Jennette McCurdy opens up about ‘creepy’ relationship she entered at 18

Jennette McCurdy has reflected on a past age-gap relationship she entered as a teenager, describing the experience as “creepy” and emotionally exhausting in hindsight.

Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper, the former iCarly star said she was around 18 years old when she began dating a man in his 30s.

“I was most likely 18,” McCurdy said, explaining that she often felt pressure to mould herself around his tastes and interests. She recalled pretending to enjoy the films and music he introduced her to, despite not actually liking them, something she now sees as a sign of the imbalance in the relationship.

McCurdy said the age gap created a power dynamic she did not fully recognise at the time. Looking back, she finds it unsettling that she was described as “mature”, a label she now believes masked behaviour that was inappropriate given how young she was.

‘It was exhausting’

The actor also revealed that the man was involved in another long-term relationship while seeing her, something she says she ignored at the time but now considers a major red flag. She added that the relationship overlapped with an especially vulnerable period in her life, when her mother, Debra McCurdy, was seriously ill ahead of her death in 2013.

Recalling one incident, McCurdy said the man came to her apartment intoxicated, leaving her feeling overwhelmed and trapped by circumstances she did not know how to navigate.

“It was just exhausting,” she said, adding that managing secrecy, emotional strain and family responsibilities simultaneously took a heavy toll.

How the experience shaped her writing

McCurdy’s comments come as she prepares to release her debut novel, Half His Age, which explores a fictionalised age-gap relationship involving a teenage girl and her teacher.

The book, set for publication on January 20, 2026, follows a 17-year-old protagonist and examines themes of power, desire, identity and vulnerability. McCurdy has said the story allowed her to process personal experiences through fiction rather than memoir.

“Writing Half His Age has been the most creatively fulfilling experience of my life,” she said in a statement, describing the novel as an exploration of “the lengths we’ll go to in order to get what we want, even when those choices harm us”.

Continuing a candid conversation

McCurdy has been widely praised for her openness about difficult experiences, particularly following the success of her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, which examined the pressures of child stardom and control.

Her latest reflections have struck a chord with listeners, many of whom have shared their own experiences with similar dynamics. For McCurdy, revisiting the relationship is less about blame and more about clarity.

Looking back, she said, it is only now that she fully understands why the relationship felt wrong.