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It took 18 years for Rebecca Gayheart to finally feel ready to open up about her 2001 car accident, which resulted in the death of 9-year-old Jorge Cruz Jr.
While attending the 18th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on Saturday, Gayheart, 47, told PEOPLE that although it hadn’t been easy todiscuss the tragic accident for the first timelast month, it was something she “needed to do.”
“It had been 18 years, I’d never really talked to anyone about it,” she said, adding that sharing her story on her friend’sThe Only One in the Roompodcast was “a great way to get it off my chest.”
Since then, theBeverly Hills, 90210actress says she’s gotten plenty of support.
“People have been kind to me, which is nice, I felt very loved my last couple of weeks, people have reached out to offer support, so it’s been a positive experience,” she said.
During the podcast, Gayheart shared that following the accident, she found it difficult to move on, and had considered taking her own life.
Acknowledging that it “was scary” to be so open about her experience, the actress told PEOPLE at the event that she hoped she could help provide comfort to others grappling with tragedies in their lives.
“I did it because I was thinking, if there’s one person out there who feels the same way and I can offer them some perspective of it all being okay, then it’s worth it,” she explained.
Rebecca Gayheart with daughters.JB Lacroix/Getty Images
“Right now, my kids are everything, my kids keep me in line,” she shared.
Later on in the evening, after their mother finished delivering an emotional speech, the actress shared a sweet hug with both of her daughters, whom she shares with exEric Dane.
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Gayheart opened up about the tragic accident last month, revealing that she still has “trouble talking about it.”
“A 9-year-old child died. And, you know, everything changed from that,” she shared. “It just turned my world upside down and I lost faith in everything, like, I questioned God, like, ‘Why me? Why Jorge?’”
Although Gayheart still struggles with what happened, she has since found both happiness and further success in her life, and if trying to keep a positive mindset.
“Today, I am able to ponder those questions and still realize that I deserve to be happy,” she concluded. “That I am meant to be on this planet and that I have a purpose and I’m making, living amends for that, even though it was an accident.”
source: people.com
