Why Mary Bonnet Is Speaking Out About Sexual Assault in New Book (Exclusive)

“Selling Sunset” star Mary Bonnet talks to “Extra’s” Billy Bush about her new book “Selling Sunshine: Surviving Teenage Motherhood, Thriving in Luxury Real Estate and Finally Finding My Voice.” 

In the book, Mary candidly recalls some of the toughest and darkest moments of her life, and she told Billy the most difficult subject to open up about was being raped in 2016. 

As part of her recovery, Mary shares that she went through EMDR light therapy, which can remove negative associations.

Speaking about her relationship with husband Romain Bonnet, she said, “I had to go through EMDR to try to help because, I mean, poor Romain. He's very patient, but there are many times where… I would just, like, pull away from him if he'd, like, reach over and try to touch me… I would just shudder, and it wasn't anything I was doing intentionally… It's a knee-jerk reaction.”

Mary said today she’s doing “okay,” recalling, “Going through it, you block things out and just cope, and I couldn’t even remember his name, his face because I could envision the event but everything was blurred out. I think it is your body’s coping mechanism and self-preservation.”

For the book, she said, “I had to go back and play it back again and again in my head because I had to tell the story, I had to edit the book… I thought it was important to speak up and share that because so many people have gone through it.”

She also wants to reiterate to women, “You have to be careful. And just for women to really think about where they are going and what they are doing. It isn’t the woman’s fault by any means, but we need to protect ourselves.”

Mary also opened up about becoming a mother at age 16 to son Austin, who is now 27. 

She said of being a single mom, “It was hard. It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through. It was just a struggle every day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.”

Mary also had a message for her readers, “You can get anywhere in life. I started from nowhere. Just keep moving forward because there are so many things that happen… There is something good to take from every situation.”