Mandy Moore Says Ex-Husband Ryan Adams Damaged Career With “Destructive” Behavior

This Is Us star Mandy Moore opened up about her relationship with ex-husband Ryan Adams in a New York Times article which included a number of women coming forward sharing their abusive experiences with the musician.

Moore, who launched her career as a major pop star during the ’90s, shared her experiences in the NYT expose that detailed a bigger picture of Adams and how he was “controlling” in many of his relationships with women. The Golden Globe-nominated actress first met Adams in 2007 and, according to the article, he discouraged her from working with other producers and managers. Eventually, he became the man in charge of her music career.

After writing songs together, he promised they would record and they never did. The article states that he would record with other female artists and Moore said that he lashed out in ways that were psychologically abusive. Moore said that Adams told her: “You’re not a real musician, because you don’t play an instrument.”

Moore released her sixth album before the married and hasn’t released an album since. “His controlling behavior essentially did block my ability to make new connections in the industry during a very pivotal and potentially lucrative time — my entire mid-to-late 20s,” she said.

Essentially, Adams blocked Moore from progressing her music career. The two finalized their divorce in 2016. He has since denied these claims of emotional abuse.

In the award-winning This Is Us, Moore plays a once-aspiring singer who stops pursuing her dreams after being told she isn’t good enough. The storyline isn’t exactly like her relationship with Adams, but there are parallels, which may or may not have informed her performance.

“What you experience with him — the treatment, the destructive, manic sort of back and forth behavior — feels so exclusive,” Moore said of Adams. “You feel like there’s no way other people have been treated like this.”

Moore said that her experiences with Adams overlapped with other women and they have created a support system to recover from their damaged relationships. “I want to make music,” she said. “I’m not going to let Ryan stop me.”