Dele Alli’s girlfriend Cindy Kimberly shows support for England star after revealing he was sexually abused as a kid
DELE Alli’s girlfriend rushed to support the England star after he revealed he was sexually abused as a child.
Cindy Kimberly, 24, who has been dating the star since last summer, told how proud she was of the midfielder after he made the shock revelation.
During an appearance on The Overlap with Gary Neville, he revealed he recently spent time in rehab for sleep pill addiction.
And opened up about his traumatic experiences as a child.
Kimberly took to social media as soon as the interview was released to lead support.
She wrote: “Proud of you.”
During the interview the Everton star became very emotional and was seen wiping back tears as he opened up about his trauma.
He said: “When I was six I was molested by mum’s friend… because my mum was an alcoholic.
“That happened at six.”
He continued: “And then I was sent to Africa to learn discipline and then I was sent back.
“At seven I started smoking and then at eight I started selling drugs.
“An older person told me they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike so I’d ride around with my football and underneath I’d have drugs.
“At 11 I was hung off a bridge… by a guy from the next estate. A man.
“By 12 I was adopted but from then it was like I was adopted by an amazing family.”
It comes as Alli, 27, found himself on a downward spiral after returning to England from Turkey, excessively drinking and consuming sleeping pills.
And in a desperate bid to get himself back on the straight and narrow, he checked himself into a rehab facility.
He explained: “When I came back from Turkey I found out I needed an operation I was in a bad place mentally and I decided to go to a modern-day rehab facility for mental health.
“They deal with addiction and trauma. I felt it was time for me.
“You can’t be told to go there – you have to know and make the decision yourself or it’s not going to work.
“I was caught in a bad cycle and things that were doing me harm.”
How you can get help
Whenever it happened to you, it’s never too late to get support.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual violence or sexual abuse, you can get confidential support from specialists who will listen to you, believe you and understand how hard it is to talk about.
As a victim, you’re entitled to support whether you report the crime or not.
Your rights are set out in full in the Victims’ Code.
Visit gov.uk/sexualabusesupport to see the support on offer.
And he admits he contemplated hanging up his boots three years ago at the age of 24.
The former Tottenham man said: “One morning I woke up and I had to go training.
“I remember staring in the mirror and I was asking if I could retire now. At 24. Doing the thing I love.
“For me that was heartbreaking.”
He added: ‘It’s always been me against myself in everything.
“I was winning the fight, showing I was happy. But inside, I was losing the battle.”