For the first time, Kellie Pickler's estranged mother is coming out of the shadows and speaking publicly about why she disappeared from her daughter's life years ago.

Pickler, whose childhood in Albemarle has been well-documented, went on to become an “American Idol” finalist and now has a successful career in country music. She was two when her mother abandoned her, and her father was in and out of jail, so Pickler’s grandparents raised her.

Her mother told Eyewitness News domestic abuse was behind it all. She spoke exclusively with anchor Erica Bryant to help other women who might be suffering.

Eyewitness News’ Exclusive Interview

Cynthia Malone said the only thing she has left from the last time she saw her daughter is a picture she treasures – a picture of her now-famous daughter when she was a child.

"I'm the mystery mom," she said.

Malone has been silent for years, but as her daughter's star is rising, she said sensational tabloid reports forced her to come forward.

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“A lot of mistruth has been printed. I wanted to speak out for me and for the victims,” she said.

Malone described a lifetime of abuse that she says started at the hands of her father when she was a little girl.

"Anything that you could, he picked up, he would hit me with,” she said.

Looking for a way out, she said she fell for the first man who came along, Clyde Pickler. By age 16 she was pregnant with Kellie.

She said her mother gave her an ultimatum.

"To have an abortion or leave,” Malone said.

So she left and married Clyde Pickler. She said it didn't take long before she was being beaten again.

"It started with the alcohol, and then it went into other drugs, and the further along I got the worse it got,” she said. “In my pregnancy I was being hit. I about miscarried several times."

"I went to my baby shower with a busted lip and a black eye,” she said.

Malone claims many people were aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it. She said when she realized her life was at risk, she had to go.

"When I thought I was going to be killed, I knew it was coming down to it was going to be me or him,” she said.

What was the worst thing that happened - the worst that you've felt?" Bryant asked.

“Leaving my baby, leaving my baby -- that was the hardest decision I had to make,” Malone said.

It's a decision she said she still struggles with. She refuses to talk publicly about whether she and her daughter have a relationship now, although Kellie has publicly said they do not.

Either way, Malone said she knows she'll always be judged for that one crucial choice. "The only regret I have is looking back at my life, I had to forgive myself for what I did. If I had a choice or the tools that I have today, I would have done something so much different,” she said.

Kellie Pickler's father is currently serving prison time for larceny. Eyewitness News could not reach him for comment about Malone's allegations.

Malone now lives in the Triangle area and is trying to re-build her life. She said because one in four women will be victims of domestic violence, she agreed to share her story to help other women break the cycle of abuse.

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