The Sad Truth About Bijou Phillips' Childhood

The following article includes mentions of sexual assault and drug use

It's been an annus horibles for Bijou Phillips. But she's used to adversity because the sad truth is that, despite her father being The Mamas & the Papas' singer John Phillips, Bijou's childhood was far from California dreamin'.

Hailing from music royalty, you'd think that Bijou would have enjoyed a privileged upbringing, growing up as a regular run-of-the-mill Hollywood terror teen. Still, per All Music, although she followed in Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's footsteps, racking up salacious scandals and a stint in rehab, unlike the "Simple Life" stars, Bijou had no solid family to fall back on. Her childhood was neglectful and turbulent, resulting in her being tossed from pillar to post with no anchor to help reign in her.

However, as the Daily Mail reports, Bijou managed to roll with the punches and carve out a career as a model and actor. She married Danny Masterson in 2011, and they welcomed their daughter, Fianna, in 2014. Bijou appeared to have finally found her happy family. But in 2017, People reported that numerous women accused Masterson of sexually assaulting them in the early aughts. Bijou stood by her man and was in the courtroom on September 7 when an LA judge slapped Masterson with the maximum prison sentence of 30 years for raping two women. "When you raped me, you stole from me. ... You are pathetic, disturbed, and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison," one victim told the court (via AP). Bijou's happy ever after had ended.

Bijou Phillips' childhood was far from an idyl. Her earliest years were marked by the effects of hard drug use, very open-free love, and allegations of incest. In 2009, Bijou's half-sister, Mackenzie Phillips, who has lived with a substance disorder like her siblings and their parents, claimed in her memoir, "High on Arrival" (via People), that she'd had an incestuous affair with their dad, John Phillips, that started when she was passed out on the eve of her wedding. "He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs," Mackenzie alleges. "​​I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father."

"When I was 13, Mackenzie told me that she had a consensual sexual relationship with our father. This news was confusing and scary," Bijou admitted in a statement to Oprah, claiming Mackenzie later told her it wasn't true. That was just one element of the trauma and turbulence that comprised Bijou's childhood.

The Independent reports that she was removed from her mother and father when she was three and placed into care after they were judged unfit parents. She was sent to numerous foster homes while her warring folks fought to regain custody. Bijou emancipated herself from her toxic parents when she was 14 and moved into a Manhattan pad alone. When she was 17, following an overdose by her friend, she entered rehab following her father's encouragement.

Following his 30-year sentencing for raping two women, Danny Masterson made a last gesture to Bijou Phillips before going to prison. He blew her a kiss as he was escorted out by guards. Masterson will remain behind bars until he is at least 77. Sadly, it means their daughter, Fianna Masterson, will grow up without her father, something Bijou had never wanted. In contrast to her tumultuous and traumatic childhood, she'd strived to provide a stable upbringing for her own kid, with both her parents in her life. "It's a pain I still feel, and I look at my baby and can't imagine that happening to us," Bijou wrote on Instagram about being separated from her parents when she was three. "It breaks my heart cause I so deeply know that pain, and it's pain that never goes away," she continued.

Bijou's Instagram also offers a glimpse into her unconventional and problematic upbringing. "Oh, this picture? It's back when my mom & dad were polygamists, with Wife #2 and #3," she captioned a black and white snap of a naked John Phillips in bed with two women.

Meanwhile, Masterson still retains a strong presence on Bijou's social media. Her Instagram profile photo is of the couple with their daughter. Then, in a photo from 2013, Masterson is playing the acoustic guitar. "My best friend," she wrote. Another, from 2016, shows the couple gazing out over the Santa Ynez Valley as the sun sets.