“The Valley” Star Jesse Lally's Girlfriend Lacy Nicole Says Being Kidnapped Helped Her Be 'Victorious' in Life (Exclusive)

Viewers of The Valley mightiness not spot Lacy Nicole connected screen, but Jesse Lally’s woman has surely played a domiciled successful nan play this season.  

“I positively and politely declined to movie conscionable for an array of my ain individual reasons, but I americium very proud of them,” Lacy, 34, tells PEOPLE of nan formed during Mental Health Awareness Month. “It takes a batch of gumption and chutzpah to put yourself retired location and show those moments. Last twelvemonth erstwhile they truthful graciously invited maine connected to film, I don't deliberation I was location emotionally, pinch my ain intelligence health.”

Mental wellness and treatment has been a privilege for Lacy since she was kidnapped pinch her champion friend 1 nighttime aft being followed successful her early 20s.

“It was a horrific crime,” Lacy says. “We were taken by a pack of men, and nan charges included quality trafficking, kidnapping pinch nan intent of sodomy and rape, assault, battle pinch a deadly weapon, burglary, carjacking, theft. There were 22 charges. When you're successful your early 20s, you don't needfully person lit connected really to grip trauma. I conscionable swallowed it and became very unwell.”

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Lacy says she developed “seven autoimmune diseases” and “was connected a plethora of medications” to thief her “exist” aft spending 1 nighttime successful captivity, but doctors were “really not getting to nan guidelines of nan problems.”

Lacy proceeded to testified successful tribunal successful narration to her kidnapping, an acquisition she recovered to beryllium “worse than nan crime.”

“It's nan aftereffects that benignant of boggle you,” she says. “But nan grounds is erstwhile I really decided to commencement learning astir why I was truthful unwell.”

The podcast big started going to what she describes arsenic “an EMDR module talk therapy,” which she says “was truthful beneficial initially,” but “almost started to re-traumatize me” complete time.

“For me, it was really soul kid work, which is different cliché successful our nine now,” Lacy continues. “But revisiting nan building blocks that made maine into who I americium coming and penning letters to younger maine and grabbing my hand, moreover grabbing 20-year-old maine that nighttime and saying, ‘You're okay. You're safe. You merit to consciousness safe. You merit to consciousness seen. You tin validate yourself,’ was a immense 1 for me. When you don't person those tools, it's a scary beingness because you're seeking validation from extracurricular sources.”

Lacy learned that she struggles pinch PTSD, which she still manages today. “I'm terrified to spell successful movie theaters,” she shares up of June’s PTSD Awareness Month. “Something astir it triggers my PTSD. I effort my hardest conscionable to debar them. At this constituent — if it's been 8 years and I'm still terrified to beryllium successful a theatre — I politely decline. That's why I ever opportunity treatment isn't linear.”

Lacy leaned connected her champion friend pinch whom she knowledgeable nan kidnapping successful its aftermath. “I telephone her my world angel,” she says. “She was truthful system and truthful strong. And it wasn't until years later she benignant of had these effects, I was rather nan opposite. She's really fixed maine nan okay — pinch her support — to stock my experiences and usage them to thief others, moreover if her treatment wasn't needfully linear to my healing.”

She besides relies connected dream and journaling to process “those heavy emotions.”

“I really do believe nan creation of self-validation, because arsenic overmuch arsenic it's truthful easy for an outer root to validate me, erstwhile you are successful a acheronian clip and you tin really validate yourself and your experience, I deliberation it's a beautiful release,” Lacy says.

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She names welcoming her daughter, now almost 4, arsenic a peculiarly pivotal infinitesimal successful her treatment journey.

“Physicians told maine I had a 0% chance of ever becoming pregnant naturally, and I was truthful devastated and heartbroken,” Lacy shares. “Becoming a mom was this afloat circle infinitesimal of, successful a unsocial way, you get to benignant of reparent yourself done different group of eyes; really conscionable showing nan spot of work, and soul treatment work, and trauma work. Trauma impacts nan body. The assemblage keeps nan score. But erstwhile we tin heal it, I deliberation miraculous miracles tin happen.”

Lacy has since launched her Shame to Sparkle Foundation and its companion podcast, which attraction connected providing resources to women who person had akin experiences to her.

“My full life, I loved to sparkle, and I deliberation that tin often beryllium misconstrued arsenic being tacky, aliases complete nan top. But to me, sparkling is going backmost to that type of you that came to this world perfectly perfect,” Lacy says. “It's being capable to return that shame and radiance nan measurement you were meant to astatine your core. Being a unfortunate of a crime really does springiness america an opportunity to beryllium victorious successful our life. And to [say], ‘What is nan beingness school maine connected really I tin thief others?’ "

Lacy says Lally, 45, has been supportive of her instauration and comes to events for it. “He’s great,” she gushes.

She and Lally started retired arsenic friends whose children were besides friends, and past he became “a benignant of confidant” for her arsenic they some went done their separations.

Lacy hopes sharing her communicative gives discourse to what viewers person seen play retired connected The Valley.  “I don't person immoderate rumor pinch anyone filming,” she says. “You motion up for it if you're making love personification [on TV], and I respect that. It's thing to do pinch my safety, I will ever group that boundary.”

Because of her past, Lacy feels for illustration she tin grip immoderate blowback she receives connected aliases disconnected screen.

“I've been dragged to nan mud. I've been cross-examined for years. And I americium human,” she says. “When everyone makes nosy of my look connected Instagram, and connected nan show, of course, it hurts my feelings, but I tin grip it. But I was violently attacked, truthful I'm really proud of wherever I've come.”