Janet Caperna has opened up about a painful sexual assault experience in her childhood. The Valley alum shared an emotional statement on Instagram after talking about the incident in the show’s latest episode. She stood in solidarity with other survivors who share the same “pain and experience.”

Janet Caperna explains why her The Valley disclosure hit so hard

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, July 8, The Valley star Janet Caperna shared a powerful message about her path to healing after being sexually assaulted in her childhood. The statement comes shortly after she opened up about the incident to friend Lala Kent in a recent episode of the show.

Caperna wrote on Instagram that she did not anticipate the episode’s release would hit her “so hard.” She penned, “I had months to prepare knowing this was going to come out, and decades before that working through the trauma, but nothing can really prepare you for the date arriving.”

“I planned on talking to family and friends that I never told about this before it aired, and I failed. Many people I know, love and trust will hear my story for the first time on a reality TV show instead of directly from me,” Caperna continued. “And I’m sorry to those that had to hear it this way. Making my planned round of calls and telling people in person proved more than I could handle. I chickened out. I didn’t want to take a beautiful day and darken it with my trauma.”

The TV personality went on to say, “To my fellow survivors (a word I am still uncomfortable using for myself), please know that on your hardest days, you are not alone.” She added, “And I can’t help but think how unfortunate that is. That so many people share this pain and experience. That others have days like today where they feel paralyzed and debilitating pain because of another person’s violating actions.”

“I dealt with what happened that night in the dark under the fluorescent lights of school for years in the form of name calling, relentless bullying and judgment. For me, that was worse than the act itself,” Caperna wrote. “My biggest trigger is the reaction many have to this sort of trauma: victim blaming, punishment for speaking up, taking sides and all of the ugliness it brings out of everyone involved. And I have obviously not always handled those triggers well. And to those that watched and felt the wrath of my anger, I am so sorry,” she concluded.