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Chyler Leigh Opens Up About Her Childhood

17 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:19

In this personal interview segment, Chyler Leigh recounts her early life, beginning with her birth in Charlotte, North Carolina, and upbringing in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She explains that her parents separated when she was 12, and that her mother and father had previously run a successful weight‑loss nutrition business that collapsed after a competing Weight Watchers store opened nearby. The loss of the business forced the family into poverty, relying on food stamps and church assistance. Leigh describes a severe mental‑health crisis her mother experienced, including hospitalization and a suicide attempt, during which her mother contacted her first husband. He invited Leigh and her mother to leave Virginia Beach and move to Miami, where they lived with him. Leigh reflects on the abrupt cultural shock of moving to Miami at age 12, highlighting the upheaval and abuse she faced in her household.

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Born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Parents split, moved to— How old when they split? I was 12. What did dad do? He and my mother had their own, like, um, weight loss nutritional business, and it was incredible, like a huge success. A couple years into it, Weight Watchers moved into the same plaza and they lost their business. We lost everything. We hit a point where we were on food stamps, we were getting food from the church. Like, it was like devastation hit. So I'm kind of setting the stage. My mother had another really bad episode, was hospitalized, and was going to take her life, told me. While she was in the hospital, she ended up calling her first husband to say goodbye. And her first husband was like, get out of there. So there's a lot of abuse and stuff going on in the house. But he's like, get out of there, bring your kids, and you come and you stay with me. So all of a sudden it's like, well, I guess we're leaving Virginia Beach, Virginia. And then my mom and I drove down to Miami. When you were 12? Wildest culture shock. And we ended up moving in with her first husband. That's wild.