Former “Bachelor” star Madison Prewett Troutt is opening up about a personal battle many believers face in silence: addiction to pornography and masturbation. And she’s crediting God’s grace, confession, and community for setting her free.

“This has been a huge part of my testimony,” the 29-year-old shared on her “Stay True” podcast. “Something I’ve struggled with since middle school. And thankfully, by the grace of God and the power of godly community and people around me, I have been free from porn and masturbation for — I don’t even know — 10 years.”

Prewett, who rose to national attention on “The Bachelor” in 2020 for her bold commitment to save sex for marriage, said her struggles began with curiosity during middle school. At 13, after watching a show with sexual content, she felt new physical feelings and found herself seeking out pornography online and turning to masturbation.

“I had not told that to anyone,” she said. “I believed it was something only men struggled with, and that left me isolated and ashamed.”

The secrecy and shame felt like chains, she explained, making her feel “enslaved” even as she tried to pursue Jesus. “No matter how much I loved Jesus, I could not shake that sin,” Prewett said. “And I would beat myself up and be bound by shame.”

As her curiosity bled into dating relationships, she found it difficult to maintain physical boundaries. Despite being raised in a Christian home, Prewett noted there was a “lack of clarity” around sexual desire and purity, which led her to push boundaries she didn’t want to cross.

“I didn’t have clarity,” she said. “Those were the gray areas of this whole purity thing that I was not clear on, that I was not certain about.”

But everything changed when she confessed her struggle to God and brought it into the light with trusted believers.

“Confessing to God and confessing to other believers is what set me free from the addiction to sexual sin,” Prewett said. “As soon as I said the thing that I was so scared to say, I immediately felt free. Immediately, something shifted.”

She emphasized that while freedom didn’t happen overnight, transparency with others created accountability that allowed her to walk in freedom over time.

“Obviously, that doesn’t mean I went from that moment and never struggled again,” she shared. “But as I brought it into the light and I brought other people into it, I then created an atmosphere where my sin was brought into the light, people were aware of it, and they then could hold me accountable.”

Prewett’s testimony is particularly timely, as pornography remains a widespread struggle among believers. A Barna report, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, revealed that 54% of Christians report viewing pornography, with 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women acknowledging they consume porn on some level.

Prewett is not the only Christian leader who has spoken up about battling sexual sin. Kay Warren, wife of Saddleback Church’s Pastor Rick Warren, has also shared her journey of overcoming shame tied to childhood sexual abuse and the impact it had on her struggles with pornography.

“I didn’t tell anybody,” Warren said of her abuse. “I didn’t have words for it. Somehow, I knew it was bad, and I blotted it instantly out of my mind.”

Warren explained that while God has brought healing, the journey is ongoing, reminding believers that some wounds won’t fully heal until heaven.

“There are parts of my soul and my body that will not be completely healed until I see Jesus face to face,” Warren said. “Every day is one day closer to the total and complete healing that my soul longs for.”

Prewett, now a wife and mother, hopes her story encourages others who feel alone in their struggles with sexual sin to step into the light, seek godly community, and experience the freedom Christ offers.

“There is power in confession,” she said. “When we bring our struggles into the light, we step into the freedom God desires for us.”