Erin Andrews recalls the moment she thought her career was over

Erin Andrews is well aware of the “page views” nickname, and for too long, she let it dominate her existence.

“It blew up quicker than I anticipated with the internet just going and the blogs going,” Andrews told Soledad O’Brien during an interview for HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” airing Tuesday.

“At the time I was just so sensitive anytime anyone ever wrote or put a photograph of me up, and that really kind of controlled my life.”

Andrews, 41, rose to fame as a sports reporter at ESPN beginning in 2004. She has since moved beyond that mentality, overcoming a bevy of personal obstacles, including a 2009 stalking incident she once believed would derail her career.

“The first thing I said was, ‘I’m finished. My career is over,’” said Andrews, who will be on the sidelines for Fox for Sunday’s Super Bowl 2020. “I worked so hard and I knew how everybody was so obsessed with this page views, sideline princess and all that, it was like, ‘Well, this is the scandal. This is what everybody had been waiting for.’”

Andrews filed a $75 million lawsuit against Michael David Barrett, accused of filming her through the peephole of her Nashville Marriott hotel room in 2015. She was awarded $55 million as a result of the trial in 2016.

Reflecting on the incident, Andrews spoke about how the trauma had affected her private life in the aftermath.

“First date I ever went on with my husband [former hockey player Jarret Stoll], he took me to a bar and somebody took a photo and I ripped the phone out of their hand. I said, ‘Delete this photo right now,’” Andrews recalled.

Stoll and Andrews tied the knot in 2017, the same year she opened up about her cervical cancer diagnosis, which she kept secret from co-workers.

“I don’t want to go around talking about my vagina. I want to talk about how Dallas’ defense is going to come back, or what’s the scenario with this Giants-Eagles game this weekend. My safe place is the football field, I want to be with the guys, I also had just come off a very public trial and I just wanted to have a normal life,” she said.

As for the future, which also consists of a “Dancing with the Stars” gig and her WEAR by Erin Andrews clothing line, Andrews is hoping to stay on the field for as long as she can.

“I mean, I know where I’ll always wanna be. I’ll wanna be there on that field. But I get it. It’s an industry where that may not be the case. And I know I’m not gonna have this opportunity forever. But it’s where I feel the best,” she said.

“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” airs Tuesday at 10 p.m.

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