An A&E, Original Podcast.

This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and violence.

Listener discretion is advised.

I've always done a pretty good job, you know, you're walking down the street even if you feel safe,

you just kind of like do a backwards thing and you can almost, you can hear footsteps and you can almost like feel when someone's behind you this entire

walk did not hear footsteps I did not see anyone behind me he just like appeared as

a out of nowhere.

Natasha Alexenko was born on Long Island, New York, but grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario.

We were living for just a short period of my childhood.

We lived until I was about a year old on Long Island, New York.

My father was facing challenges with addiction

and it got to the point where my mother feared for the safety of me and her own personal safety.

So she and her family thought at best that she kind of start fresh and move. She at that time had her

brother and sister living in Toronto. So she had a great network of support there for her and for me.

She loved her childhood in Canada, but Natasha always dreamed of a life somewhere else.

There's never a time in my life where that desire to move to New York City for college

wasn't part of who I was. I was fortunate that my best friend Trevor wanted to move to New York

City for fashion design, so he and I were on the same trajectory moving forward.

Natasha grew up visiting her paternal grandmother on Long Island

with frequent trips into the city.

So New York wasn't really a culture shock for her, but that didn't mean she

didn't see the city as magical. So I saw the city quite a bit and then while we were deciding my friend Trevor and I what school to attend,

...