
She also credited her ex-husband, whom she met at 19 when they were both in the military and served together for seven years, for helping her get through some of her “dark times.”
A US Navy spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “While we cannot comment on the specific incident mentioned, we want to emphasize that the US Navy takes all allegations of sexual assault seriously and is committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all of its personnel.
“The Navy is committed to creating a culture of dignity and respect in which every service member lives up to our values of honor, courage and dedication and can thrive in their service.
“The Navy has robust policies and procedures for handling allegations of sexual assault and ensuring they are thoroughly investigated. Our priority is to support survivors, bring those responsible to justice and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed sexual violence to come forward and report it through the appropriate channels.
“An uncompromising commitment to a culture of respect and dignity is a core focus of the Navy’s efforts to reduce sexual assault.
“The Navy has implemented clear, frequent and unequivocal messaging throughout the fleet that sexual violence has no place in the Navy and will not be tolerated.
“Individuals in leadership positions are expected to foster a culture of trust and respect within their teams. When sexual assault occurs, the Navy provides trauma-informed support, gender-sensitive and culturally competent support, and victim-centered resources.”
The spokesperson concluded: “We are proud of Bella Poarch’s service and her sharing her experience.
“It takes courage to share such personal stories, and her actions are consistent with the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and dedication.
“The Navy remains committed to fostering a culture of respect and responsibility within our ranks.”
Since leaving the Navy, Bella has risen to fame as a TikTok icon and now boasts over 93.1 million followers.
Her biggest claim to fame is the lip-sync video for British singer Millie B’s catchy diss track, now called M to the B.
To date, it has been viewed over 773.5 million times, putting her on the path to internet stardom, racking up a staggering 2.3 billion likes across all of her content.
However, it was her fame that ultimately led to the end of her marriage, with Bella revealing that her ex-husband struggled to cope with her rapid success.