Jana Kramer Reflects On Traumatic Past With Abusive Ex Who 'Was Going To Kill' Her

"One Tree Hill" star Jana Kramer recently spoke about her near-death experience with her ex-boyfriend. The country music singer was previously married to Mike Caussin, and the duo had two children. However, after a series of publicized marital troubles, the former couple divorced in July 2021.

Before her marriage with Caussin, Kramer was married to Johnathon Schaech for a month and Michael Gambino for two years. The actress and Gambino split in 2005 after he was arrested and convicted of attempted murder. Gambino reportedly strangled her on the sidewalk until she lost consciousness.

In a recent post, Kramer shed light on a period in her past when she suffered physical abuse at the hands of an unknown assailant. The 38-year-old revealed that the abuser strangled her at the time and threatened to kill her.

Read on to learn more.

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Kramer shared a photo and details of her past with an allegedly abusive ex. She revealed that she was in a relationship when she was much younger, and at a point, she was desperately afraid for her life and well-being. The 38-year-old posted a picture of her as a teen with her mother.

In the photo, she had a white tank top on with a brown headband, while her mother wore a black blouse with a silver neckpiece. While the duo seemed happy enough with Kramer sitting on her mother's lap, the singer revealed the picture was "very hard" for her to look at.

In the lengthy post caption, the actress wrote, "One might look at this and see two smiling faces. A daughter with her mom. But what was under the smile is something that I still to this day have a hard time talking about."

Although Kramer did not mention who her alleged abuser was, the actress shared in detail what she endured at his hands. She continued, "I don't remember the excuses that I told people when I flew home to escape my abuser about the cuts and scrapes on my shoulder and arms or why my ribs were hurting. But when I look at this photo, that's all I see."

Kramer further said that when she looked at that picture, she saw a "broken girl" pinned to the ground weeks before the photo was taken. According to her, the abuser strangled her and threatened to kill her at that time. "I was so full of shame," the 38-year-old wrote.

"I was made to feel like I had no one, and no one would believe me and that the reason I would be choked or hit was because I was bad," she wrote. "That I was wrong, and I deserved it."

Further on in the post, Kramer revealed that she held on to the wrong belief that she wasn't enough especially following her other similarly abusive relationship. She wrote, "One day soon, I will speak more on the abuse that followed that one and the patterns that continued, but to be honest, it's been a journey and one I'm still trying to walk through knowing that wasn't the last abusive relationship."

The actress concluded the post by assuring her followers that they did not deserve abuse of any form. She also encouraged them to reach out to the respective authorities before it was too late.

Kramer wrote, "There are people who want to be there for you. That are there for you. Please don't wait until you lose your breath. Your life, Your heart, your soul is meant to be here and is meant to be loved and cherished." She also linked "@safehorizon" in her bio as a place abuse victims could turn to for help.

In an earlier Instagram post, Kramer spoke about her alleged abuse at the hands of an unnamed person. Then she revealed she allowed the behavior towards her to continue because "I actually believed the negative voices in my head that were spoken to me."

Kramer described the behavior as instances where the abuser would claim, "I barely pushed you, don't be so dramatic…you bruise easily, I hardly touched you, you're crazy."

Per Page Six, The "One Tree Hill" actress was first married to Gambino in 2004; however, in 2005, he was convicted of attempted murder. He was accused of strangling Kramer to the point of unconsciousness and was in prison till 2010. When he was released, Gambino took his own life via suicide.