Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas detailed the alleged abuse she experienced from ex-husband Michael Milosh
Former Nickelodeon star Alexa Nikolas, who is the ex-wife of Rhye frontman Michael Milosh, says Milosh groomed, sexually assaulted, and physically and sexually abused her throughout their time together. The actor penned her story in an open letter published on Instagram, titled “Groomed by the Groom.”
“This is an open letter about an older male ephebophile musician that groomed a teenager for a green card, success, and sex,” she wrote in the intro. “Before I begin, I would like to take a bow to each and every human being that stood up to tell their story, even with the fear of judgement and/or persecution. I take a bow to every human being that has had to stay silent for whatever reason they felt had outweighed speaking up. Each of us heal in our own ways. We have the right to do so. As a mother I could not let my story go unheard any longer.”
Nikolas explained that she first met Milosh when she was 16. She shared a screenshot of her interview with Verse from 2018, where she divulged that she’d been the one to reach out to Milosh first, telling him she liked his music. Milosh immediately asked for her number and they began talking, finally meeting when she was 18. She also shared that Rhye’s debut album, Woman, was written entirely about her. As Nikolas explained, because Milosh didn’t want the world to know they began talking while she was underage, the musician tried to take down the interview.
But while the interview Nikolas gave played down their dynamic, making it sound like they were just friends at the time of virtually meeting, the reality was different. “It was definitely flirtatious. It did not seem like just a friendly phone call,” she wrote. “He gave me his email address and said to keep in touch. He was aware of my age.”
She continued, “Via email he checked in with me while I was working on set. I sent him a photo of me wearing a pregnancy suit in an Amish costume for Children Of The Corn and he replied along the lines ‘Why am I turned on by this right now… you look like an attractive pregnant girl.’ I remember being somewhat flattered and also found this kind of funny and weird. My role was a 14-year-old Amish girl and the wardrobe was in no way revealing.”
Nikolas also wrote that in early 2009, when she was 17, Milosh asked if he could stay at her place. She considered this a red flag and didn’t respond, finding it “creepy and uncomfortable.” He also extended the invitation to fly her to New York to meet, and she ignored him again. But they still kept contact. “A lot of our conversations were via Skype video chat,” she recalled. “They were all sexual and flirtatious. I can account on numerous occasions undressing upon his request.”
She shared that her first sexual experience with Milosh in person was at 18, when she went to visit him in Berlin. Milosh had told her he had a girlfriend, but that didn’t stop him from trying to have sex with Nikolas. He made a move on her and she said no, explaining that she was on her period and didn’t feel comfortable having sex with him at the time. But Milosh kept trying to convince her to have sex with him, telling her he didn’t mind that she was on her period and likes the taste of blood. “He got on his knees and lifted my legs up over his shoulders and told me to relax. ‘You have to relax,’ he said. He spit on his fingers and began to press his thumb into my ass,” wrote Nikolas. The actor repeatedly told him it didn’t feel good and to stop, but he didn’t. “He continued to have vaginal intercourse with me without a condom. I was silently crying. I was thinking in my head ‘Will I take this more over time?’,” she wrote.
She also wrote that the song “Major Minor Love” is the first song he wrote about her, referencing her being underage and the anal sex he forced her to have with him: “In retrospect, reading those lyrics is deeply disturbing. Now each word of that song completely creeps me out. I suggest you go and read them with a new perspective. It is a song about grooming a young girl and gaslighting.”
Those weren’t the only alarming instances of his abusive actions making it into his music. “When Milosh was visiting he suggested this idea that he would mic me up during sex and use the sounds as samples in his songs. In one of his songs, ‘Don’t Call It,’ he used the sound of me saying ‘No’ and reversed it to saying ‘On,’” she wrote. Nikolas also divulged that Milosh told her he once took two Japanese women back to his place, got them drunk, had sex with them, mic’d them up, and used the sound clips of them having sex in his solo album, Meme.
She also shared that in 2015, Milosh told her of coercing a Jamaican girl to give him and his friend blowjobs and then, without her consent, inserted foreign objects anally, including leaves and a candy bar. That same year, while Nikolas was having an anxiety attack, Milosh “charged at [her], picked [her] up, pushed [her] on the couch, and he pressed his forearm into [her] throat, and continually screamed ‘Shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up!,’” without Nikolas being able to breathe. The actor also divulged Milosh’s treatment of her during their separation, and how he tried to paint her in a negative light while repeatedly bullying her. She also posted an update, saying that numerous women reached out to her sharing similar patterns of abuse at the hands of the Rhye frontman. Various publications have reached out for comment since Nikolas shared the allegations, but at the time of publication, Milosh has not released a statement on the accusations.
You can read Nikolas’ open letter in full below.
UPDATE, 12:00PM CST: Milosh has broken his silence, giving a statement to Paste denying allegations:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always strongly supported women and their right to speak out and be heard.
That is why the false claims made by my former wife had been so hurtful and shocking to me. Alexa and I were married for nearly seven years. Like all marriages we had our difficulties and tempted to weather them together as best we could. Ultimately, despite our best efforts, we agreed to divorce. I loved her very much and we shared many special years before our marriage ended. I have always wished her nothing but the best and continued to support her financially even after I was no longer required to under our divorce agreement. Eventually, I stopped paying in response, Alexa has resorted to character assassination.
However, regarding my ex-wife’s recent Instagram post and its listed as serious and demonstrable untrue accusations, it’s simply a piece of revisionist fiction. These are absurd and outrageous false claims about me that a media outlet has published and repeated falsehoods are beyond irresponsible — it’s defamatory.
I can only stay the unvarnished truth. Alexa came to Berlin several months after her 18th birthday and we spent a week hanging out enjoying the city taking photographs that she eventually used as her IMDb listing headshot and modeling photos. We fell in love. I visited the following fall and she lived with me in Berlin the following summer but ultimately said she couldn’t live in Germany as her career and life were based in Los Angeles so I moved to Los Angeles for love, for her, for us. This is a story that has been documented extensively around the release of my first record.
Our art photography collaborations continued before and during our marriage, we had a Gallery exhibition of the photos I took of Alexa and she was proudly featured on the cover of my album.
I’ve done many interviews about my songs the lyrics and what inspired them many about love relationships and sensuality. My life as a touring musician and the pressures of travel and life on the road ultimately took its toll on our marriage and I’m sorry she came to feel my professional life has had a negative impact on her and our life together. Alexa had her own demons and I did the best to be a good husband in trying to overcome them. In the end, we could not help each other.
UPDATE, 10:50PM CST: Nikolas has released a statement on Instagram following Milosh’s denial of her allegations. It reads:
This is typical megalomaniacal narcissist behavior. Milosh stood there today denying the truth. Even with evidence in front of him. Who does that? It’s so sad to see after all of these years he still has not changed. It’s clear that he does not know how to apologize or take responsibility for his actions. Milosh showed no proof defending himself. I am not surprised he mentioned financial support multiple times in his statement. He is utilizing money as a tool to counteract abusive behavior, as if money erases trauma. I do not need nor do I want your money, I just want justice and accountability. The financial deflection tactic is old. I am speaking now because I am no longer under your financial hold for survival. You assassinated your own character a long time ago. You are a shameless mirror, take a long hard look.
Shame on you. Prove to me you are not a predator. You have damaged people’s lives with what you have done to them. Are you saying all the other allegations are false too? You showed 0 accountability today. You are a victim shamer and a victim blamer. You are a liar.
I’m done being YOUR private investigator. Prove to us you are innocent beyond an unapologetic statement. It took a lot [of] time, energy, and reliving past traumas to put this letter together WITH evidence and you think a manipulative response written in a couple of days is going to bury your actions? Stop denying facts. I am not afraid of you anymore. If these allegations are false prove it with evidence. I am waiting…