For Kris Humphries, hell took the form of a 72-day marriage to Kim Kardashian.
The two wed in front of an E! camera crew broadcasting their ceremony to the world after less than a year of dating in May 2011.
In October of the same year, Kardashian filed for divorce.
"I should have known what I was getting into," Humphries wrote in a piece for the Players' Tribune.
"It's never easy to go through the embarrassment of something like that — with your friends, with your family. … But when it plays out so publicly, in front of the world, it's a whole other level. It was brutal."
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were married in 2011. Photo / Getty Images
Humphries detailed the mental issues he faced during the marriage and in the aftermath, noting he had days where he didn't want to be himself amid the gossip in tabloid magazines against which he felt he couldn't win.
"I was definitely naive about how much my life was going to change. But the one thing that really bothers me is whenever people say that my marriage was fake," he explains.
"There's definitely a lot about that world that is not entirely real. But our actual relationship was 100 per cent real. When it was clear that it wasn't working … what can I say? It sucked."
Life in the spotlight bought a lot of unwanted attention to Humphries, who began to find crowds would boo him at basketball games.
"I thought to myself, 'Why exactly are they booing me, though? Is it just because I'm That Guy from TV? Do they think I was trying to be famous? Is it because they think I disrespected the game of basketball?'
"The last one killed me, because all I've ever wanted to be known for was basketball."
The forward played for eight teams through his 13-year NBA career after being drafted with the 14th overall pick in the 2004 draft.
Kim Kardashian leaves her divorce hearing in 2013 surrounded by security. Photo / Getty Images
After developing anxiety, especially in large crowds, Humphries said support from his inner circle and a love of the game was all that got him through.
"I didn't want to leave my home. You feel like … I don't know … the whole world hates you, but they don't even know why. They don't even know you at all. They just recognise your face, and they're on you," he shared.
"Honestly, the game was the only thing that got me through it. The game and my family."
