Patty Mellett is a screenwriter and producer, but today she is best known as the mother of pop sensation Justin Beiber.
However, not many people know about her and the struggles she has faced throughout her life. …
Justin Bieber is one of the biggest stars in the world, and in the eyes of many, the Canadian star has everything one could want.
But even famous people have problems and crises – often without the public knowing. Justin Bieber’s relationship with his mother, Pattie Mallette, has been volatile, and given her troubled past, it’s not too surprising that things have gotten complicated.
Born on 2 April 1975 in Stratford, Ontario, Patty Malette came from a French-Canadian family. Tragically, her early childhood was marked by unimaginable loss. When Patty was just 2 years old, her 5-year-old sister Sally was hit by a car while crossing the street and sadly lost her life. This devastating event forever left an imprint on Patty’s family and her early years.
Patty gave birth to Justin at the age of 17. At the time, she was lonely and didn’t know how to cope. According to the Daily Mail, Patty raised Justin alone in a low-income flat in Canada. She had a little help from her parents and Justin’s grandparents.
According to Patty, she has dealt with various incidents of abuse and violence over the years, starting when she was three years old. She explained:
‘My abusers include a male babysitter, the grandfather of one of my friends, and neighbourhood children who have reportedly matured beyond their years,’ she says.
When she turned 14, she started using various substances. Around the same time, she started shoplifting and was expelled from school for starting a fire in the toilet. Unfortunately, the sexual abuse in the book continued. In her book, Patti describes a date rape when she was 15 years old.
‘I was sexually assaulted so often that over the years it began to seem normal. It’s a strange marriage to know something is wrong and yet consider it familiar and commonplace,’ she says.
As a child, Mallett developed a passion for acting and singing. By the age of nine, she was participating in local TV shows such as Romper Room and Big Top Talent, a children’s talent programme broadcast in her area.
At the age of 15, she began dating Jeremy Baber. Their relationship lasted four years, but at 16, the girl ran away from home. She made a living by stealing and selling drugs.
‘My life as a child was very painful,’ Mallett told George Strumboulopoulos, quoted by Cosmopolitan. ‘I had a love of art that I share with Justin, and we kind of bonded over that.’
When past and present habits caught up with her, her mental health deteriorated further.
After a long period of despair and suicidal thoughts, a 17-year-old girl attempted suicide. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital where Christian conversion therapy was used.
After being discharged from the hospital, Mallett reached out to former friends and colleagues who did not adhere to the same newfound religion as she did. It was then that she reconnected with Jeremy Baber.
After the couple began dating for six months, Patty realised she was pregnant. Justin was born in London, Ontario on 1 March 1994.
Although Patty and Jeremy initially continued dating after the birth of their son, they decided to break up after a few months.
Despite the hardships she endured, Patty was a caring and nurturing mother. She helped Justin with his musical hobbies, eventually helping him enter the Stratford Star talent competition in 2007 when Justin was a teenager.
The now star singer won second place for his performance of Ne-Yo’s song ‘So Sick,’ and Patty posted a video of his winning performance on Youtube. That video, and the subsequent ones she continued to post online, eventually became very popular.
Mallett’s autobiography was published in September 2012 by Revell Christian Publishers.
The book, titled Nowhere But Upstairs, is not only about Patty’s difficult upbringing, but how she used faith and love to find optimism and become a better single parent to her son.
Today, their relationship is different.
‘When your kids get to a certain age, your parenting style changes, and it’s hard to let go,’ Mallett told People in a 2013 interview when her son turned 19.
‘His life has been my life, and now I’ve had to let go a little bit and let him be on his own. It’s hard not to be able to control everything your adult child does.’
After his huge breakthrough, Justin Bieber ran into trouble with the law. He was arrested in 2014 when police officers had to pull him over around 4 a.m. while street racing.
The incident led to a rift in the mother-son relationship.
‘I never wanted my mum to be disappointed in me and I knew she was. We hadn’t spoken for a while, so it takes time to rebuild trust…it’s hard, but it gets better. She’s an amazing woman and I love her,’ the star said in a 2015 Billboard interview, quoted by Cosmopolitan.
But today, that period in Justin’s life is almost forgotten, and Patti is very proud of her son.
‘I am so proud of what a wonderful young man you are and the person you are becoming. None of us are perfect and never will be (which is why we always need patience and grace with each other), but your genuine growing relationship with Jesus is evident in the choices you make each day and the good ‘fruit’ you are bearing. I admire your character and honesty. You are maturing beautifully and becoming wiser than your years,’ she shared on Instagram.
While Patty has certainly gone through hardships in her younger years, her conversion to charity is truly inspiring.
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