Newly surfaced text messages appear to paint a different picture of Chris Hardwick and Chloe Sykstra’s tortured romance.
Last week, the actress wrote an essay for Medium, claiming the Talking Dead host was mentally abusive and sexually assaulted her during their three-year relationship – claims Hardwick has denied.
On Tuesday, TMZ obtained text messages between the former couple which appear to back up Hardwick’s claim that he broke up with Dykstra because she cheated on him.
Actress Chloe Dykstra, 29, penned an essay last week accusing an ex-boyfriend 20 years older than her of ‘long-term abuse’. The former couple pictured above in 2014
TMZ obtained texts on Tuesday which appear to show Hardwick ended things with Dykstra in 2014 for cheating
After his massive break up letter, Dykstra responded several times, begging Hardwick to hear her out
Eventually, she resigned herself to the fact that he didn’t want to talk, according to the texts
Seven months later, she texted him again, asking to patch things up – which Hardwick’s friends find strange considering her latest allegations
In a massive missive Hardwick allegedly sent to Dykstra in July 2014, he says that he is breaking up with her because she had been cheating on him with a man named ‘Sam’.
The two were apparently getting back together after having broken up when Hardwick said he learned about the other man.
At the end of the text, Hardwick says he doesn’t want to speak with Dykstra again, but she begs him in a series of texts to let her explain herself.
Eventually she resigns herself to the fact that Hardwick doesn’t want to talk, but tells him ‘I will always love you’.
Seven months later, Dykstra reaches out to Hardwick again, this time asking ‘when can we be okay?’
‘We both handled this poorly. Possibly myself moreso [sic],’ Dykstra appears to write.
Friends of Hardwick’s who spoke to TMZ say they find it hard to believe that he was sexually abusive to Dykstra if she fought the end of their relationship, and then reached out to him to patch things up several months later.
In Dykstra’s essay, titled Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession, on the site Medium, she didn’t name her ex but several details she described in the piece suggested she is referring to Hardwick, 46.
Hardwick and 29-year-old Dykstra split in 2014 after three years of dating. They each announced their breakup in similar tweets.
Dykstra said she lost 15 pounds in a week because of the stress of her relationship with Hardwick. The picture on the left is a ‘progress shot’ she shared in her essay detailing the abuse while the picture on the right is from June 14, 2018
In the post, the Just Cos host says she has attempted to share her story more than a dozen times but was fearful about putting her ‘personal and professional reputation on the line’.
‘Admittedly, there’s still an anger inside of me. An anger at him, an anger at myself for letting myself fall into the trap and being naive enough to stay there,’ she wrote.
Dykstra said she experienced ‘long-term abuse’ by her ex-boyfriend, who she said is 20 years older her. The actress wrote that she met him at a convention when she was in her early 20s.
Dykstra wrote that the relationship ‘started out poorly’ and within the first two weeks of them dating he had given her a set of rules she had to follow.
Some of them included her reserving her nights for her ex. Dykstra said because he had a busy schedule, she rarely saw her friends.
‘I was to not have close male friends unless we worked together. All photos of male friends were to be removed from my apartment. This was heartbreaking for me, as my best friend happened to be male,’ she wrote about rule No. 2.
Dykstra also said she was also not allowed to have alcohol, because he was sober. Hardwick has often discussed his struggles with alcohol addiction.
‘Before we began dating he said, ‘I noticed you have a glass of wine with dinner. That’s going to stop,’ she wrote.
Dykstra did not name her ex-boyfriend but several details in the essay appeared to match with Hardwick
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nerdist, the company Hardwick founded, removed all references to him from its website on Friday. Dykstra tweeted the above on Friday afternoon
According to the actress, other rules included not speaking in public places because he thought ‘people recognized him and were listening to our conversations.’
‘Our dinners out were usually silent, him on his phone,’ she added.
She also said she wasn’t allowed to take photos of them together but eventually loosened up on that rule, but always made her ask permission first.
‘These were just a few of them. And I made the choice to accept his controlling behavior, as he’d just left his long-term girlfriend and I assumed that he was going through some serious emotional discomfort. This was a huge mistake,’ she wrote.
The essay continued stating that the man would leave Dykstra in hotel rooms while he attended events and he forced her to take an on-camera job at his company. Dykstra wrote that she was against working for a significant other but she ‘scared to upset him’ so she took the position.
‘I accepted the job, but I refused payment for my work, feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing (though the lovely folks at his company eventually forced me to take a check). By this time, like I said, I was terrified to piss him off- so I did what he said,’ she posted.
The actress also revealed that she considered suicide multiple times but is in a much better place now
Dykstra also accused her ex of sexually assaulting her on a regular basis.
‘I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work. … Every night, I laid there for him, occasionally in tears. He thought the whole idea was funny,’ she wrote. ‘To be fair, I did go along with it out of fear of losing him.’
Dykstra said after three of ‘being snapped/yelled at constantly, very rarely being shown any affection’ she ended the relationship. Her ex, according to Dykstra, retaliated by blacklisting her.
‘He made calls to several companies I received regular work from to get me fired by threatening to never work with them. He succeeded. I was blacklisted,’ she wrote.
Dykstra continued saying the stress of the relationship caused her to lose 15 pounds in a week and she battled anorexia. The actress and host also said she considered suicide multiple times.
‘When cameras were on us? He was a prince. Turn them off, he was a nightmare,’ she said.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nerdist, the company Hardwick founded, removed all references to him from its website on Friday.
‘Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017. He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks. The company has removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation,’ a Legendary spokesperson said.
Dykstra tweeted on Friday: ‘Before I take my break, I do want to address something re: the company he founded. As I understand it, the person has not been associated with that company for several years, and I hope that they will not suffer as a result of my essay. Be kind to them, they are good people.’
Hardwick is now married to model and heiress Lydia Hearst.
Just two days after Dykstra published her essay, he released a statement denying the allegations.
In a statement Hardwick said: ‘I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post. Our three year relationship was not perfect – we were ultimately not a good match and argued – even shouted at each other – but I loved her, and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her.
‘When we were living together, I found out that Chloe cheated on me, and I ended the relationship. For several week after we broke up, she asked me to get back together with me and even told me she wanted to have kids with me, ‘build a life’ with me and told me that I was ‘the one,’ but I did not want to be with someone who was unfaithful.
‘I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur. I was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her. As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.’