NEEDTOBREATHE frontman Bear Rinehart has responded to allegations of sexual, physical and emotional abuse made by his brother and former bandmate Bo Rinehart on Instagram last week.
“As a father and husband, I must protect my family from claims that misrepresent the truth,” Bear shared in a statement posted to Instagram on Saturday.
Bo had shared a post late Thursday night claiming that he had been sexually abused as a child by his brother, a camp counselor and a youth pastor. Bear has denied the allegations of abuse but did confirm that both he and his brother were “sexually abused at the age of 8 and 6 by a teenage counselor at the Christian camp where we grew up.”
“Until now, I had chosen to not share this publicly — not because I’m ashamed, but because I’ve wanted to protect my family. I have three young boys, and I wanted them to hear about my story from me directly, when the time is right and not through social media or online speculation. Bo’s post has now made it impossible for me to remain private about this period of our childhood any longer,” he wrote.
Bear and Bo Rinehart formed NEEDTOBREATHE in 2001 and found widespread success before Bo left the band in 2020. In 2023, Bo opened up to People magazine about his experience as a child sexual abuse victim. Until now, Bear had not publicly shared his own experience.
Read Bear’s full statement:
I feel the need to comment on the deeply hurtful and misleading accusations that my brother Bo made the other night on social media. I love Bo deeply and I always will. Since his departure from the band over five years ago, we have done everything in our power to treat him with respect and privacy. I would never choose to disparage him, especially at a time where he is clearly in pain. But as a father and husband, I must protect my family from claims that misrepresent the truth.
Until now, I had chosen to not share this publicly — not because I’m ashamed, but because I’ve wanted to protect my family. I have three young boys, and I wanted them to hear about my story from me directly, when the time is right and not through social media or online speculation. Bo’s post has now made it impossible for me to remain private about this period of our childhood any longer. I can only hope that God has a plan for this down the road. I have always respected Bo’s right to speak about his own story, but I cannot allow him to misrepresent mine.
My brother and I were both sexually abused at the age of 8 and 6 by a teenage counselor at the Christian camp where we grew up. Neither of us received support for these events until well into adulthood and were both left to navigate the rest of childhood and adolescence with deep pain and confusion. I carried shame and anger for years after, but through many hours of counseling and the support of friends and family I was able to share it with, I truly believe I have found freedom from it.
Bo’s recent accusation of me conflates our shared experience of abuse with a childhood incident he misrepresents. While going through a two-day intensive counseling session with Bo five years ago, I learned that he was hurt by things that happened in our early teen years as well. At that counseling session I took full responsibility for any part I played in that pain. We processed those moments of shared trauma in detail and left with an understanding that we were two young boys trying to cope with the unimaginable. To now label me an abuser in such a heartless way is not only deeply painful, but it is also wildly misleading and feels intentionally harmful.
Even after all of this, I am still hopeful for a reconciliation someday with my brother that I know only God can provide. I truly do pray for his healing. I believe that all of us are broken and in need of a Savior. My brother and I are no different. I believe our calling is to love those who are hurting and show them the grace that God has extended us. I hope I’ve done that here, while also defending the father, husband and friend I’ve worked hard to become. Please pray for our family and all we can ask is that you respect our privacy during this time.
— BEAR
