Shortly after Marilyn Manson and Rachel Evan Wood‘s relationship went public in 2007, Wood talked to Elle about it in an interview and said their relationship was ‘healthy’ and ‘loving.’ Still, throughout the time they were together, the couple broke up and made up a few times.
The actress announced one of those breakups in 2008 while talking to People. She said the break was for them to focus on their careers and nothing else like the rumors claimed.
Following this, Manson talked about this period of their relationship in a chat with Spin. He shared that his lowest time after their split came on Christmas Day 2008, as he also wasn’t in touch with his family at the time. Then, he confessed:
“My walls were covered in scrawlings of the lyrics and cocaine bags nailed to the wall. And I did have an experience where I was struggling to deal with being alone and being forsaken and being betrayed by putting your trust in one person and making the mistake of that being the wrong person.
And that’s a mistake that everyone can relate to. I made the mistake of trying to desperately grasp on and save that and own it. And every time I called her that day — I called 158 times — I took a razor blade, and I cut myself on my face or on my hands.”
Looking back on the action, he went on:
“I look back, and it was a really stupid thing to do. This was intentional, this was a scarification, and this was like a tattoo. I wanted to show her the pain she put me through. It was like, ‘I want you to physically see what you’ve done.’ It sounds made up, but it’s completely true, and I don’t give a shit if people believe it or not. I’ve got the scars to prove it.”
The singer also added:
“I didn’t want people to ask me every time I did an interview, ‘Oh, is this record about your relationship with your ex-girlfriend?’ But that damage is part of it, and the song ‘I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies’ is about my fantasies. I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
Years later, some people brought Manson’s words up again after Wood accused him of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. To answer them through Metal Hammer, the vocalist’s team claimed that those statements were for album promotion and didn’t have ‘a factual account,’ as the couple got engaged a few months later.
On the other hand, other women kept sharing their experiences with abuse, involving Manson in them. In fact, one of his old keyboard techs, Dan Clearly, even claimed that the singer abused his now-wife, Lindsay Usich, in 2014-2015.
Marilyn denied these accusations on different platforms, especially after he lost his record deal with Loma Vista in 2021. During his lawsuit with Wood, he went on to claim that the actress ‘recruited’ women to speak against him. But the court dismissed them a few months ago.
