Free of a boyfriend's abuse.

I know I've had some pretty light hearted topics lately, but I want to uncover a darker side of Free's life for you guys. The fact that she is the person she is today after such struggles as this, has truly elevated my respect for her. If you've ever really looked at Free, you've probably noticed she's got a few scars here and there. Now, I know what one was a result of, but I'm clueless about the others. Form your own opinion, but things like this make you remember that every scar has a story behind it.

Teen People Magazine
October 2003

Free At Last

Watching the in control hostess of BET's 106 & Park, you'd never guess that she'd let anyone push her around. But Marie Wright-the spunky TV star and fledgling hip-hop artist know as Free-once had an abusive boyfriend. Here, she shares her story and tells why she's trying to stop violence. ~ Told by Nina Malkin

When I was in seventh grade, a guy on the school bus pulled a gun on me becasue I wouldn't give him my phone number. I sat still. The driver stopped the bus, and they got him as he got off. I saw a lot f those kinds of incidents growing up. In my old neighborhodd, guys would fight with their girlfriends, girls would throw things at their boyfriends' cars. The craziness surrounding relationships that I saw--I thought it was just what happens.

With one of the guys I dated when I was younger, it didn't start out that way. He was sweet and he was cool. I felt comfortable around him, and I felt safe. I was wrong. After we were together about six months, he became possessive and verbally disrespectful when I wanted to do something he didn't want me to do-like go to a girlfriend's house. He would say mean, nasty things.

By the time we were together a year, the abuse became physical. He would grab me, I would fight back. He was a big guy; I'm only five feet tall. I got bruises sometimes.

I didn't tell my mom or dad. I would talk to some girlfriends, but either they didn't believe me or they were going through the same things. I felt alone. And every time I was with him, I felt fear. He would come into the room, and I would feel like I couldn't be myself. It was getting too physical-I was being hurt. He would try to make it seem like it was my fault, say things like, "You made me do it." Buth the physcial pain was not the worst part; the emotional scars were the hardest thing. It got to the point were I bascially said, "Enough."

But it took awhile. No calls; no calling him. I had to learn to not worry about him, to not think about him, to just move on with my life. The last time he tried to see me, he got so crazy and kicked in my back door. I ran out the front, ran for my life.

That was years ago. Since then I've had good relationships. I'm single now, I'm happy. And my Boston-based foundation, Free4Life, has a new teen- dating violence intervention program. Maybe if something like that had been avaliable to me, I would have gotten out of my bad situation sooner. But there's no formula. You have to let yourself make mistakes- you just don't ever want to make the mistake that's going to get you hurt, maimes, disfigured, or killed.

In Focus: Free4Life
February 2004

Carefree Living?

Just because she's sitting pretty on BET doesn't mean life's been carefree. From disappointments and critics to an abusive relationship, Free has dealt with drama.

"It was difficult," Free says, speaking of the abusive relationship she had when she was younger. It started off well, but by the sixth month, that kind and cool guy she'd known became something else — verbally abusive.

By the one-year mark, it was physical. Free would sometimes get hurt. "I'm a fighter and I just decided I couldn't deal with that," she says. "It was wrong, uncomfortable, and crazy for me, so I just got out of it."