Christina Ricci Opens Up About Why Letting Go of Her Former Home Brought a Newfound Sense of Relief

Content warning: this story contains mentions of domestic abuse.

When we think of Christina Ricci, it’s safe to say that most of us would think of her most memorable roles. While some might think of her as the original Wednesday in The Addams Family, or as the ever-so-wicked Misty in Yellowjackets, Ricci has made quite a name for herself in the industry. But, putting her career aside for a moment, the actress has also been a beacon of light for women around the world as an advocate for domestic abuse.

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The actress, who divorced her ex-husband James Heerdegen back in 2020, has been open about the alleged emotional and physical abuse she endured during their 7-year marriage. And now, a few years after their split, she’s getting ready to say goodbye to the house they once called home.

Luckily for fans, they’ll be able to see it all take place in the new season of Jeff Lewis’ Amazon Freevee show Hollywood Houselift.

“One of the reasons I wanted to sell the house and move on was because that is the house where I lived through an abusive marriage,” Ricci tells SheKnows ahead of the season finale on Jan. 31. “I actually don’t have wonderful memories in it and living in that house was not great afterward for my emotional state.”

With that said, however, since divorcing Heerdegen in 2020, Ricci has not only continued to raise their son, Freddie, in the house but has since remarried hairstylist Mark Hampton and welcomed their first daughter, Cleo, together. “I do have very tender memories of my son and being with my son in that house,” Ricci says. “But they’re very complicated and complex because of what was really going on at the time that I lived there.”

With mixed emotions still permeating in the house, Ricci is ready to let it go. “It’s a relief to not live in that house anymore,” she says. “I think it’s always good to not be reminded on a daily basis of the horrible things in your past.”

In the second season of Hollywood Houselift, Lewis and his team completely renovate Ricci’s kitchen and master bathroom. And while there might still be a lot of work left until papers are signed, Ricci is staying positive about the process. “We haven’t actually sold that house yet, Jeff and I have partnered on flipping the house in its entirety, redoing the whole house and then selling it,” she explains. “And we plan on continuing to do that.”

In addition to leaving those memories behind, Ricci and Hampton’s new home has brought the family so many positives. “We had one thing that was a little bit of an issue in the old house was that the master bedroom was all the way across and upstairs from the kids’ rooms so it felt really weird,” she says, adding that they specifically looked for close bedrooms when house-hunting. “That does seem to be better,” she adds.

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Moving for them also meant getting closer to Ricci’s sister and her kids as well. “We now are all together a lot,” she says. “And my son goes to school with his cousin and nd we carpool and it just is really nice. And he’s got a fuller life.”

Looks like the move led to a “fuller life” for not just Freddie, but the whole family too.

If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic abuse, resources are available to help. To speak with someone trained to assist survivors of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. You can also visit their website for more resources.