In a candid interview with Romper on Wednesday, December 6, Paris Hilton, the 42-year-old businesswoman and media personality, has shared the deeply personal reasons behind her decision to use surrogates for her two children, Phoenix and London, with husband Carter Reum.
The star’s traumatic experiences during her teenage years at Provo Canyon School in Utah have had lasting effects, shaping not only her decisions about motherhood but also her approach to life.
Hilton has been vocal about the sexual and physical abuses she claims to have suffered at Provo Canyon School, a facility focusing on troubled youth. The heiress recounted nonconsensual gynecologic exams and other forms of mistreatment she endured. Hilton described how these experiences left her with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, particularly in medical settings. “If I’m in a doctor’s office, I get a shot, anything, I will literally have a panic attack and I can’t breathe,” Hilton disclosed. This anxiety, she feared, would be detrimental to her health and that of a baby, should she choose to carry a child herself.
The trauma, as Hilton shared, extended beyond her years at the school, influencing her well-known partying lifestyle in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Seeking refuge in the nightlife, she said that her nightly outings with friends would drown out her nightmares. This period in her life was a direct response to the trauma from her past, a search for safety in an otherwise tumultuous world.
Her decision for surrogacy wasn’t solely based on her past traumas. Hilton also acknowledged that her busy schedule played a role in this choice.
Paris Hilton’s journey through these challenges has not only been a personal struggle but also a public one. Her openness about these experiences has fueled her advocacy for better oversight and regulation of youth residential treatment centers. Her testimony and activism have brought attention to the need for reforms in such institutions, emphasizing the long-term impacts of abuse and negligence on young people.
Hilton’s experiences have also shaped her views on parenting. Reflecting on her upbringing, she expressed a desire to foster open communication with her children, diverging from the strict rules she faced as a child. Yet, she also acknowledges the fears that come with parenting in today’s world, hinting at a balance between openness and protectiveness.