A reply to Melanie’s allegations

25/06/2020

This response is difficult for me to write because I cannot refute events that did not happen. I can only hope to add context to the allegations and hopefully shed some light on why Melanie may have made them.

In 2017 Melanie and I had a relationship that lasted a few months and ended because I felt it was becoming unhealthy. Although on July 11th we appeared to have ended on good terms, in the months following the breakup Melanie began to claim that I did not care about her and threatened suicide, telling me that she had purchased a gun permit with the intention to kill herself. Here, by her own admission suggests that she will tell people I was the reason after first saying that it was actually because of herself.

Full resolution: https://imgur.com/a/ssHAch4

Melanie flew back home from LA to NC on July 11th, 2017 and on October 3rd said that she would tell the police that I sexually assaulted her if I called for them to do a wellness check on her. This was the first time I had ever heard of this.

On August 20th, I had actually already called the police in her state to request a wellness check to make sure she would not harm herself. This is something I had not revealed to Melanie for fear of threat. I did not have her exact address, but I called the police nearest to where I thought she lived. When she began to threaten suicide again I assumed the police had not performed the check and that’s when I told her directly that I would call them if she didn’t seek professional help. This is when she accused me of sexually assaulting her. She has not mentioned it since. I would like to make it very clear that I take the issue of consent very seriously, as I did throughout our relationship and I believe that every time we had sex, it was consensual.

I still do not know if the police department ever performed the wellness check and they did not follow up with me when they said they would.

The allegations made by Melanie on 25th June 2020 follow a pattern of behaviour where she would threaten to hurt herself or threaten to falsely accuse me of sexual assault to stop me from calling the police.

Full resolution: https://imgur.com/a/BwxrayG

I take responsibility for my lack of judgement in instigating the relationship. She was young and was dealing with mental health problems. I wanted to help her but it should also have been clear she wasn't ready for a relationship. She needed a friend who could help her get the medical assistance that she needed, not the additional stress of a partner.

The aftermath of my relationship with Melanie is something I could never have prepared for. Mental health has always been a key focus in my life, but I should have never assumed I could help someone overcome their own personal issues without additional help.

I hope that this has clarified my situation and I continue to remain in loyal support of all women who have come out to share their personal traumas with the world. I also hope you will respect the privacy of each of us in the wake of this very acute detailing of the events that have transpired.

UPDATE 28/06/2020

To add context to the October 3rd accusation in question: Here is our entire message history after the accusation. I did not respond because I thought Melanie had just taken her threats to one more new extreme. With threats of suicide I felt I had the duty to respond and wanted to help, but this was the first time she raised this supposed assault. To be clear, this supposed incident never took place. When she had first brought this up however, I was scared that she would lie and thought I could only make it worse by responding. Small talk and serious threats were a regular occurrence in our conversations. I have never sexually assaulted anyone.