Pattie Mellette is a scriptwriter, but she is best known now as Justin Beiber’s mother.
But only a tiny number of people are aware of Ina Gaskin and the difficulties she experienced throughout her life.
To many, Justin Bieber is among the biggest stars and seems to have everything everyone has ever wished for.
Many famous individuals go through crises, but not all of them are publicly noticed. Things between Justin Bieber and Pattie Malette have been smooth at times and rough at others which shouldn’t come as a surprise given her background.
In 1975, the day before Easter, Pattie Mallette was born in Stratford, Ontario as a French-Canadian. Her early childhood was brought to a stop by the death of someone dear. While Pattie was just 2 years old, Sally, then 5, was hit by a car and passed away. This terrible event would always be remembered by Pattie’s family and shape her young years.
Justin was born to Pattie when she was a teenager. She had not yet met her husband and was not afraid of facing adversity. As the Daily Mail reports, Pattie was Justin’s only caretaker in a low-income apartment in Canada. Her parents, Justin’s grandparents, helped her a little.
Pattie says she started facing abuse and violence as early as the age of 3. She explained:
She explains that her parents trusted one of her babysitters, the elderly grandfather of a friend and wanted to believe some of her neighbors despite their many years.
When she was 14, she started trying out different drugs. At the same moment, she started stealing things from stores and was not allowed to return to school after lighting a fire in the bathroom. Dishearteningly, sexual abuse within the book was not over. When Patti was 15, she went through date rape, as she tells in her book.
Because I was sexually violated so often, it eventually became common for me. We often know that things are not right, yet we act like they are completely normal,” she said.
When she was a child, Mallette started to love acting and singing. She appeared on local TV by the age of nine, including in the kids’ talent competition Big Top Talent and in Romper Room.
When she was 15 years old, she began her first relationship with Jeremy Beiber. Their relationship continued for four years, but the teen ran away from home when she was 16 years old. She made it week by week by stealing goods and selling drugs.
As a child, my life was something I found very difficult, said Mallette in an interview with Cosmopolitan. My interest in the arts is the same as Justin’s and that’s what brings us closer.
As old habits and new actions caught up with her, her mental health got worse.
The teenager, grieving for two years, finally decided she didn’t want to live anymore. She was sent to a mental facility where Christian conversion therapy was used.
Later, after being discharged from the hospital, Mallette tried to contact old friends and colleagues who were not members of the new religion she discovered. At this time, she began to talk regularly with Jeremy Beiber again.
After dating for six months, Pattie learned she had become pregnant. London, Ontario, was the place Justin arrived on March 1, 1994.
Pattie and Jeremy kept dating after their son was born, yet they later decided to separate after only a few months.
She had faced many problems, but Pattie remained directly involved in her kids’ lives. She was a guide to Justin when it came to music which eventually allowed him to participate in the 2007 Stratford Star talent competition as a teen.
He reached second place at the contest with “So Sick” by Ne-Yo and his partner shared the video of his performance on Youtube. Her video and the additional ones she presented online gained popularity as time passed.
In September 2012, Christian publisher Revell released Mallette’s autobiography.
In Nowhere But Up, Pattie explained both her tough childhood and the faith and love that allowed her to show her son how to be happy and strong.
The relationship that they share today is a new kind.
People reported that when her son became a teenager, Mallette said, “As they get older, your parenting becomes different and it’s tough giving them more independence.”
I considered his life as my own, but now I have to let him step away and become independent. Not being able to control your child’s life as an adult can be a big challenge.
After achieving so much success, the singer came into legal trouble. In 2014, he was arrested by police while he was street racing in the middle of the night.
That incident caused a rift to develop between the mother and son.
I never wished for my mom to look at me with disappointment, but I knew she was. Since we went silent for a bit, regaining trust is not easy. “She is such a great woman and I really love her,” the star told Billboard in 2015, as reported by Cosmopolitan.
However, people now forget about that time in Justin’s life and Pattie is incredibly proud of him.
I can’t tell you how much I admire the young man you are now and will become. Since we will never be perfect, we need to be gracious and patient with each other. Yet, it’s easy to see through your actions and the changes in you that you are growing in Jesus. I respect your good character and integrity. I am always so amazed by how mature and grown you are,” mom wrote on Instagram.
Although Pattie faced many obstacles as a young person, her arrival at grace is really inspiring. Help spread the word by clicking on the Facebook share link if you are in agreement.
