Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in September 2012. In a candid interview, Pattie Mallette, mother of pop star Justin Bieber, shared the emotional journey that shaped her life—from enduring years of sexual abuse to choosing to keep her baby at 17 despite pressure to have an abortion.
In her memoir Nowhere But Up, Mallette recounts the trauma of abuse, her struggles with shame, depression, and a suicide attempt in her teens. “It was the result of years of pain,” she said.
“But I couldn’t go through with an abortion. I wanted to give my baby a chance.” Raising Justin as a single mother came with immense challenges, but she describes his birth as life-changing. “His first cry sounded like music,” she recalled.
Mallette’s story is one of resilience and faith. Her choice to keep her son not only changed her life—it helped launch one of the biggest pop careers in the world.