Natalie Joy revealed how therapy helps her to cope up her past childhood trauma. In the latest episode of The Squeeze, the surgical technologist along-with her fiancé Nick Viall, and hosts Taylor Lautner and Tay Lautner for a vulnerable discussion on her past and the importance of therapy in her life. During the conversation, Viall and Joy mostly use more "we" and "us" language and keep holding hands and even operate now with the ultimate goal of "staying connected" as a couple.
Joy's Therapy Journey
During the conversation at The Squeeze, Joy revealed that she recently started therapy which works swiftly and targeting the root cause and perfectly working to overcome parts of her history she hadn't been able to deal with until now. She gave a look into her experience with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) and encouraged listeners to journal or seek other means of coping.
Joy's Dark Past
She always avoid to confront her past and wants it never happened,
"if I didn't go about it that way — trigger warning — I think I probably would've taken my life.
All of these past traumas resurfaced all at once. When I told that therapist about my rape at the age of 10, she was like, 'Well, why do you think he chose you? Why do you think of all the kids he picked you?' And I was like, 'I don't know' and it terrified me and I was like, 'I don't ever wanna talk to anyone about this ever again.'"
"So now I think, having all this stuff resurface — and it all slap me in the face — which I guess I always knew at some point it would, I was like, 'I know compartmentalizing and telling myself it's a lie and it never happened — I know this isn't healthy and I know I shouldn't do this but I'm surviving.' But now I'm in a place where I'm able to look at everything that's happened to me, accept it for what it is and acknowledge that I survived and I'm OK,"
Vial's Therapy Journey
Viall revealed that he got a chance to see a therapist in the pandemic as got a lot of free time for self grooming, and that lead the pair to started couples therapy around the same time. Vial said,
"With the things I talk about on my show, mental health, advocating for therapy — I do struggle with anxiety, so I was like, 'Why am I not in it?' It's been really helpful for me. It's really and truly been a blessing. For us, I think, every time we leave, there's like a high. We feel more connected. And I think that's been the biggest benefit for us ... it's one of those things I'm glad we did, because for all the people I talk to in relationships — people wait until you require reconstructive surgery, rather than, therapy's best served when it's used as a safety belt and bicycle helmet."
Natalie Joy and Nick Viall Relationship Timeline
The couple got engaged in January, and share their happy news with fans via their joint Instagram post after Viall proposed to Joy with a custom engagement ring from Brilliant Earth. Viall and Joy started dating in early 2020, but they didn't start sharing their relationship publicly until 2021. "For the rest of my life, it's you," Viall wrote in the caption of his IG post, which featured a handful of photos from the couple's engagement.
