Comedian Beth Stelling Opens Up About Abusive Relationship, Shares Photos Of Bruises

Comedian Beth Stelling is opening up about a serious issue - domestic violence.

While fans are used to seeing the Los Angeles funny lady perform stand-up routines on Comedy Central and late night shows about her life, Stelling got very candid in an Instagram post on Monday about her history of abuse. Stelling posted a photo of her legs and arms covered with bruises and in the caption alleged that her unnamed ex-partner "verbally, physically abused and raped" her.

"When I broke up with my ex this summer, it wasn't because I didn't love him, it was because of this," she shared in a lengthy Instagram post. "And I absolutely relapsed and contacted him with things I shouldn't have, but there are no 'best practices' with this."

She continued, "It's embarrassing. I feel stupid. After being verbally, physically abused and raped, I dated him for two more months. It's not simple."

The comedian wrote that she kept the abuse under wraps because it didn't seem "appropriate" and didn't want to ruin her ex's reputation. However, she was uncomfortable about speaking up about the relationship because of fear of backlash in both her personal and professional lives. Stelling said that she sensed it was her responsibly to continue talking about tough topics like rape and abuse in her stand-up routines.

"After I broke up with him he said, 'You're very open and honest in your stand-up, and I just ask that you consider me when you talk about your ex because everyone knows who you're talking about.' And I abided," she wrote in the lengthy Instagram post.

"I wrote vague jokes because we both live in L.A. and I didn't want to hurt him, start a war, press charges, be interrogated or harassed by him or his friends and family," Stelling added. "I wanted to move on and forget because I didn't understand. I don't want revenge or to hurt him now, but it's unhealthy to keep this inside because my stand-up is pulled directly from my life."

Same girl in all of these photos (me). I've had an amazing year and you've seen the highlights here, so these photos are an uncommon thing to share but not an uncommon issue. You may be weirded out but do read on. I have a point. There are many reasons not to make an abusive relationship public, mostly fear. Scared of what people will think, scared it makes me look weak or unprofessional. When I broke up with my ex this summer, it wasn't because I didn't love him, it was because of this. And I absolutely relapsed and contacted him with things I shouldn’t have, but there are no “best practices” with this. When friends or comics ask why we broke up it's not easy or comfortable to reply; it doesn't seem like the appropriate thing to say at a stand-up show, a party or a wedding. It's embarrassing. I feel stupid. After being verbally, physically abused and raped, I dated him for two more months. It's not simple. After I broke up with him he said, "You're very open and honest in your stand-up, and I just ask that you consider me when you talk about your ex because everyone knows who you're talking about." And I abided. I wrote vague jokes because we both live in L.A. and I didn't want to hurt him, start a war, press charges, be interrogated or harassed by him or his friends and family. I wanted to move on and forget because I didn’t understand. I don't want revenge or to hurt him now, but it's unhealthy to keep this inside because my stand-up is pulled directly from my life. It's how I make my living. My personal is my professional. That is how I've always been; I make dark, funny. So now I'm allowing this to be part of my story. It's not my only story, so please don't let it be. If you live in L.A., you've already started to hear my jokes about this and I ask you to have the courage to listen and accept it because I’m trying. Already since talking about this onstage, many women have come to me after shows asking me to keep doing it. Men have shown their solidarity. An ex-girlfriend of this ex-boyfriend came to me and shared that she experienced the same fate. Then there was another and another (men and women) who shared other injustices at his hand that..
A photo posted by Beth Stelling (@bethstelling) on Dec 28, 2015 at 9:30am PST

My original post was too long so I put the final paragraph after the ellipses in the comments section not realizing that so many would be reached. Here is my last paragraph ^ I am experiencing a massive amount of love and support for which I am grateful to you all. A photo posted by Beth Stelling (@bethstelling) on Dec 29, 2015 at 12:04am PST

She added that she has already received words of support and solidarity, writing in a later post, "I am experiencing a massive amount of love and support for which I am grateful to you all."

Stelling, who is currently dating New York comedian Sam Morrill, returned to social media hours later to explain that she wasn't bashing all men in her previous post.

"And just to be clear, there are wonderful men in this world. @sammorril was a friend to me getting out of my last relationship, he listened, made me laugh, comforted me. He encouraged me as I toured the world, respected me and my work, and he stuck by me when I made it really difficult to want to," Stelling shared in a separate post along with a photo of her and Morrill. "He is a good partner and I love the man."

And just to be clear, there are wonderful men in this world. @sammorril was a friend to me getting out of my last relationship, he listened, made me laugh, comforted me. He encouraged me as I toured the world, respected me and my work, and he stuck by me when I made it really difficult to want to. He is a good partner and I love the man. photo by our friend @philprovencio A photo posted by Beth Stelling (@bethstelling) on Dec 28, 2015 at 2:00pm PST