Fox Sports star Erin Andrews reveals she broke down in tears over cancer diagnosis and stalker hell
FOX Sports star Erin Andrews has opened up over devastating cancer diagnosis and stalker hell which almost derailed her career.
In 2008, a stalker, Michael David Barrett, followed Andews to a hotel in Nashville and filmed her while nude by altering the peephole in the door to her room.
A hotel employee had told Barrett which room Andrews was staying in, allowing him to book a room next door.
The footage was put online in 2009 and shared widely, with one computer scientist estimating that 16.8 million people had seen images from the video.
Andrews disclosed to the New York Post that she feared her career would be ruined by the incident.
“I wake up one morning and there’s video of me all over the internet,” Andrews said.
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“And I called my parents. I always get emotional about that, because I know my parents suffered a lot.
"I start screaming to them, ‘My career is over. I am finished. This is going to ruin me!’”
Erin brought a $75 million lawsuit against Barrett as well as West End Hotel Partners and Windsor Capital Group – the two companies that manage the Nashville Marriott – claiming ongoing emotional distress from the episode.
In an emotionally-draining trial in 2016, Erin was awarded $55 million while Barrett was jailed for 20 months.
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After an appeal, the case was later settled for an undisclosed amount but that incident continues to affect her until today.
“I had a public trial. I had to prove to a lot of people that I didn’t put those pictures up of myself,” she says.
“That was a really tough thing for my family.
"I would walk around stadiums and just think, ‘Everybody in this stadium has seen me naked, and I didn’t have a choice.’ It was really hard.”
Andrews' life took another turn for the worse in 2016 when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
She had a successful surgery a few weeks after the diagnosis and did not need to undergo a hysterectomy.
Such was her work ethic that Andrews went to work the day after her operation.
“I shouldn’t have been traveling, but there was no way I was going to miss that game," she recalls.
Andrews kept her illness a secret for most of that season.
“I didn’t say anything until the Super Bowl,” she says.
When she did go public about her cancer diagnosis, she was stunned by the reaction from her colleagues and friends in the NFL.
“I had grown men who are superstars in the NFL call me, and text me, and pull me aside on the sidelines to cry," she said.
"They said they were so grateful that I was vocal about cervical cancer.”
While Erin was still able to conceive naturally, she thankfully had frozen her embryos years earlier.
Erin Andrews' rise to the top
Erin Andrews is a key part of Fox Sports' lead NFL broadcasting team.
She is in her second spell with Fox having rejoined the network in 2012 after eight years at ESPN.
Andrews began her career with Fox Sports Florida in 2000 before working her way to the very top.
She has also worked for Sunshine Network in 2001 and 2002 as well as Turner Sports from 2002 to 2004.
Andrews presented College GameDay during her eight years with ESPN but rejoined Fox in 2012 to work on NFL.
And the sideline reporter has gone on to cover Super Bowls as well as the World Series in her stellar career.
Last summer, Andrews and her husband, former NHL player Jarret Stoll, announced they had welcomed a baby son Mack with help from a surrogate mother.
Andrews says she feels "mom guilt" when she leaves home for work.
“I didn’t think it would hit me, because I’ve always put my job first. I just said to my husband, ‘Well, I have to work'," she said.
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"And I didn’t think it would affect how I felt. But it has. A lot.
"And I really appreciate the feedback from other mothers saying, ‘You’re going to have it forever, but you need to go easy on yourself'."
