Wednesday 10 August 2022 08:28 PM Marcus Mumford reveals he was sexually abused aged 6 trends now
Marcus Mumford has revealed he was sexually abused as a child - with his distraught mother only finding out when she heard the lyrics to his solo track 30 years later.
The Mumford & Sons frontman, 35, said he spent his life in 'layers of shame' following the abuse aged six, which was the 'first of a string of really unusual, unhealthy sexual experiences at a really early age.'
Speaking to GQ Magazine, he said: 'Like lots of people – and I’m learning more and more about this as we go and as I play it to people – I was sexually abused as a child.
Devastating: Marcus Mumford has revealed he was sexually abused as a child - with his distraught mother only finding out when she heard the lyrics to his solo track 30 years later (pictured 2018)
'Not by family and not in the church, which might be some people’s assumption. But I hadn’t told anyone about it for 30 years.
Marcus' parents John and Eleanor were international leaders of neocharismatic evangelical Christian denomination, the Vineyard Churches.
He added: 'And for some reason, and I can’t really understand why, I didn’t become a perpetrator of sexual abuse – although I’ve done my fair share of c**tish behaviour.'
Marcus, who shares two children with wife Carey Mulligan, detailed how he was at 'rock bottom' after finishing touring Mumford & Sons’ 2018 album Delta, with his loved ones recognising he was not acting right and urging him to seek help.
Torment: The Mumford & Sons frontman, 35, said he spent his life in 'layers of shame' following the abuse aged six, which was the 'first of a string of really unusual, unhealthy sexual experiences at a really early age' (pictured performing in 2019)
Song: Marcus' mother Eleanor (pictured) was left shocked when he played his solo single for her and revealed he had been abused
He recounted his childhood abuse with a specialist trauma therapist, with the recollection causing him to vomit, before he channelled the memory into his first solo single, Cannibal.
The lyrics include: 'I can still taste you and I hate it / That wasn’t a choice in the mind of a child and you knew it.'
He recalled how he played Cannibal for his mother, who came back to him two days later asking what the song was about.
Eleanor was shocked when he revealed he had been abused, with Marcus reflecting on the trauma his mother must have experienced learning about the abuse via the 'f***ing hilarious' medium of song.
Marcus, who has played in the folk rock band since 2007 alongside Ben Lovett, and
