Megan Fox: A Deep Dive Into Her Relationship (And Many Breakups) With Machine Gun Kelly – And How An Unresolved Childhood Trauma Becomes The Core Cause For A Dysfunctional Love Story

At the very, very end of my previous post in which we thoroughly investigated Christina Hacck’s relationship and breakup with her third ex-husband, Josh Hall, I included a Megan Fox quote, ‘Nothing is ever really lost.’ She was referring to her pregnancy following her suffering a miscarriage in October 2023. And though she was speaking of her unborn child, her first with Machine Gun Kelly, real name Colson Baker, the quote itself could really be just about anything. In the post about Haack, we referred the quote to divorce, particularly divorcing multiple times.

I previously made an entire blog entry on Megan Fox while analyzing her toxic relationships with both Brian Austin Green, who was married to Fox between 2010 and 2020, and MGK. Green and Fox first started dating when Fox was 18 and Fox was 31. Following her divorce from Green, Fox started dating MGK in 2020 after they met on the set of ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’, which co-starred Bruce Willis and directed by Randall Emmett. Apparently, the movie was so bad that neither Fox nor MGK even attended the movie’s premiere because they themselves believed that the movie sucked.

Since publishing my initial blog entry on Megan Fox and her two main romantic relationships that weren’t necessarily the best for her, there have been new developments and updates that MUST be discussed. Not only is Fox having her first child with the rapper, but they are now broken up as well. Following news of their breakup, TMZ spoke with Brian Austin Green to get his take on the matter. He said, ‘He’s in his 30s, isn’t he? In your 30s, f–k. Grow up. Like, she’s pregnant. I just want the best for her. I’m heartbroken about it, because I know she’s been so excited and the kids are so excited for life and the change and all of that. I hope that the best outcome that could possibly happen, happens. For her, for the baby and for our kids.’ With Brian Austin Green, Fox shares 3 kids – Noah, 12, Bodhi, 10, and Journey, 8. MGK has a 15 year old daughter, Casie, from a previous relationship.

This isn’t the first time that Fox and MGK broke up. In fact, they’ve had a fairly rocky relationship, and that’s putting it lightly, since at least 2023. Before we get to that mess, I think it’s important to go back a little bit to the time the two got engaged in January 2022. These are the details of the engagement ring MGK had designed specifically for his now-ex:

• Stones – A 3-carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald and a 3-carat D-color antique cut pear diamond 
• Design -Two bands that snap together with a magnetic clasp 
• Style – Toi et Moi, which translates to “me and you” 
• Symbolism – The stones represent the couple’s two different personalities and their deep connection 
• Birthstones – The emerald is Fox’s birthstone, and the diamond is MGK’s birthstone 
• Cost – MGK reportedly spent $340,000

Sounds cute and all until you realize another detail about the ring, which is that it’s painful to remove because of its magnetic mechanism that holds the pointed bands in place when the two halves are together. This particular little detail about the ring tells an entire story about MGK and what kind of romantic partner he is. When news of their engagement first broke, MGK explained the the custom Stephen Webster heart design in an interview with Vogue. He said, ‘It’s a thoroughbred Colombian emerald, with no treatment. It was just carved into the teardrop, straight out of the mine. And the diamond was directly from Stephen. The concept is that the ring can come apart to make two rings. When it’s together, it’s held in place by a magnet. So you see how it snaps together? And then it forms an obscure heart. And you see this right here? The bands are actually thorns. So if she tries to take it off, it hurts. Love is pain!’

Is it though?

Is love really pain? According to research, love can, in fact, be painful. But it can also be joyful and bring happiness to one’s soul. Reasons for it can include the following:

• Rejection: When love isn’t reciprocated, it can be painful. 
• Unhealthy relationships: Love can be painful if it leads to an unhealthy relationship. 
• How the relationship develops: How the relationship develops can impact how much pain it causes. For example, rushing into a relationship or keeping secrets can lead to more pain.

The different types of pain seen in love are as follows:

• Painful emotions: Love can cause emotional pain, particularly when it ends in heartbreak or loss. 
• Physical pain: A 2011 University of Michigan study found that love can cause physical pain, or at least activate similar areas of the brain as physical pain. 
• Modulating pain: Love can either increase or decrease the perception of pain.

Back in 2023, Tyson Ritter, Fox’s co-star in ‘Johnny & Clyde’ opened up about an unpleasant experience he had with MGK on the set of the movie. The All American Rejects singer said on the ‘Tuna on Toast with Stryker’ podcast, ‘I go over [to Megan’s trailer] and there’s her man in there with her. This Colson guy, who you know as Machine Gun Kelly. I call him ‘Pistol Pete.’ Colson, like, just goes from zero to, like, rage and [was] super angry. He was super bummed about me asking if I could put my fingers in Megan Fox’s mouth and I knew she was right there and he just went ballistic. He kind of went [into] maniac mode.’

It’s now being reported that since the breakup, MGK has been very hopeful and doing the best he can to win Fox back. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when I first read the quote by a Steve who spoke with Entertainment Tonight. My personal opinion on the matter is: it’s just about the stupidest thing I ever heard, and Megan Fox and her unborn child deserve better. That’s not to say that I don’t believe MGK will be a bad father to the unborn child. This will not be the first time he co-parents with an ex. He shares his 15 year old daughter, Casie, with Emma Cannon. They dated as teenagers and broke off their relationship before Casie was born, and they’ve mentioned a great couple-parenting relationship throughout the years; even with the fact that MGK has struggled with addiction and mental health struggles for most of Casie’s life.

It was actually Casie herself that, after all these years, inspired MGK to get sober. In an interview on the ‘Million Dollaz Worth Of Game’ podcast’ MGK said of his sobriety journey, ‘It started with my daughter saying, ‘Dad, you know I can tell when you’re high?’ It broke my heart. It was the ultimate let down. It took me a while afterward, because obviously drugs have a vice grip on you. That was step one for me. As a father and as a man, to be the father I wish my dad would have been, I have to break this generational curse for my kid.’

Please don’t be fooled by men. They can be amazing fathers and be sh*tty partners at the same time. The 10 qualities of a good father include:

• Dependability – being there for the child through thick and thin.
• Involvement – being engaged in the kid’s life, interests, hopes and dreams every single day, as well as being committed in and attentive towards the child.
• Compassion – showing compassion towards the child is something that helps a father stay connected to their offspring.
• Valuing of their mother – a father showing value towards their child’s mother shows the child how to treat others, as well as how to be treated.
• Empathy – listening to a child and always trying to understand a child’s emotions, as well as always being engaged with them and making them feel valued and respected.
• Being verbally expressive – clearly communicate, uphold guidelines, being tough yet fair, without belittling or being controlling.
• Being human – understanding that mom and dad will sometimes make mistakes throughout their parenting journeys, but also owning up to those mistakes and trying to better themselves.
• Honesty – teaching a child the value of honesty and integrity from an early age.
• Fun & play – the benefits of dads playing has been researched. Rough and tumble play, in particular, teaches our kids to regulate their feelings and accept limits and boundaries.
• Being industrious – modeling
  a healthy work ethic as a source of personal accomplishment and satisfaction isn’t necessarily associated only with work; it’s a valuable attitude toward tasks, even the smallest of tasks, in general.

I’d gotten to know MGK (not personally, but through a lens) and his career following the massive success he experienced with the release of ‘Bad Things’ his 2016 hit single which also featured Camila Cabello. Casie was someone that was somehow always present in his life. He never shied away from telling the world he had a daughter and how proud he was of the role he came to undertake when he was just 19 years old; a role that never changed despite his massive success. In December 2019, he tweeted, ‘Two connecting flights and still no sleep, but I’m [going to] make it to my daughter’s recital tonight believe that.’ Then in April 2024, when explaining to his fans why he wasn’t there at Coachella with Megan Fox, he tweeted, ‘never been to a coachella, they banned me in 2012 for whatever reason, i was looking forward to finally going this year but my daughters volleyball tournament ended up on the same days so yall will have to lmk how it is, she comes first.’

During an interview with Drew Barrymore in 2021, MGK opened up about his hopes and dreams for his daughter’s future. He said, ‘I was just walking behind my daughter in the airport the other day and she just has this walk, it’s this pure bounce, she’s so excited for life like she’s so young in her life. I just pray to every God that exists that she just keeps that bounce forever and that no one interferes with that. I will take any amount of torture that would come her way if it can just be on me so that she can keep [that pure innocence] forever because it’s worth living for to see that. Her voice is so sweet and it’s not tainted with what the world has to offer.’ In 2015, while appearing on the ‘Life Lessons’ YouTube series, MGK opened ip how parenthood inspired him to provide Casie with the familial relationship that he didn’t have growing up. He said, ‘As much as a f–k-up people say I am, I pray that I have the connection I didn’t have with my parents with my kid. When I’m with her, nothing else matters. If it was a mistake, own up. It’s not gonna be a mistake when you see that beautiful little girl pop up and you see those breaths come.’

I think we’ve established that MGK has a soft spot for his daughter and that he’s naturally a wonderful father. His ‘girl dad’ era certainly comes through. He even surprised a young 9 year old girl who was sitting at the audience at one of his tour stops and brought her out to sing with him after he found out she was a ‘superfan’. He later surprised her on her birthday on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ by singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her when she invited him to her birthday, and gifted her his signature pink guitar. He said in his video message to his young fan, ‘As you grow in this life, and as things try to take away your light, just hold onto it. Protect your light. Don’t let people tell you what to like or what to do or how to be. You are a light so just hold onto that and protect that. Happy 10th birthday. I love you very much.’

MGK once said, ‘I came from broken homes and I watched love never work. Then I grew up where in pop culture they don’t even make romantic movies any more. It hurts my soul that I wasted 30 years of my life not having any desire. Dude, I was down to die.’ This particular quote is crucial in understanding MGK, where he comes from, and why he is the way he is. We’ve heavily discussed how toxic parenting and parental neglect and abuse can affect children in their adulthood in previous blog entries. MGK is literally the living, breathing example of that. He lived in poverty. His mother left the family when he was 9 years old for another man, and his father, who passed away in 2020, raised him as a single dad as he battled depression and couldn’t hold a job. According to MGK, at one point in his life, he only had two outfits to wear. MGK developed his love for music and rap in high school, and was serious enough to want to pursue his passion as a career. His father didn’t support this passion and, therefore, kicked him out of the house after MGK finished high school.

His 2019 song, ‘Burning Memories’, featured on his album, ‘Hotel Diablo’, was about his broken childhood home life, including lyrics directed at his mother. As the song goes, ‘’Yeah, this one’s for the mama that I never knew (never knew), I took acid just to burn all of my memories of you. How’d you leave your only child at nine for another dude? Took that pain and punched my father in the stomach ’til he bled. All the years that you ignored me, left me sleepless in the bed, I hope that he got some kids because your only son is dead.’ The track ‘Lately’, featured on his EP, ‘Binge’ also included lyrics about his fractured relationship with his mother. Lyrics include, ‘I’m still dealing with some demons that ain’t really there, grew up a screw up, pierced my ear and dyed my f**king hair. In seventh grade, I didn’t even have a bed, I had a chair. The f**k you think I go so hard for, I got out of there.’

Earlier this year, MGK appeared on Bunnie XO’s ‘Dumb Blonde’ podcast, where he reflected on his father’s own childhood trauma when hd had to stand trial with his mother at the age of 9 for the murder of his father. He said, ‘The story that was told to me was always that their dad dropped the gun and his head essentially blew off. And so that all happened in the room with my dad at 9 years old. Him and my grandmother were tried for the murder. They were both acquitted. I just remember that I always used to get so mad at him when I was a kid, because if I scared him or he heard a loud boom or a loud noise, he would freak out, like gnarly freak out. And I would be like, ‘You’re supposed to be a man, dude, like why are you acting like this?’ And it just made me hate him. But then you sit there and you think about a kid who was on trial at nine years old for the murder of his father. My father’s childhood journey definitely bled into mine. I think I’ve projected myself to be somebody who has the stamina to endure all of these things that come with fame and criticism and hate. Because I fought back with all those traumas by becoming what I always wanted my dad to be, which was like tough and shake everything off and just fight anyone who comes at you. I’m just now fixing myself. And I don’t have the energy to be the image that I was.’

MGK also spoke of his family history with his daughter in his ‘Life In Pink’ documentary, which was released in 2022. Of her father’s mental health, Casie said in the documentary, ‘I can see why my dad was so depressed, ’cause like, it kind of passed on through generations to him.’ Casie said it best herself, and if there’s anyone who knows Colson Baker, the man behind Machine Gun Kelly, it’s her. Generational trauma, also known as intergenerational, ancestral, or multigenerational trauma, is trauma that is transmitted from parent to child. In MGK’s case, his trauma was transmitted from his father.

• Symptoms – people who have not directly experienced a traumatic event can still exhibit signs of trauma, such as depression, low self-esteem, anger, and self-destructive behavior. 
• Risk factors – depression risk can be increased by structural racism and cumulative trauma, such as exposure to hate crimes, parental incarceration, and familial housing discrimination. 
• Transmission – depression can be transmitted from parent to child, even before birth. Maternal depression during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, low birth weight, and other issues that can increase the risk of childhood adjustment problems

Throughout his entire career, MGK has been very open about his struggles with mental health, as well as his drug abuse and addiction. Since the death of his father, he reconnected with his mother, and he gave all the credit for that to his fans. They even spent holidays together and he introduced her to Casie. But even though he reconciled with his parents in adulthood and made peace with them, it doesn’t mean that the trauma has fixed itself and that he made peace with himself. Unresolved childhood trauma CAN continue to affect people even after a reconciliation with their parents. In fact, reconciling with a parent can lead to more problems and obstacles than not. Sometimes, the best thing one can do for their own mental health, as well as the well-beings of their family is to let go. Forgiving a parent can sometimes mean letting them go forever. Fiona Yasmin, founder of The Wave Clinic located in U.K, said in 2023, ‘Prepare for a situation where you do not get the response that you’d hoped for or wanted. Lots of people who try and reconnect with a family member can feel an added layer of abandonment and rejection if the parent doesn’t want to rekindle the relationship.’

This reminded of a very powerful scene between Leonard and his mother, where Leonard tells his mother he forgives his mother, even though his mother never even asked for it. Forgiving a parent isn’t necessarily about the parent, but rather about the person who’s forgiving their parents. It’s about moving on and not carrying the burden of resentment, anger, sadness, and every other emotion that comes with a toxic, neglectful, abusive parent. Many fans of the show voiced their opinions on the matter in that Leonard’s mother didn’t deserve his forgiveness. And they’re right, she didn’t deserve it. But he didn’t do it for her. He did it for him. He did it to release his own pain of never feeling like he’s good enough for his mother. Many of the show’s fans agreed with me. The most upvoted comment about the scene on Reddit’ reads, ‘Leonard realizing he will never have a real relationship with his mother and forgiving her so he can let go.

Every character on the show had gone through some sort of problematic behaviours from their parents,. A Reddit user wrote, ‘They all had bad parents : Penny : Her dad wanted a son Sheldon : Mom pestered him with religion while herself being racist Howard: coddling mother Raj : parents used money to control him and enforced their wishes and expectations unto him Leonard: Had the absolute nightmare of a home growing up. Bickering parents, a mother who couldn’t show any affection or love, constantly belittled and compared to his siblings. I hated the fact that even Sheldon belittled his achievements.’ Another user added, ‘Amy’s mother forbid her from all forms of social interactions and Bernadette was forced to be a parent to her siblings.’

The scene where Leonard forgives his mother ended with the mother-son duo reconciling. But it would’ve been an even more powerful scene had Leonard decided that they shouldn’t have a relationship anymore and asked her to leave his house, followed by Penny coming out of the room to hug and comfort Leonard. I feel like Leonard deciding to continue a relationship with his mother was a Hollywood ending to the end of his mother’s character arc on the show. If it were real life, I don’t think he’d ever want to continue that relationship. As I watched the scene, I felt Leonard’s pain. I saw it in his eyes. Watching him confronting his mother, and then later Penny confronting his mother in the scene that followed, I instantly felt my husband’s own pain in never feeling like he’ll ever live up to his father’s expectations. A parent is supposed to love, support, and nurture their child, even in their adulthood, but that never happened. My husband didn’t even understand what these 3 things were until he met me and became a part of my family. As the scene goes:

Leonard: You know what? It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter, you’re never gonna change. If I want you to accept me for me, then I guess I’m gonna have to accept you for you. So I forgive you.
Beverly Hofstadter: I didn’t ask you to forgive me.
Leonard: Too bad. I forgive you anyway. And I forgive myself for taking so long to do it. Oh, my God, that feels so good.
Beverly Hofstadter: I must admit, it it does feel good.
Leonard: What does?
Beverly Hofstadter: You forgiving me. It means a lot. Thank you.

Seems promising, right? I would’ve thought so too had I not witnessed my own partner’s life and relationships unfold. In another scene, Penny, Leonard’s wife, confronts Leonard’s mother and tells her to apologize to Leonard. It goes something like this:

Penny: You know, Leonard was really upset. Shouldn’t you go talk to him?
Beverly Hofstadter: And send the message that he can get what he wants by throwing a tantrum? I don’t think so.
Penny: Beverly, put down your phone and go apologize to your son. [Beverly stares blankly at Penny] Oh, so now you’re not talking to me?
Beverly Hofstadter: When you’re finished with your tantrum, I’d be glad to.
[Penny groans]
Beverly Hofstadter: Just let me know when you’re done.

Penny is the real hero in this case. She supported Leonard through his trauma during their entire relationship, and she defended him against his mother. She always showed that she was on his side, even when he wasn’t there to see it. And not only that, but she took the abuse by his mother herself by association for Leonard’s sake. Leonard’s mother didn’t deserve to have Leonard as her son, and she didn’t deserve to have Penny as her daughter-in-law either. My father-in-law doesn’t deserve to have my husband either. And neither does he deserve to have my support either and encouraging my husband to continue to have a relationship with him, which was what I’d done up until a certain point, even with the fact that my father-in-law treated me like absolute garbage and showed 0 respect and acknowledgement towards me. The only reason why my husband continued to have contact with him, even at a minimum, was all thanks to ME. At some point, however, you as a partner, just say, ‘Enough is enough’. For me, that happened after the birth of my son.

I greatly resonated with Penny, because being a partner of someone who has such a difficult relationship with their parent(s) and carries that trauma with them is…exhausting. My husband and I never had such an on-and-off relationship in the years that we’ve been together, but we certainly had our own fair share of trials and tribulations. We separated two years after we got married; and it had a lot to do with his childhood trauma that he carried within himself. It became too much for me to handle. We got back together because he promised me that he’d continuously work on himself and try to better himself without the influence of his father. This brings me to Megan Fox’s role as a romantic partner to MGK, and all that it entails. MGK is just now starting to work on himself following years and years of struggle, and maybe he needs the time to heal on his own terms, without having a partner by his side.

It’s been rumoured that the former couple broke up because of Fox saw text messages from other women on MGK’s phone. We can all be quick to judge someone for doing such a thing and hurting the woman he claims to love time and time again. The fact of the matter is, MGK doesn’t know how to love. He says love is pain, and it’s because that’s all he ever knew love to be from an early age. Love isn’t pain. Or at least, it shouldn’t be. And until he figures this out on his own, Megan Fox should probably focus on herself and their unborn child. Love might be unconditional, but relationships aren’t. At a certain point, one should say, ‘Enough is enough’. And I think this is it. This is the moment Megan Fox should say, ‘enough is enough.’ It’ll be the healthiest thing for everyone – for her, him, their kids, and everyone in between.