In her new memoir Sorry Not Sorry, Naya Rivera opens up about some of the hard times in her life, including her battle with anorexia and having an abortion while she was on Glee.
The former Glee star broke up with actor Ryan Dorsey (Justified, The Night Shift) in 2010 to focus on her career, but a few weeks after the relationship ended, she discovered that she was pregnant with his child, she reveals in an excerpt published in People magazine.
Rivera decided not to tell Dorsey, her current husband and the father of her 11-month-old-son Josey, and had an abortion on her day off from filming the musical TV show.
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“It was very scary to open up about everything,” the 29-year-old says in the excerpt. “It’s not something a lot of people talk about, but I think they should. I know some people might read it and say, ‘What the hell?’ But I hope someone out there gets something out of it.”
In her memoir, Rivera — who started acting at the age of 4, with roles in shows like Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Baywatch — also discusses battling anorexia as a teenager, while struggling to cope with her parents’ divorce at a time when her acting career stalled.
“By the time I was a sophomore, I started feeling that what had begun as a game had maybe gone too far. I just avoided food at all costs,” she writes in the book. “If my mom had packed a lunch for me, I’d either trash it or find some excuse to give it away.”
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Glee, which ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015, had many behind-the-scenes occurrences that impacted the show.
Castmate Cory Monteith, the Canadian actor who played football star Finn Hudson, passed away from a drug overdose in 2013 and Mark Salling, who played the rebellious Puck, was arrested on child pornography charges earlier this year.
Rivera says she was inspired to open up about her private struggles by her son, Josey.
“I hope Josey will read it one day,” she said about the book. “I hope it gives him a better perspective on the issues women face.”
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Rivera played cheerleader and glee-club member Santana Lopez for all six seasons of Glee.
Since the show ended in 2015, she has appeared on Devious Maids and was a voice on an episode of American Dad.
Sorry Not Sorry will be on bookshelves Sept. 13.
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