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Paris Hilton has explained her decision to use a surrogate for the birth of her son.
In January, the 42-year-old gave birth to son Phoenix, who she shares with husband, the American businessman Carter Reum.
In a new interview with Romper, Hilton said she decided to use a surrogate for her firstborn due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from sexual assault she allegedly experienced as a teenager.
“I just have so much PTSD from what I went through as a teenager,” she told the magazine.
In her 2020 YouTube documentaryThis is Paris, as well as her memoir released this March, Hilton alleged that she was physically, sexually, and emotionally abused as a teen during an 11-month stint at Utah’s Provo Canyon School for troubled youth.
She alleged that she was woken in the middle of the night and subjected to non-consensual gynaecological examinations.
“I cried while they held me down & said, ‘No!’ They just said, ‘Shut up. Be quiet. Stop struggling,’” she recalled on Twitter last year.
Provo Canyon School, which has since been acquired by a different company, Universal Health Services, said in a statement to Romper that it cannot comment on prior “operations of student experience.”
Hilton added that she often experiences PTSD symptoms when she visits the doctor’s practice.
“If I’m in a doctor’s office, I get a shot, anything, I will literally have a panic attack and I can’t breathe,” she said.
“I just knew that would not be healthy for me or the baby, growing inside of someone who has such high anxiety.”
Last month, Hilton and Reum unexpectedly announced the birth of their baby daughter named London Marilyn Hilton Reum, who was also welcomed via surrogate.
“She is just a little angel and my life just feels so complete with my little baby boy and my baby girl,” Hilton said on NBC’s Today programme following her daughter’s birth. “We’re just over the moon.”
“I feel just so at peace, so happy, so grateful for my husband and this beautiful family and life that we’re building together,” Hilton added. “I couldn’t imagine anything else. I’m just over the moon with everything.”
“I am so excited to have our first holidays together.” she said. “Thanksgiving was so special, surprising everyone with London and getting to show Phoenix the Christmas tree for the first time.
“Seeing his eyes light up and seeing the wonder in his eyes, it’s such a magical experience. I can’t wait for our first Christmas together as a family,” she added.