Jennette McCurdy reflects on ‘creepy’ relationship at young age

Jennette McCurdy is speaking out with new detail about a troubling relationship she had as a teenager with a much older man, one she now calls “creepy” and emotionally draining. 

The former iCarly star, 33, opened up during a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, linking the experience to themes in her upcoming debut novel Half His Age, which is due to be published on January 20.

McCurdy said she was around 18 when she first got into the relationship with a man in his 30s whom she met through work during her time on the Nickelodeon set. 

She described how he would show her films and music he assumed she’d enjoy, even though she didn’t, and how she pretended to like them to please him. 

The dynamic wasn’t just mismatched in age, it also carried a sense of power imbalance, with the man already in a long-term relationship and living with his girlfriend. 

“It was just exhausting,” McCurdy recalled, reflecting on the way she felt caught in a cycle that was difficult to break. 

In conversation, she highlighted how uncomfortable some encounters became, including moments when he showed up intoxicated and pushed for intimacy that conflicted with her own beliefs and upbringing, which emphasised waiting until marriage. 

Looking back, she said the whole situation now feels “creepy.”

The relationship took place during a difficult period in McCurdy’s life, shortly before her mother’s death in 2013, adding emotional strain to an already confusing situation. 

Although the romance eventually tapered off, McCurdy later revisited the experience while writing her novel, finding that it stirred up unresolved anger she hadn’t fully processed until putting it into words.

McCurdy has been candid about her past in previous work as well, including her bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, where she first mentioned the age-gap relationship. 

Her newest project is expected to dig even deeper into how desire, power and vulnerability intersected in that and other experiences from her youth.

By sharing these reflections, McCurdy hopes to spark broader conversations about unhealthy relationships, power dynamics and the emotional journey of coming to terms with one’s history. 

As her novel’s release nears, audiences can expect more insight into how she has transformed difficult personal experiences into creative expression.