Taraji P. Henson Opens Up About Escaping an Abusive Relationship to Protect Her Son

Taraji P. Henson opened up about the process that led her to find the courage to leave a past abusive relationship.

In a clip of an upcoming episode of her Facebook Watch show, “Peace of Mind With Taraji,” the “What Men Want” star discussed abusive relationships with “Growing Up Hip Hop” star Angela Simmons.

The women opened up about experiences with abusive relationships in their past.  Henson shared that she was physically abused by her partner when she was younger and explained what led to her decision to leave.

“Sometimes, as women, what we do is we fall in love, and we go, ‘You know what? I’ll fix it later,’” the 51-year-old academy award-nominated actress revealed when she knew it was time to go. “For me, it was when blood was drawn,” she shared.

“It started with the bruises and grabbing, things like that. And then once the fist came, once the balled hand came and the fists — and I’m missing a piece of my lip to this day — that’s when I knew I had to go,” she explained.

Henson also admitted that she “grew up around [abuse]” and knew she had to get out to protect her son, Marcell Johnson, who is now 27.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want my son around this,’” she said.