Chris Hardwick's Ex-Girlfriend Jacinda Barrett Defends Him amid Sexual Assault Allegations

Natalie Stone
Updated

Jacinda Barrett is coming to Chris Hardwick‘s defense amid the emotional abuse and sexual assault allegations that were brought against him by ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra.

“This past week I have watched someone I once loved and shared four years of my life with be publicly accused of misconduct and abuse, then swiftly fired and shunned. The accuser’s story bears no resemblance to the one I shared with him all those years ago, but what is of supreme importance here is that every woman and every man deserves a voice,” Barrett, 45, captioned an Instagram post shared Monday.

“Accuser and Accused. Everyone deserves to be heard. A rush to judgement denies the right to due process; the Metoo movement deserves due process. #metoomovement #dueprocess #chrishardwick @hardwick,” she continued.

Barrett, who dated Hardwick in the ’90s, shared a personal quote in the Instagram photo, in which asked her followers to think about the impact of the allegations against Hardwick, 46.

“Imagine you are sitting in a courtroom. A person walks in and in their own words reads a statement accusing you of wrongdoing. The punishment for this crime is to lose your livelihood, legacy, reputation and to be publicly shamed,” she writes. “Without examination of evidence, without due course the judge turns to everyone there and says what do you think? Guilty?”

This past week I have watched someone I once loved and shared four years of my life with be publicly accused of misconduct and abuse, then swiftly fired and shunned. The accuser’s story bears no resemblance to the one I shared with him all those years ago, but what is of supreme importance here is that every woman and every man deserves a voice. Accuser and Accused. Everyone deserves to be heard. A rush to judgement denies the right to due process; the Metoo movement deserves due process. #metoomovement #dueprocess #chrishardwick @hardwick

A post shared by Jacinda Barrett (@jacindabarrett) on Jun 25, 2018 at 8:03am PDT

Dykstra, 29, wrote about her painful experience with sexual assault in an emotional first-person essay earlier this month, although she never named her former boyfriend.

In the essay, titled “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession,” the TV personality doesn’t name the subject, though certain key details led many fans on Twitter to believe that she was referring to ex-boyfriend Hardwick.

Dykstra and Hardwick announced their split in July 2014 via Twitter. Hardwick married heiress/actress Lydia Hearst in 2016.

Hours after Dykstra’s claims went public, Hardwick gave a statement obtained by PEOPLE saying he made sure to take time to respond to the “very serious allegations.”

“I was heartbroken to read Chloe’s post. Our three year relationship was not perfect — we were ultimately not a good match and argues — even shouted at each other — but I loved her and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her,” said Hardwick.

He continued by describing their relationship at the time and claiming the actress had been unfaithful to him when they were a couple.

“When we were living together, I found out that Chloe had cheated on me, and I ended the relationship,” Hardwick said. “For several weeks after we broke up, she asked to get back together with me and even told me she wanted to have kids with me, ‘build a life’ with me and told me that I was ‘the one,’ but I did not want to be with someone who was unfaithful.”

“I’m devastated to read that she is now accusing me of conduct that did not occur,” Hardwick added. “I was blindsided by her post and always wanted the best for her. As a husband, a son, and future father, I do not condone any kind of mistreatment of women.”

After Hardwick denied the allegations, Dykstra thanked fans for their “outpouring of support and love.”

“The people who have come forward with both stories validating mine, and stories of their own personal experience, have helped me immensely with my own healing process. After years of therapy and rebuilding your support has done so much for me than all of it combined,” she said in a Twitter post.

Dykstra said she was thinking of those who were still stuck in abusive relationships when she decided to share her own story.

“It is my hope, and it always was, that women and men on both sides of abuse will make changes to either protect themselves or to stop the cycle of pain their own behavior can cause,” she explained.

She added, “My heart goes out to those caught in the fallout.”

“Having been able to lift from my shoulder that which was weighing me down, I’m ready to move forwards in my life, finally instead of looking back with fear and sadness,” she said.