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Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 4 New York Premiere© GettyImages

Millie Bobby Brown used her ‘unhealthy relationship’ with Hunter Ecimovic to fuel her acting in Stranger Things

The 18 year old has always been mature


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
AUGUST 11, 2022 9:02 PM EDT

Millie Bobby Brown has grown up in front of the world after she catapulted into fame as “Eleven” in Stranger things. The 18-year-old recently sat down with Allure, where she opened up about many aspects of her life, including her public split with TikToker Hunter Ecimovik. While she called the relationship an “unhealthy situation,” it did help fuel her acting in season 4 of the hit series.

Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 4 Premiere© GettyImages

Bobby Brown was only 12 when the world saw her play Eleven, a young girl with psychokinetic and telepathic abilities. The talented actress was always mature for her age, telling the outlet when she was ten years old, an established casting director told her she wasn’t going to make it in the industry because she was “too mature.”

While she ultimately proved them wrong, as she has grown, she has continued to use her experiences in her work- just like a mature actress should. In 2020 she began dating Ecimovic, and she finally walked away from the toxic situation in January 2021. She used the trauma for her performance in season 4, which as noted by Allure, could be seen in her head-to-head with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), and the final moments where Eleven walks away from her manipulative father figure, Papa (Matthew Modine). “I felt very vulnerable,” she told the outlet. “Also, no one on the set knew I was going through this. So it was kind of nice to be able to just deal with that myself and no one else knew. Then it was harder when the whole world knew.”

After the split, Bobby Brown began dating Jake Bongiovi,  but the drama with Ecimovic wasn’t over, because he went live on social media with problematic and shocking claims about the actress. “It was a year of healing,” she said. “When you get publicly humiliated this way, I felt so out of control and powerless. Walking away and knowing that I’m worth everything and this person didn’t take anything from me, it felt very empowering,” she continued. “Ultimately, all I wanted to do within my career is help young girls and young people out there know that I, too, go through things. I’m not this perfect person that is selling skin-care products and [who is] in Stranger Things. I absolutely have made wrong decisions.”

Following the split, Bobby Brown has been doing just that and is happy in her relationship with Jake. The son of Bon Jovi has been there by her side, most recently at the ¨Stranger Things: The Experience¨ in New York. The couple was seen hand in hand as she gave a VIP tour of the exhibit with a group that included Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon’s 11-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe.

Millie Bobby Brown© GrosbyGroup