Even if you are not one of her 511,000 followers on Instagram, you would have read about billionaire heiress Kim Lim’s rise from socialite to beauty empire mogul over the past three years.
Lim, whose father is billionaire Peter Lim, now runs KL Health, which includes aesthetic clinic Illumia Medical, hair treatment center Papilla Haircare and her skincare line Illumiaskin by Kim Lim. The group recently picked up a whopping seven awards at the Global Health Aesthetics Awards.
All seems dandy and good, with many envying her glitzy, and might we say, often dramatic public life.
But in a recent sit down with OG influencer Xiaxue, Lim shared a different side of her glamourous persona, saying how she remembers little about her childhood and that she endured abuse as a child.
Say what?
“I was about six or seven,” she said as tears fell down her cheek when Xiaxue pried on when the abuse started.
“Whenever I talk about this period of my life, I try my best not to cry, but it just comes, especially when I remember the cigarette burns, and it’s something I am trying to erase,” she continued.
Though she declined to reveal the identity of her abuser, Lim said it was a close family member who would return home drunk and take it out on her physically. She also said the abuser was not her father.
She still has cigarette burn scars to show from the years of abuse.
When asked what caused this person to harm her in this way, Lim shared, “During (the abuser’s) drunk moments, I was probably also very rebellious.”
Xiaxue retorted, “You were only six leh! And nothing warrants that sort of behaviour, especially from someone older and who should know better.”
Lim also shared that it took her a while to stabilise herself emotionally and that all these things have made her stronger, and more mature.
She currently goes for therapy.
“I still see a psychiatrist, but I think I just needed someone to talk to as I tend to keep everything in until things become bad and I become kee siao (go mad).”
Lim also revealed that she always had a sort of hate inside of her though Xiaxue lets on that she could never see it. Instead, there have been many who want to take advantage of Lim’s kindness.
“The Kim I know is full of love, like she always trusts people and I always tell her, ‘Can you have more discretion when you make friends?'” said Xiaxue.
“As I grew older, my dad taught me how to let go of things and how to compartmentalise those that are not good for me,” she said.
“He will always say, ‘Block this person and don’t keep thinking as there’s nothing you are going to achieve… and it’s only going to make you more miserable, and it’s not going to help you… and it isn’t useful, so for what you think?’ So that has always stuck with me,” said Lim.
When prompted if her father ever knew about what was happening, Lim said her father found out after a while.
“I would call him screaming for help when things escalated…”
However, Lim said her dad could not do anything as he was not around and him making the decision to send her to London for boarding school at the age of 12 was the best he could do for her.
“I did ask him, ‘Pa, why I so young you shipped me away?’ and he would say it’s for my own good and that I might not see it then, but when I got older, I would understand,” shared Lim.
When Xiaxue suggested that her father might have felt he could have done more to protect her, Lim said that could be why he never really spoke out when she acted up as a kid and was even supportive of her.
“Even when I became rebellious during my late primary school years, he never really blamed me then ’cause he understood and felt that I shouldn’t have gone through what I went through back then,” shared Lim.
She further added that her father has apologised many times to her. She also felt sorry that her dad had to see her going through the years of abuse.
When asked about the status of the relationship with the abuser, Kim simply said she has forgiven (the abuser) and moved on though she doesn’t talk to the person.
“It does not affect me as it is too deep inside. Along with my divorce, whenever I think about it, I just start crying.”
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
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