Meredith Vieira Reveals Why She Stayed in Her Abusive Relationship - VIDEO

Daytime talk show host Meredith Vieira decided to talk about a serious subject on her show today (Sept. 17), revealing why she chose to remain in an abusive relationship, adding her own experience to the Why I Stayed campaign.

The campaign started last week with the hashtag #WhyIStayed, and arose in light of the developments in the recent domestic abuse case centered around former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice.

Rice was caught on video punching his then fiance in the face, which resulted in his expulsion from the NFL and a whole lot of controversy about how the league seemed to make light of Rice's behavior.

On The Meredith Vieira Show, Vieira revealed to her audience, "I was in an abusive relationship many, many years ago as a young woman. I want to explain to you why I stayed."

Vieira recalled that the abuse was both physical and emotional, with her then boyfriend threatening to ruin her career.

"I've done a lot of thinking about why, and I think part of it was fear. I was scared of him. I was scared if I tried to leave something worse could happen to me," she admitted.

"Part of it was guilt, because every time we would have a fight he would then start crying and say, 'I promise I won't do it again,' and I would feel like maybe I contributed somehow to this."

In the most horrifying of the incidents, Vieira recounted being burned with scalding water.

"There was the night, we shared an apartment, and he threw me into a shower, naked with scalding water, and then he threw me outside into the hallway. We lived in an apartment building, and I hid in the stairwell for two hours until he came again, crying, 'I promise I won't do this again.'"

"I continued to stay in that relationship until I was offered a job in another state," Vieira said of finally leaving the relationship, "And that's where I felt I had the ability to get away."

"... Domestic violence … is really, really a complicated issue. It's not so easy to just get away. You think it would be, but it's not."

She concluded the program by speaking to women everywhere, saying, "If you are going through this, get yourself to a shelter, by all means tell somebody what's going on, let somebody know ... It's rampant in this country, and we all have to accept the fact that it's not just an issue with the NFL – it's an issue with all of our lives, and until we take it seriously, more and more women are going to get abused."

If you or someone you know is an abusive relationship, do not hesitate to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE).

Remember, you are not alone. And you are not to blame.