Mary Bonnet Opens Up About Being Sexually Assaulted by an Acquaintance (Exclusive) [Video]

Content warning: This story contains disturbing descriptions of alleged sexual assault.

Mary Bonnet opens up about a traumatic experience in which she was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance in her new memoir, Selling Sunshine.

The Selling Sunset star, real estate agent and vice president of Oppenheim Group, 44, tells PEOPLE the process of writing her first book — in which she also delves into her experience with teen motherhood, two divorces, toxic relationships and other deeply personal moments — was “very difficult.”

“I had to really put myself back in situations that I never want to be back in again and really think about it to describe the situations properly,” she says. “I had to talk to my therapist quite a bit to make sure I was handling it okay.”

In the book’s sixth chapter, titled “Rock Bottom,” Bonnet recalls a Memorial Day weekend about ten years ago in which she accepted an invitation …