NEWSJennette McCurdy Reveals Intimate Details About 'Addictive' Relationship She Had With Older Man as a Teen: 'It Was Just Exhausting'
Jennette McCurdy revealed she was involved in an 'addictive' relationship with a much older man as a teenager.
Jan. 8 2026, Published 9:33 a.m. ET
Jennette McCurdy broke her silence about a troubling relationship she had as a teenager.
On the latest episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the former iCarly star described what she called an “addictive” romance with a man in his mid-30s.
The former Nickelodeon star called the teen romance 'addictive.'
The former Nickelodeon star, now 33, reflected on a chapter of her life she had previously touched on in her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, but never fully unpacked in public until now.
McCurdy said she was around 17 or 18 when the relationship began, and that she met the man — whose name she did not disclose — while working on the iCarly set.
He was in his mid‑30s and already living with a girlfriend when their dynamic first took shape.
"He would show me movies he thought I would like, like Dazed and Confused, which I did not like but pretended to like. He would play me music I did not like but pretended to like," she detailed about the start of their relationship.
The relationship began when the star was just 17 or 18.
The actress described how the romance crossed many boundaries.
Despite the age gap and the fact that the man was involved with someone else, McCurdy said she fell into a pattern of chasing his attention.
"[I got] these half-hour pockets [of his time], and I had to be at his every beck and call. When he calls, I go. … It was just exhausting," the actress revealed.
- Fans Divided On TikTok User Who Allegedly Matched With Matthew Perry On Dating App When She Was 19 — And Posted Their Private FaceTime
- Dan Schneider Defends His Relationship With Amanda Bynes, Claims He Always 'Supported' Her
- Courtney Stodden Almost Killed Herself Over Chrissy Teigen's Hateful Tweets and DMs: 'I Had a Letter Written'
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Crossing Boundaries
Their connection faded after Jennette McCurdy’s mother died in 2013.
McCurdy was raised Mormon and had intended not to have s-- before marriage, but the relationship shifted her boundaries.
She described a disturbing introduction to sexual activity that she now sees in a different light.
It was this moment — alongside the broader pattern of him pushing her into intimacy — that McCurdy described as her "entry point into a real sexual activity," even though she hadn’t felt ready.
McCurdy said: "I eventually did have s-- with him… I disregarded my self‑imposed rule."
'Addictive' Dynamics and Emotional Crash
She said writing her new novel helped her process the experience.
McCurdy called the intimacy with him "addictive," explaining it was rooted in cycles of anticipation, followed by emotional crashes that left her longing for more.
"That’s the thing that I’m chasing," she explained. "My nervous system is hijacked, waiting for [it]. After, there’s the crash. Then it ramps up again in anticipation for the next. Once that tapered off is really when the relationship tapered off."
Their connection faded after McCurdy’s mother, Debra, died in 2013 — though they briefly reconnected afterward.
Today, she says that writing her upcoming novel, Half His Age, out January 13, helped her process the unresolved emotions tied to the relationship.
"Writing is my way to closure for past experiences," McCurdy said. "I didn’t realize how angry I still was. I didn’t think of this person ever that I was in a relationship with at all. He wasn’t on my mind. Then I'm writing this book … because I have so much anger, so much left to process."
