Maurice Benard has been bringing light and love to the topic of mental health. Benard’s YouTube series, State of Mind, has touched on various topics and life events that would mold and shape one’s mental health. The coolest part is, many times Maurice will allow us into his personal life and background as he opened up about life itself.
In a recent episode of State of Mind, Maurice interviews his own daughter, Heather. Heather is Maurice and Paula Benard’s adoptive daughter. She was adopted in 2008 when she was 15 years old.
General Hospital news reports reveal Maurice and Heather tell an emotional story of their adoption journey. In the video it is revealed that Heather is actually Paula’s sister, making Maurice her brother-in-law. Years before Heather and Paula’s mom died, Heather was struggling while living in her home environment. It was also revealed that Heather and Paula’s mother was a prostitute and abused drugs and alcohol. Heather opened up about what it was like growing up in such an environment. She admitted that a lot of the trauma has been blocked, making it harder to recall the times she was around drugs as a child. She recalled being left alone a lot, and due to her nature, she believes it was the better option over being surrounded by toxic adults. She was able to use that alone for reflection and healing.
Maurice and Heather’s touching story is discussed as the father-daughter duo sits down to open up about their experience, hopefully connecting with viewers and simply bringing light to the topic of adoption.