Stassi Schroeder Says She Doesn't Know How She'll Explain Her Experience with Self-Harm to Toddler After She Saw Her Scars

Mar. 15, 2025

Stassi Schroeder and daughter Hartford.Photo:Jerod Harris/Getty

Jerod Harris/Getty

Stassi Schroederisn’t sure how she’s going to approach a difficult subject with her daughter Hartford.

Speaking toBustleabout her new bookYou Can’t Have It All, theVanderpump Rulesalum, 36, opened up about her experience with self-harm for the first time publicly, noting that she credits having Hartford, 3, as a reason for speaking up.

“When I look at myself naked, Hartford will see a little line, and she’ll be like, ‘Mommy, ouchie,’ " Schroeder tells the outlet. “I’m like, ‘Oh, God, that feels dirty. How will I ever explain to her that this was something that I chose?'”

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Now that she’s discussing her journey in her book, Schroeder hopes that being transparent about her experience will inspire others to talk about how they’re feeling.

“It just feels like it’s been a secret, and I don’t like secrets. I think that’s part of maybe why I do what I do — podcasts, just living out loud,” Schroder explains. “Because there is this feeling of: ‘I’m free. Everyone knows my s—. I don’t have to hide anything.”

Schroeder shares her daughter and son Messer Rhys, 11 months, with husbandBeau Clark, 44.

“I think no one properly warned me that going from one to two is harder than going from zero to one. Because now it’s like me and my husband are just like … one of them’s on the other,” she told PEOPLE.

“So there’s less time for us to just be adults. But we’re getting to the point where we fully have the hang of things. So life gets easier every day.”

She also shared that her daughter Hartford is her mini-me, joking, “It’s my karma, she’s my karma.”

“But I know how to parent her the best. I’m so equipped to, because I am like her,” added Schroeder.

source: people.com