httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQF47RFIvaI
The late Amanda Peterson carried a secret for most of her life, one that her family is now revealing and one that her mother said “Affected her forever:” she was raped at the age of 15.
During an interview with “The Doctors,” Sylvia Peterson said her daughter never spoke about the incident.
“At the height of Mandy’s career, she suffered a very serious trauma. She had been raped,” Sylvia said, explaining that the man who assaulted her was more than twice her age.
She added, “I think it affected her forever.”
A toxicology report revealed the former actress had multiple prescription drugs in her system, including anti-anxiety mediation, an anti-psychotic medication, pain medication and opiates.
Amanda’s dad said the rape actually led her to drugs.
“After [the rape], she became more defensive, less trusting, some of the sparkle was gone,”, James Peterson said, adding that she went on to suffer “Significant bipolar problems.”
On the TV show, the Peterson family went on to talk frankly about their discovery that Amanda was using heroin and meth.