No one was more surprised than Selma Blair when her ex-boyfriend allegedly attacked her in February.
“It was the most shocking thing,” Blair told People while promoting her new memoir, Mean Baby, out May 17. “After I’d finished the book, I honestly thought, ‘Well, that’s the dramatic portion of my life. That’s done.’ He was charged with a felony. I look forward to it being behind me.”
The Legally Blonde actress was hospitalized after Ronald Carlson, the man she’d dated for about seven years, allegedly yelled at her and aggressively jumped on top of her while she was laying on the couch, before strangling and throttling her, according to court documents obtained by the magazine. In those documents, Blair said that she defended herself by putting her fingers in Carlson’s eyes and mouth, and Carlson reacted by covering her mouth, leaving her “unable to breathe” and, briefly, unconscious. The two then physically fought again, and she called the Los Angeles Police Department. Carlson left before they arrived, and Blair lost consciousness again while she was speaking with officers. She was then taken to the hospital. Carlson was later arrested for felony domestic violence, and Blair obtained a 5-day protective order against him. Then, Carlson filed for his own restraining order, but his request was denied by the court.
In her book, which Blair has said she wrote for Arthur, her 10-year-old son with former partner Jason Bleick, she writes about her alcoholism at an early age, multiple sexual assaults and her 2018 diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. Heartbreaking stuff for sure. However, Blair is all about the now rather than the past. Writing her book helped her process all that has happened.
“I did not realize that assault was so central in my life,” she said. “I had so much shame and blame. I’m grateful I felt safe enough to put it on the page. And then can work on it with a therapist and with other writing, and really relieve that burden of shame on myself.”
She told the magazine that, at the moment, she’s doing better.
“I’m in a good place,” she said. “I cannot believe all this happened in my life, and I’m still here and I’m OK.”
