Jana Kramer is ready to continue her healing journey after an abusive past.
During the Wednesday, October 29, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Whine Down” podcast, Kramer, 41, invited the daughter of her alleged abuser to have an open and honest conversation about their experiences.
“I know it’s my story, but this is also your story, and I do want to apologize,” Kramer shared with a woman identified as Brittany Qualls. “It’s got to be hard having someone that you don’t know speak about someone that is your father, and so I apologize if that’s ever been something that’s been challenging for you to walk through.”
The One Tree Hill alum continued, “I don’t know what that feels like to have someone talk about someone that … you’ve never met me, you know, and like someone that you’ve also never met too.”
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Although Kramer did not reveal the name of her abuser in the episode, she has previously spoken out about the alleged domestic abuse she endured during her first marriage to Michael Gambino.
“One minute he would be kind and everyone loved him,” Kramer recalled on her podcast. “My parents loved him, which made me think that I was the crazy one. … He would have this, like, switch that would just go from nice to evil within moments.”
Kramer married Gambino during a Las Vegas wedding in 2004 when she was 19.
Gambino was convicted one year later of premeditated attempted murder and served five years in prison. Although he was released on parole, he died by suicide in 2012.
In her conversation with Kramer, Qualls made it clear that an apology from the “Why You Wanna” singer “is not needed whatsoever.”
“At the end of the day, this person was my father,” she said. “Even though I didn’t know him, and I’ve known all the bad things, I think you hope there’s some good in there, but you know there’s not. I guess I’ve always been hopeful that someone would say something good. I’ve learned to be ok with that.”
Qualls said she first learned of her father’s behavior when picking up an issue of People magazine and seeing his mugshot.
“It’s definitely not something you thought one day it would be, like, in public or anything,” Qualls said. “I think when I heard it for the first time, I was like, ‘No, that’s not my dad,’ and then hearing more from other people, it kind of weighs heavy on you a little bit because you go through the whys.”
With help from therapy, Qualls said she has been able to process a lot of difficult information and live a full life.
“I believe that I am not him, and his actions aren’t me,” she declared. “At the end of the day, I am who I make myself be, and whatever he did is not who I am.”
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As for Kramer — who is currently married to Allan Russell — she’s grateful to have had the opportunity to connect with Qualls.
“I just have to say, you are the most beautiful piece of him,” she said. “You’re beautiful. … I just really appreciate you coming on, reaching out and being persistent enough to put the pieces together for you. I think that says a lot about you and who you are.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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