THE Valley’s Lacy Nicole was the victim of a kidnapping and human trafficking in her 20s and still struggles with the aftermath years later.
The reality star joined The Valley cast in Season 3, which debuted last week.
Lacy, who appeared on the Bravo series as Jesse Lally’s girlfriend last season, previously opened up about her shocking past.
In a May 2025 interview with People, the TV star revealed that, in her early 20s, she was followed by a man and subsequently became the victim of a “kidnapping and human trafficking.”
“It was a horrific crime,” Lacy said about the incident, in which she and her friend were held captive for one night.
“When you’re in your early 20s, you don’t necessarily have literature on how to handle trauma.
“I just swallowed it and became very unwell,” the TV personality admitted.
Lacy then detailed how the ordeal affected her mental and physical health, saying she developed “seven autoimmune diseases” and “was on a plethora of medications” to help her “exist.”
However, she said that doctors were “really not getting to the root of the problems” with this treatment method.
Lacy elaborated on her mental health journey, saying she later testified in court and found the experience to be “worse than the crime.”
“It’s the aftereffects that kind of boggle you,” Lacy, who is now a mental health advocate, shared.
“But the testimony is when I really decided to start learning about why I was so unwell.”
Lacy said she eventually participated in “an EMDR module of talk therapy,” which, although she confessed was initially helpful, it “almost started to re-traumatize me” as time went on.
“For me, it was really inner child work, which is another cliché in our society now,” the podcast host explained.
“But revisiting the building blocks that made me into who I am today and writing letters to younger me and grabbing my hand, even grabbing 20-year-old me that night and saying, ‘You’re okay. You’re safe. You deserve to feel safe. You deserve to feel seen. You can validate yourself,’ was a huge one for me.
“When you don’t have those tools, it’s a scary existence because you’re seeking validation from outside sources,” Lacy added.
Although she’s spent years recovering mentally from the event, Lacy said she still struggles with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), and “avoids” certain scenarios.
“I’m terrified to go in movie theaters,” Lacy shared.
“Something about it triggers my PTSD. I try my hardest just to avoid them.
“At this point — if it’s been eight years and I’m still terrified to sit in a theater — I politely decline. That’s why I always say healing isn’t linear,” she added.
In August 2020, Lacy shared photos on Instagram from the “visible trauma” she experienced when she was kidnapped.
The pics showed her swollen, bruised, and bloodied face immediately following the kidnapping.
She also shared a recent pic of her in full glam at an event, which she labeled “invisible trauma.”
Lacy wrote in her caption, “Truth: You can look happy- & be in trauma. Truth: You can look healthy- & be sick. Truth: People are dealing with a lot more than meets the eye.”
