Andrew Yang is a Democratic presidential nominee for the 2020 election. However, his wife, Evelyn Yang is making headlines after she opened up about a traumatizing experience she had while pregnant with one of their children.
According to CNN, Evelyn is opening up about the sexual assault by her OBGYN while she was pregnant and she made the decision to talk about that time in her life after reading a letter one of her husband’s supporters had written him.
The letter was from a woman who was sexually assaulted by an investor at her company. She chose to speak out against the investor after hearing Andrew talk on the campaign trail about how female entrepreneurs don’t get enough support.
Evelyn Yang Speaks Out About Being Sexual Assaulted by Her OBGYN
It was that letter that gave Evelyn the strength to do the same thing. She told CNN, “That was enough for her to make this life-altering move, and that was just so powerful.
She continued, “I remember reading that letter and others and saying, ‘I feel you. I wish I could reach out to you and tell you I understand. I have my own story.'” But the first time Evelyn opened up about her experience wasn’t just to the public, but much of her family didn’t know either.
As Evelyn told CNN, it was 2012 and she had an appointment with a well-known obstetrician-gynecologist known as Dr. Robert Hadden, who worked at the medical facilities at Columbia University. At first, everything was fine.
And then the inappropriate questions about her sex life with her husband started. Evelyn said to CNN, “There was absolutely no premise for that line of questioning, and it seemed like he just wanted to hear about me talking about sex.”
Evelyn said she kept telling herself, “Okay, my doctor is pervy. I have a pervy doctor, but I’m going to focus on having a healthy baby.” She said the thought of changing her doctor at that point in her pregnancy “was overwhelming for me.”
The mom said she believes Dr. Hadden took advantage of the fact that this was her first pregnancy and didn’t entirely know what to expect. “The examinations became longer, more frequent, and I learned that they were unnecessary most of the time. I suppose I just need to trust him.”
Then at seven months pregnant, Evelyn knew she had been assaulted while she was about to leave his exam room.
“I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse. He said something about, ‘I think you might need a C-section,’ and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted.'”
Evelyn admitted that she never expected herself to have reacted the way she did. She thought if she were ever in that type of situation she would be the person to “thrown a chair at him and run out yelling bloody murder,” but instead “froze like a deer in headlights, just frozen.”
“I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over.” Hadden then walked out without washing his hands, and Evelyn never returned.
Hadden denied the allegations against him and Evelyn blamed herself for a long time. “I feel like I put up with some inappropriate behavior that I didn’t know at the time was straight-up sexual abuse/sexual assault until much later, and I regret having put up with that.”
She said she didn’t tell her husband because she “didn’t want to upset them.” And because she didn’t want him to think it was his fault because he wasn’t at all of her appointment with her. “I thought, ‘This happened to me. I can process this. I can deal with it. I can compartmentalize it.'”
After Christopher’s birth, Evelyn received a letter saying Hadden had left the practice and that other women have accused him of similar behavior. She felt relief at that moment realizing that she wasn’t alone and that what had happened to her wasn’t her fault.
It was then she told Andrew what happened so many months ago, “I needed to share it at that moment because it felt so big to me and I needed that support. And I told him, and he cried.”
She said along with the letter her husband received, she also received strength to go public with her story after being on the campaign trail with Andrew:
“Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that we’ve been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault. […] Everyone has their own MeToo story. It’s far too prevalent. But not everyone can tell their story. Not everyone has the audience or platform to tell their story, and I actually feel like I’m in this very privileged position to be able to do that.”
Andrew later released the below statement after his wife shared her story:
“I’m extraordinarily proud of Evelyn for telling her story, and my heart breaks every time I think of what she had to experience. She is my best friend and the bravest woman I know. No one deserves to be harmed and treated the way she and countless other women have been. When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection. I hope that Evelyn’s story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women.”
According to CNN, in 2016, Hadden was offered a plea deal which he took. Hadden pleaded guilty to two of the nine charges against him. Those counts were one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.
As part of the deal, Hadden also lost his medical license and had to register as the lowest-level sex offender. He did not serve any time in jail.
Evelyn said that watching the people they met on the campaign trail welcome their son, Christopher, who has autism, with open arms also helped her feel comfortable enough to tell her story.
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.