Bo Rinehart, former guitarist for the Christian-leaning rock group NeedToBreathe, alleges that he suffered abuse from his band mate and brother, Bear Reinhart, as a child.
Last Thursday (June 12), Bo shared a statement to Instagram opening up about his faith, experience with alcoholism and multiple traumas that he suffered in early life.
“I am survivor of childhood sexual abuse,” one portion of his statement reads. “I’ve been sexually abused by a camp counselor. I’ve been sexually, physically and emotionally abused by my brother. And I’ve been abused by my youth pastor.”
Bo had previously spoken about his experience with sexual abuse in a 2023 People interview — where he also opened up about his addiction battle — but until now, he hasn’t shared specifics.
Bear, who also performs as a solo artist under the name Wilder Woods, replied to his brother’s allegations in a social media post of his own. “I feel the need to comment on the deeply hurtful and misleading accusations that my brother Bo made the other night on social media,” he began.
Other a spread of multiple Instagram slides, Bear went on to say that Bo’s statement spoke to a story that he had, up until now, chosen to keep private for the sake of his family, including his three children.
“My brother and I were both sexually abused at the age of 8 and 6 by a teenage counselor at the Christian camp where we grew up,” Bear continued. “Neither of us received support for these events until well into adulthood and were both left to navigate the rest of childhood and adolescence with deep pain and confusion.”
“I carried shame and anger for years after, but through many hours of counseling and the support of friends and family I was able to share it with, I truly believe I have found freedom from it,” he added.
Bear spoke to Bo’s allegations against him, too, and said that the accusation “conflates” that abuse at camp with another incident from their early teen years, which “he misrepresents,” according to Bear.
He also said that they had spoken about this incident during an intensive counseling session five years ago, and when Bear learned that the this incident had hurt Bo, he addressed it in a way that he thought was healing.
“I took full responsibility for any part I played in that pain,” Bear continued. “We processed those moments of shared trauma in detail and left with an understanding that we were two young boys trying to cope with the unimaginable.”
Bear described his brother’s new allegation as “heartless,” and said it was “wildly misleading” and perhaps even “intentionally harmful” for Bo to call him an abuser.
In their statements, both the brothers emphasized their faith and their trust in God’s plan moving forward.
“I believe that God has bigger plans for me and part of those plans are telling my story because it’s so hard for anyone to tell stories like these,” Bo said in his Thursday post.
When he shared his response, Bear echoed that faith in God’s path forward, and said he prays for Bo’s healing. He also said that he hopes he and his brother will be able to find their way back to each other someday.
“Even after all this, I am still hopeful for a reconciliation some day with my brother that I know only God can provide,” he said.
Bear and Bo Rinehart grew up in South Carolina; Bear is the older brother. They founded NeedToBreathe in the late ’90s along with Seth Bolt, and had considerable success in the rock and Christian formats in the late 200s0s and early 2010s. Bo left the band in 2020.
In 2024, members of NeedToBreathe, including Bear, taped a CMT Crossroads episode with Jordan Davis.
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