Abigail Breslin Warns of ‘Massive Red Flag’ in Abusive Relationships

Abigail Breslin is sharing her own story of domestic abuse in an effort to help others.

Breslin, 28, posted a video on Instagram on Monday, Oct. 7 of herself speaking at an event at Penn State University in Pennsylvania in coordination with Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In her caption, the Oscar nominee said the video shows her “discussing my own story of intimate partner violence, the warning signs of abusive relationships, and how to find resources and help.”

The actress told a group of students that “looking for the signs” remains an important way to identify abusive patterns in relationships. “Whether it’s yourself or your friend going through it, and the best way that we can really prevent abuse in relationships is not tolerating it. Not allowing. . . When you start to notice somebody isolating your friend or yourself from other people, massive red flag,” she said. “Get out of it before it gets deeper.”

“I was profoundly moved and impressed by the faculty and students who have created such strong initiatives to prevent relationship abuse,” Breslin added in the caption to her post. “To everyone who came to listen, thank you. You give every survivor hope for the future.”

The Little Miss Sunshine star has openly recounted in recent years that she experienced domestic abuse in a past relationship. In the video, Breslin urged students to demand “what you know that you deserve” in romantic relationships.

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“Don’t allow people to treat you in a way that is not conducive to your best life, and so that all begins with having self-worth. You are not solely here to be in a relationship with another person,” she said. “You are complete and whole entirely on your own. It all starts from a level of self-respect.”

Breslin, who most recently appeared on the big screen in this year’s Classified, married her longtime boyfriend Ira Kunyansky in January 2023.

“I get to hang out with my best friend all the time, which is really fun,” she told PEOPLE of married life at a Clarins’ product launch party in March. “I hate that he takes the blankets and doesn’t keep his sink clean enough, that’s my biggest issue, but my best thing is that he is my best friend and I love going to hang out with him for the rest of my life.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.