Courtney Stodden dishes on her explosive new reality show 'Courtney'
The singer says she is looking to show people who she really is as she navigates through the music industry, family drama and everything in-between.
Courtney Stodden says she's lived a life worth chronicling.
The 25-year-old bombshell made headlines in 2011 at age 16 when she jumped the broom with “Green Mile” actor Doug Hutchison, who was 51 at the time. The pair endured a tumultuous six-year marriage before calling it quits in 2016. The estranged couple's divorce has yet to be finalized.
Now, Stodden says she has a fresh perspective on life and has rediscovered herself through her music and as an animal rights activist. And she's hoping her new series, “Courtney,” will give viewers a new idea of who she really is.
COURTNEY STODDEN SAYS SHE DOESN'T REGRET MARRYING DOUG HUTCHISON AT AGE 16
As Fox News arrived at the swanky hair and beauty parlor located underground just off Beverly Hills’ iconic Rodeo Drive, we were immediately met by co-executive producer and FNL Network executive Rocco Leo Gaglioti in a panic.
“Are you here to speak with Courtney?” he asked hurriedly. “She just got into an argument and is about to leave.”
Gaglioti’s introduction was a fitting start to an interview centered on Stodden’s new reality show.
Eventually, Stodden entered, sporting a revealing bright pink dress and stilettos that elevated her 5-foot-3 frame. She appeared irritated, but her presence was immediately felt by everyone -- the charm turned on in an instant.
Courtney Stodden attends the premiere of FNL Network's "Courtney", a reality show about Courtney Stodden, on September 03, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.
“I'm just looking to break out of myself. I've had a really crazy life and then it just got crazier when I became famous overnight and the rest is kind of history,” Stodden said about doing the show. “I’ve been in Hollywood ever since just being celebrity Courtney Stodden and doing that. So I guess now I'm just trying to find myself and show people who I really am.”
COURTNEY STODDEN IS UNRECOGNIZABLE IN THROWBACK PHOTO
The reality star, who swore off drinking after turning 25 in August, said part of getting sober and allowing the camera into her life was that she simply didn’t want her life to end prematurely -- a fate that has befallen so many of her idols.
“I don't want to end up like Marilyn Monroe,” said Stodden. “I don't want to end up like Anna Nicole Smith. And I know FNL Network and Rocco Leo Gaglioti, the owner, was friends with Anna Nicole and that's great, but I just want to just do what I want to do and that's music and singing and just show people really who I am – the girl underneath all of this stuff.
Stodden said she realized she'd become a bride too soon. And a miscarriage took a toll on the way she coped with loss.
"I don't want to end up like Marilyn Monroe. I don't want to end up like Anna Nicole Smith."
When asked if her decision to stop drinking came as a result of something specific or a litany of events leading up it, Stodden exhaled, seeming to brace herself to confront a mountain of emotion.
Doug Hutchison and Courtney Stodden in Hollywood in 2015. (Getty)
“I think it's a pile-up of things. Like, I definitely have had family members pass away from alcohol addiction,” she said. “I've had close family members addicted to alcohol. I grew up with my father drinking and it was normal in the house.”
“So I started drinking when I was 16 because Doug [Hutchison] drank and it was like, 'Oh, whatever you know, it's normal,'” added Stodden.
COURTNEY STODDEN FLAUNTS NEWFOUND CURVES IN SOCIAL MEDIA POST: 'I NEVER WANTED TO STAY SKINNY'
“And I just got really sick one night – not one night but the next day after a photo shoot, and I was just like, "For my birthday I need to give myself the gift of no poison like alcohol. I've been drinking for almost 10 years, almost every other day. Like, I would kick back three bottles of Champagne in one night, like it was crazy. And I don't want to do that anymore, you know?'”
Courtney Stodden performing in L.A. last year. (Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)
When asked how he would describe Stodden, Los Angeles real estate agent and “Courtney” cast member David Kean didn’t hold back.
“She's like a quarter-carat diamond in a big pile of steaming s---,” the luxury broker said. “You know, it's sparkly and it's fun and you see a glimmer but you got to dig through some crap to get to it.
"Is it worth it? I don't know at times.”
Kean said he fears the people Stodden keeps around her will send her into a downward spiral. He said friction with the budding entertainer comes from the way in which Stodden’s pals feed off her bad behavior.
Courtney Stodden films scenes for her 2018 music video "Reality." (Coleman/Raynor)
“It's not really healthy for her. I think she needs to clean house,” said Kean. "I'm hoping with some of these other people, especially now that she's not drinking – thank God – which I'm sure they're going to try to sabotage. Because what better way to control somebody than to keep them kind of like loopy?”
COURTNEY STODDEN SAYS SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED TWICE
“It’s Los Angeles – people will be your friend and feed your ego to get into a club free. She's interesting because I really want to like her,” he quickly added.
Gaglioti said it was Stodden’s mother, Krista Keller, who introduced the two at L.A. Fashion Week. The network head said it took a lot of effort to persuade Stodden to say yes to the show. The only catch: It had to be completely unscripted.
Krista Keller, left, and Courtney Stodden appear in a promo for Lifetime's "The Mother/Daughter Experiment: Celebrity Edition." (Lifetime)
“Courtney wouldn't have it any other way. And many production companies, many networks have approached her since she was 16 ... to do a show,” said Gaglioti, who billed the finished product as more of a docuseries.
“This is Courtney's life. It's how she's making music interpreting her feelings from everything that she's gone through in her life,” he said. “And I've been able to spend a lot of time with Courtney and her family. There are family members of Courtney that I spent with that she doesn't even know yet until she watches the show.”
COURTNEY STODDEN'S ESTRANGED HUSBAND DOUG HUTCHISON: 'SHE IS ADDICTED TO FAME'
Stodden in Vegas two years ago. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
“But if you look in the inside of who she is, she's incredible, and that's because of her upbringing from her mom, Krista Keller," Gaglioti added. "And the foundation of all of that is Jesus Christ."
"This is explosive, dynamic television where you get to see the characters of who is in her life and how they interact," he said. "As crazy as it gets – and yeah, her mom and her fight like cats and dogs – but they love each at the end of the day."
“Courtney” is available to stream on Amazon Prime TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Trending
