“Sold on SLC’”s Kenny Sperry Speaks for First Time on Childhood Sexual Abuse. Why He's Sharing His Story (Exclusive)

• Sold on SLC’s Kenny Sperry first revealed he was sexually abused by his father during a Jan. 29 episode of the Bravo reality series 

• He was prompted to share his experience after having an emotional reaction to a breathwork session at a company retreat

• After the episode aired, Sperry opened up to PEOPLE about his healing process and his decision to share his story on TV

Kenny Sperry is not letting his dark past define him. Instead, he hopes he can use it to help others.

The Sold on SLC star has been going through a whirlwind of emotions since revealing he was sexually abused by his late father on last week’s episode of the Bravo real estate reality series.

During one powerful scene, viewers watched Sperry experience a flood of childhood memories come back to him while participating in a breathwork session at the annual Presidio Real Estate company retreat. He later opened up to his costar and friend, Tyna Edwards, about what he went through, prompting the two to have an emotional conversation, during which Edwards reveals she was also sexually abused as a child.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE after the episode aired, Sperry says he initially didn’t want to tell his story on television, but the thought that sharing his experience might potentially help someone else changed his mind.

“When this happened on the show, it was completely unexpected,” Sperry tells PEOPLE. “I had not brought anything up to do with my abuse or the situation that I was in for years. In fact, I had told myself I was done telling that story. I'm moving on with my life.”

Related: Sold on SLC's Kenny Sperry and Tyna Edwards Reveal to Each Other They Were Both Sexually Abused as Children

He continues, “When this happened, I don't know, I just felt a need to share this experience one last time on this platform that I've been given in the hopes that it will help others who are struggling or going through similar things.”

Sperry says that recovering from the trauma of abuse as a child has not been an easy task by any means. He recalls often turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

“I kind of wallowed in all the pain and hurt and came up with excuses. I numbed, I self-medicated with substances, and with more of the temporal things in the world. Lots of shallow friendships and all of that.”

Related: Bravo Announces New Salt Lake City-Based Real Estate Series Sold on SLC

The Utah-based realtor says that it was his family and his LDS faith that helped him to “redirect my purpose in life” and finally face the trauma head-on.

“I was able to look at the heartache that I felt and say, ‘You know what? I don't want this same situation for my kids,’” he says, referring to his trauma being passed down to his four children, whom he shares with his wife, Jessica.

Kenny recalls how he and his wife of 13 years were just engaged at the time he was reaching “the final steps” with his own experience. During this time, the pair tragically discovered that there were “very similar traits” with Jessica’s relationship with her dad, who was later sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of child pornography.

Kenny says both he and Jessica worked with the FBI to "put her dad away" and were heavily involved in the prosecution process of the case.

“We ended up sharing that piece — which is horrible and malicious — but we were able to kind of bond together in that similarity and grow with her family as they experienced the same things,” Kenny tells PEOPLE. “Really, I think that solidified both her and I's initiative that this was going to end with our family, that this was not going to be passed on to our children.”

Related: Real Estate Rivalries Spark Professional and Personal Drama in Sold in SLC: Watch the Trailer

He also credits his sister, who was “by my side through much of my abuse and my recovery,” for helping him take legal action against his late father. Kenny says that when both he and his sister had to testify against their dad in court, she was a "major comfort" for him through it all.

“As somebody who's been abused and as somebody who's experienced trauma, there's fear associated with hurting your abuser,” he explains of going into "protection mode, where you want to come up with excuses for why that person would hurt you.”

Kenny continues, “And really, those first brave steps were not from me. Those first brave steps were spurred by a sister, who kind of paved the way for me to start to be able to see clearly. She was the first one to go to the police. She was the one standing by my side in court cases. And without her, it would've been really, really difficult for me to navigate that on my own."

Related: Salt Lake City Named the Healthiest City in the U.S. — See If Your City Made the List

In addition to leaning on his family, Kenny says his relationship with his faith has been an anchor for him, as “a lot of my actual progress happened when I started to turn back to God.”

Kenny recalls a sign connected to his religion that reminded him he’s not alone.

“I had not told the network [my father's] death dates or anything like that, out of privacy. And I will say that this episode aired on the anniversary of the date of my abuser's passing, which was so crazy. It was another token that to me, there is a higher power and there is a God or someone aware of my situation and my circumstance.”

During last week's episode of Sold on SLC, Kenny explained how his dad's passing in 2020 was "the closing of a chapter of a lot of hurt" for him.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

While Kenny continues to work through challenges linked to his abuse to this day, he has encouragement to offer to anyone else who might be struggling.

“We live in a world of broken people, and more specifically broken men," he says. For Kenny, he perceived it as "completely unorthodox to instill any emotion when men go through heartache or when they go through challenges. And I feel like this journey, for me, has proven that it's okay to show heartache and to not stuff all of those feelings and emotions [down].”

Kenny acknowledges that while it’s “scary to take the first step,” he wants to encourage those in a similar situation to either find someone who can help them take action or “anchor yourself to God or some belief that you can get through this.”

He adds, “Every single person goes through points of suffering in their life, and we have two options." One, he says, is to simply "live in it." The other: "to try and channel that into something better, whether that's helping others, whether that's success in business, becoming the best father or person or human being, or whatever it is. It's really important to take that step.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Read the original article on People