Tragic Details About Madison Beer

The following article contains mentions of child sexualization, mental health issues, self-harm, and suicide.

Back in 2012, 13-year-old Madison Beer found practically overnight success when Justin Bieber discovered her YouTube covers of hit songs like Etta James' "At Last." Like the "One Time" artist, who also was first noticed for his online videos, she signed with Island Records and worked under producer Scooter Braun. What ensued over the next decade was a twisting, winding career trajectory that Beer could've never imagined for herself.

"I didn't feel protected," the "Selfish" singer explained to Elle of her early rise to fame. "And I didn't feel like people approached judging me like they were judging a 14-year-old." While Beer has had a stunning transformation over the years and is undeniably lucky to have had so many opportunities at such a young age, she's also endured a lot of hardship. From the way she was treated as a child star to her struggles on social media, in her love life, and with her mental health, these are the tragic details about Madison Beer.

It can be hard to navigate your changing world during a divorce, but there's no question that children of divorce can be heavily impacted. When Madison Beer was just 7 years old, her parents, Robert and Tracie Beer, split up. Since roughly half of marriages end in divorce, the singer's experience wasn't exactly unique, but that didn't make it any easier. However, as Beer shared on X in March 2016, she's able to see how her parents' divorce was the lesser of two evils. "It'll get easier and you'd rather them be happy & apart, [than] together and sad," she wrote.

During her April 2023 appearance on Alex Cooper's podcast, "Call Her Daddy," Beer said summer camp was a means of escape when she was a kid. "My parents were going through a divorce, so it was nice to just have a summer to myself," she said. Although it was a difficult time for Beer and her younger brother, Robert and Tracie made an effort to remain civil for their kids. "I was very fortunate that my parents were able to keep a relationship despite getting divorced," the "Blue" singer told Cooper.

Sadly, the sexualization of child stars isn't anything new. From Britney Spears to Brooke Shields to Billie Eilish and countless others, it seems that it often comes with the territory of being a young girl in the public eye. While the entertainment industry has made strides to protect young performers, there are still far too many instances of children being sexualized, and Madison Beer was one of them.

During her conversation with Cosmopolitan in April 2025, the "Make You Mine" singer revealed some of the revolting things she overheard "grown men" from her record label say. "There was a conversation around me when I was 14," Beer said. "I remember people being like, 'She's too sexy' and 'We can't sell the sex because she's so young, so we'd have to wait.'" Tragically, being too young for her label to promote her as a sex symbol was just one of the reasons Beer's career took a hit just a few years later.

Snapchat took the teen world by storm when it first became available in 2011. Sending messages that were guaranteed to disappear after a few moments made sexting seem safe at first, especially since you would know if a user had screenshotted your images. But sadly, as many have since learned, it isn't that simple. Like many teenagers have unfortunately experienced, Madison Beer was 15 when she discovered countless nude videos she had sent a guy had been published online.

While on "Call Her Daddy," the singer revealed that she was 13 or 14 when she began sexting with someone she had known for a long time and thought she could trust. Eventually, a couple of her friends informed her that the videos were going around, and soon Beer discovered her nudes on X, Vine, and "every social media platform possible, so quickly." At the time, the singer was told that her career was going to be impacted by the scandal and, as the internet turned against her, she took the entire situation really hard. As Beer explained to Alex Cooper, "I didn't realize until years later that I was the victim in this situation."

Given her two Grammy nominations and the two heartbreakingly honest albums she has under her belt as of this publication, what you might not know about Madison Beer is that she had to start from scratch after her record label dropped her. Amidst the leaked nudes scandal and being dubbed "too sexy," she was abandoned by those she thought believed in her. "Literally the same day my manager dropped me, my lawyer dropped me, and my label dropped me," Beer told Cosmopolitan during her 2025 interview. "Everything in my life went away within 12 hours." It was a lot for the then-16 year old to go through, especially considering how much she and her family had sacrificed for her career.

However, the "Good in Goodbye" singer was able to turn the betrayal into an opportunity to take the reins over her future. In her 2023 memoir "The Half of It" (via People), Beer wrote about how "terrifying" it was to start over. "I went from having the support of an entire professional team and photo shoots on huge, shiny sets to shooting the cover for my next single with a handheld camera in my living room," she remarked. Beer persevered, reinventing her image and putting out songs that she could truly be proud of.

After Madison Beer's manager and label dropped her at 16, her mental health took a massive hit. She was still enduring the trauma of having her nude videos leaked, her dream seemed to have been crushed, and the singer wasn't sure how she could carry on. In her memoir, Beer detailed how, on one particular night, she felt the only option was to end her own life.

"I climbed over the edge of my balcony in LA and stood there, a million thoughts running through my head as I stared down at the ground, my eyes going in and out of focus," she wrote (via People). "I don't think I would have jumped. It was more about knowing that I could." Beer's younger brother discovered her as she stood on her balcony and called for their parents.

"As I climbed back over, listening to them all freak out, I was only confused why they were making such a big deal out of it," Beer continued. "The thought of killing myself was so normal to me at that point that I had forgotten it wasn't something everyone pondered on a daily basis." After contemplating suicide again when she was 19, the singer fortunately sought help for her mental health and is in a much better place now.

Many of us have been there; you're out and about when your tampon or pad leaks. As embarrassing as it can be, though, few can say that the paparazzi are waiting nearby when it happens to catch a snapshot. Madison Beer, however, can. While at the beach in January 2017 with her then-boyfriend Jack Gilinsky, the singer was spotted with a blood stain on her white bikini. And once those images were published, Beer was accosted by several comments online — many of which claimed she had staged the accidental leak for attention.

But Beer wouldn't take the heat without defending herself. As she wrote in a post on X (via Seventeen) at the time, "Like what girl wouldn't be embarrassed from their period leaking????? ESPECIALLY leaking on the internet and having thousands of people make fun of [you]." The "Dear Society" singer went on to call the internet trolls "ignorant, ridiculous, and immature."

This, among a number of other unfortunate incidents with the press, has given Beer a thick skin, as she told Cosmopolitan. "I'm at this place now where I will happily be like, 'What the f*** are you saying?' if that's how I feel," she remarked. "And who I am is someone who does stand up for themselves."

After meeting at a party in 2015, then-15 year old Madison Beer and former Vine star Jack Gilinsky, who was 18 at the time, hit it off. They were together for two years before calling it quits, and while they hadn't spoken publicly about the circumstances of their split at the time, it soon became clear that the relationship wasn't healthy. In 2017, shortly after the two broke up, an audio clip leaked of Gilinsky allegedly verbally abusing Beer. In the snippet, a man believed to be the social media star repeatedly calls someone a "f***ing slut" (via Teen Vogue). Another voice, believed to be Beer, tells him to go away, adding, "The things you're saying to your girlfriend are like, out of control."

Soon-after, the "Selfish" singer shared a since-deleted message with her fans about the relationship, alleging Gilinsky had treated her poorly long before the audio leaked. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, your safety is never worth it," Beer wrote (via People). "No matter what, no one deserves to be treated that way."

Ariana Grande has had an incredible transformation and her fans were delighted when she released her music video for "Thank U, Next" in November 2018. There were several celebrity cameos throughout, including Liz Gillies, Troye Sivan, Kris Jenner, and Jennifer Coolidge, but there was one person missing who was reportedly meant to be there: Madison Beer. And the worst part? She was made fun of for telling people she was meant to be involved.

The pop star previously told her fans she couldn't make the schedule work to be in the video. Internet users attacked her for the way she said it, from her word choice to her facial expressions, with many refusing to believe Beer was telling the truth. On the "Zach Sang Show" in September 2023, she addressed the controversy: "I could laugh about it now but it's like, f*** man, people were so mean to me about that." However, Beer said that she understood why people felt that way about how she brought up the missed opportunity, adding, "It was f***ing cringe. I will get on the hate train with you, but I would never lie about something like that."

As of this publication, Madison Beer seems to have found a loving partner in Hype House influencer Nick Austin, who she's been with since 2020. But not long before she was with him, the pop star dated an entrepreneur who went on to become Olivia Rodrigo's ex-boyfriend, Zack Bia. Sadly, it seemed Beer wasn't treated very well in this relationship, either. The two split after a few months together in the summer of 2018 following a public spat in Los Angeles, but were back together by the end of the year.

Then, in March 2019, Beer shared a series of cryptic posts on X that seemed to be about Bia. "Before you diagnose yourself with depression and anxiety make sure you're not just surrounded by a**holes and people who don't care about you," she wrote. After a few days, the singer posted, "Oof I [really] owe myself the biggest apology for puttin[g] up w s*** I never deserved." And finally, Beer seemed to confirm her breakup from Bia, writing, "Single Madison thrives" on X a few days later.

Madison Beer has been outspoken about her struggles with mental health over the years, especially so in her memoir, "The Half of It." She didn't hold back when revealing the extent of her tribulations and how she coped with self-harm (also known as Non-Suicidal Self Injury), something that became difficult to hide as such a public figure. "I felt like I could never get away from the public eye," the singer said(via Forbes). "Even when I would leave my house and go outside, when I was self-harming and wearing sweatshirts people noticed and it was like, 'Why is she wearing a hoodie in 90-degree weather?'"

Thankfully, Beer revealed in an August 2020 X post that she was no longer engaging in self-harm as a coping method. "As of today... I am officially one year clean of self harm," she shared. "I never thought I'd be able to say this & I am so proud of myself," Beer added before sharing her pride for her followers who had gone through similar experiences and also managed to stop hurting themselves.

Tensions around police brutality mounted in March 2020, following the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of police When George Floyd was tragically killed by a police officer two months later, the Black Lives Matter movement reached a peak, resulting in mass protests across the country. Many felt the call to make a difference, including several celebrities who took part in the protests like John Boyega, Ariana Grande, and Keke Palmer.

Many stars caught heat for the way they showed their support for the BLM movement, too, including Madison Beer. The "Reckless" singer was accused of performative activism after she posed on top of a car at a Los Angeles protest holding a sign that read "No freedom until we're equal." Many believed Beer staged a photoshoot to make herself seem like she was enacting change, but was instead shamelessly self-promoting.

The pop star denied the allegations and her fans pointed out that Beer had long been involved in the promotion of the BLM movement. In a post Beer shared on X in May 2020, she wrote, "I stand with the Black Lives Matter movement over ANYTHING and THAT'S what's important right now and all i want to talk about."

"If I could have a perfect world, I would not be on social media at all," Madison Beer told Cosmopolitan in April 2025. Although the pop star isn't the only celebrity to denounce social media, despite finding herself struggling not to use it all the time, she recognizes the negative impact it has had on her well-being.

Specifically, Beer spoke out against TikTok while discussing the hate she gets online with The Face in August 2020. The singer recalled how, during one of her livestreams on the app, she had made a comment about disliking one of her physical attributes. ​"I was saying I hate this mole on my face after I had seen a Twitter comment about it," Beer remarked. "And all the comments were: ​'I can't believe she takes all these comments to heart, she's so pathetic, she's so insecure.'" Understandably, Beer struggles to not take everything she reads about herself too seriously, but it's not without difficulty. "It's something I'm avidly working on," she assured the publication.

With its addictive nature, constant feed of beauty standards, and the natural inclination you have to compare yourself to others, it's no wonder why social media can make you feel sad. With all this in mind, it's easy to imagine why Madison Beer has struggled with her self-image. While speaking with Cosmopolitan, the singer explained, "To be so honest with you, a lot of my self-worth is based on the way I look." Although Beer is taking strides to change this, she said that it's challenging because of how long she had been hearing disparaging remarks about her looks.

Sadly, the pop star revealed while speaking with Today's Donna Farizan in April 2023 that she deals with body dysmorphia. Beer began restricting her food intake, saying, "I wasn't eating as much as I should be." At the time, she had recently read a comment online about her that said: "Someone needs to tell her to stop eating and put the fork down." It's taken Beer a long time to feel confident in her own skin, but she said it's internet users like these that can make it so difficult. "It is really hurtful when people have no idea what you're going through behind closed doors," Beer added.

After grappling with her mental health for years, Madison Beer was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder while working on her 2021 album, "Life Support." The mental health condition can be characterized by difficulty in interpersonal relationships, trouble regulating emotions, and other symptoms that impact behavior. Thankfully, Beer found solace in knowing more about her disorder. "Once I was given a diagnosis, going through therapy three times a week, I was getting more in touch with my emotions and figuring out how to be stable," she told The Face during her interview. "I was able to write better and understand myself better."

In addition to her borderline personality disorder diagnosis, Beer also learned she had a panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. "I feel like the worst part of it has passed, but it's just scary to think I can go back there at any point," the singer told People in September 2023. "That's what frightens me the most."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org