‘Westworld’ Star Evan Rachel Wood Reveals Scars Self-Inflicted Cuts

Evan Rachel Wood is opening up about a sensitive subject, revealing scars from self-inflicted wounds on her wrists.

The star is known for playing the deadly android Dolores on HBO’s Westworld, but an Instagram post on Monday showed a more vulnerable side to Wood. She posted what appeared to be an old selfie where she laid in bed, her face pressed against a wrist with horizontal scars of varying age all across it. Wood wore heavy make-up and had her eyes closed. She added a trigger warning to her caption.

“2 years into my abusive relationship I resorted to self harm,” she explained. “When my abuser would threaten or attack me, I cut my wrist as a way to disarm him. It only made the abuse stop temporarily. At that point I was desperate to stop the relentless abuse and I was too terrified to leave.”

Woods included the hashtag “I am not ok,” a rallying point for survivors of domestic abuse on social media. She explained further in more posts, inviting her followers to share their stories as well.

Woods later posted a teary-eyed video of herself explaining the linger effects of her abuse, saying she is “still searching for some sense of peace” and “still trying to put all of this behind me.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever fully be able to do that,” she added.

To top it off, Wood shared her story about domestic violence on a new episode of the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard. She posted a photo of the two together outside of Shepard’s garage, which also serves as his studio. She smiled in the picture and wrote that they had “a great conversation,” though she shared quotes later on revealing that the #IAmNotOK movement had come up quite a bit.

“I’m a survivor myself, and it wasn’t until very recently that I really came to terms with everything, and was even able to identify what had happened,” Wood said. “When it happens it’s very complicated; you lie to yourself, you’re being lied to, you’re being gas-lit in a dangerous situation. You lose a sense of self, and your sense of reality, because you’re stuck in this nightmare.”

Wood’s posts inspired a lot of followers to tell their own stories, either in separate posts or in the comments. They praised her for her openness, though they wished her luck in the healing process.

Westworld has been renewed for a third season, though so far there is no word on when exactly it might air. It is safe to assume we won’t see it until at least 2020, however, as the show took a long gap between its first and second season last time around.

All previous episodes are currently streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now.