Fantasia Barrino’s Ex-Boyfriend Brandel Shouse Files For Custody Of Their Daughter Zion.

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is in the early stages of a custody battle with her ex-boyfriend Brandel Shouse over their daughter Zion Barrino. Shouse recently filed for custody of 13-year-old Zion in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Shouse is requesting child support and custody of Zion, details a statement from Barrino’s rep. But Barrino says that even though he lives in North Carolina, Shouse has had limited contact with his daughter and has never supported her financially.

Barrino and her ex were together for five years and split in 2003. During Barrino’s VH1 “Behind The Music” special, she and Shouse talked openly about their tumultuous relationship. They said that their relationship turned violent after Zion’s birth, with Shouse admitting on the show that he punched Barrino.

The 30-year-old is asking her fans for support as she goes through the custody case. “Fantasia hopes that her fans understand the sensitive nature of these matters and that she cannot share with them all of the details at this time,” the statement reads.

The Tragic Life Of Fantasia Barrino

When Fantasia Barrino won the third season of “American Idol” in 2004, she was a 19-year-old single mother from North Carolina. Her seemingly gritty backstory was the very reason many “Idol” fans rallied around her, and Barrino continued to triumph over adversity throughout her post-“Idol” career.

Barrino has had her share of successes after “Idol,” including the memoir-turned-Lifetime movie “Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story,” a starring role in “The Color Purple” on Broadway, several successful albums, and a Grammy win.

Barrino’s personal struggles, though, have also followed her throughout her career. Her willingness to persevere through adversity served her well on “Idol,” and that strength has also helped her maintain her career through her more difficult stretches, including a suicide attempt and the death of a family member.

Read on to learn more about Barrino’s challenging life, from her difficult early years through her time in the limelight and the pressures of fame.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

She was sexually assaulted in high school

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Fantasia Barrino first experienced tragedy at an early age, the star painfully described in her 2005 memoir, “Life is Not a Fairy Tale.”

Barrino revealed that she was raped by a popular boy in their high school auditorium. “I can barely recall the details,” she wrote of the assault, which took place when she was in ninth grade. “I just know that I shudder to think of how that single act changed me in a way that I didn’t need to be changed.”

Eventually, Barrino told her mother about what happened, who helped her report the crime to her school. “He ended up getting into some trouble, but not the trouble he deserved for stripping me of the little innocence I had left,” she wrote.

Barrino explained in a 2007 interview with “O, The Oprah Magazine” that — after reporting the boy — it became more difficult for her to attend school. “We turned the guy in, but going back to school was hell; his homeboys would say, ‘I’m going to do to you exactly what he did,’” she said. “They thought it was funny. That’s when I quit school.”