When Erin Andrews was dealing with a stalker over ten years ago, she once claimed that telling her parents she had been surreptitiously videotaped was one of the most challenging things she had ever done.
The Fox Sports sideline reporter recently opened up about two tragic events in her life. It was her devastating cancer diagnosis and stalker hell which almost derailed her career.
Michael David Barrett entered a guilty plea in 2009 for secretly recording Erin Andrews in her underwear on camera using his cellphone in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, as well as for reserving hotel rooms next to her in three different cities. He would later upload those videos to the internet, which prompted the former ESPN reporter to sue the Nashville hotel and her stalker, sending him to prison.
Andrews disclosed to the New York Post that she feared the incident would ruin her career.
‘I wake up one morning, and there’s a video of me all over the Internet,’ she told the New York Post.
‘And I called my parents. I always get emotional about that, because I know my parents suffered a lot. I start screaming to them, “My career is over. I am finished. This is going to ruin me!”‘
Erin filed a $75 million complaint alleging continued emotional distress from the incident against Barrett, West End Hotel Partners, and Windsor Capital Group, the two businesses in charge of managing the Nashville Marriott.
Erin received a $55 million award following an extremely taxing trial in 2016, while Barrett received a 20-month jail sentence.
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The 54-year-old stalker spent two-and-a-half years in prison following his stalking conviction.
‘I had a public trial. I had to prove to a lot of people that I didn’t put those pictures up of myself,’ she added.
‘That was a really tough thing for my family. I would walk around stadiums and just think, “Everybody in this stadium has seen me naked, and I didn’t have a choice.” It was really hard.’
Barrett was released from prison in 2012 after 20 months behind bars.
Erin Andrews Opens Up About Being Diagnosed With Cancer
Just as the sexual harassment trial was wrapping up, Andrews was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
In 2016, Erin Andrews was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had to undergo two surgeries. Despite that, Andrews continued to work – even a day after surgery – and kept her diagnosis under wraps until the Super Bowl.
“I shouldn’t have been traveling, but there was no way I was going to miss that game,” she recalls.
Andrews kept her illness a secret for most of that season.
“I didn’t say anything until the Super Bowl,” she says.
When she did go public about her cancer diagnosis, she was stunned by the reaction from her colleagues and friends in the NFL.
“I had grown men who are superstars in the NFL call me, and text me, and pull me aside on the sidelines to cry,” she said.
“They said they were so grateful that I was vocal about cervical cancer.”
With the assistance of a surrogate mother, Andrews and her husband, former NHL star Jarret Stoll, announced the arrival of their son Mack last summer.
Andrews says she feels “mom guilt” when she leaves home for work.
“I didn’t think it would hit me, because I’ve always put my job first. I just said to my husband, ‘Well, I have to work’,” she said.
Also Read: NFL Announcer Had Notable Reaction To Erin Andrews’ Spicy Photos
