Minka Kelly Says Her Relationship With Taylor Kitsch Was “Toxic,” And It Was “Difficult” To Split While Making “Friday Night Lights”

You’ve seen Minka Kelly in plenty of things over the years.

If you’re a Friday Night Lights fan, you watched her performance as Lyla Garrity on the classic TV show.

You may or may not know that Minka was also dating FNL co-star Taylor Kitsch for a period of time while the show was filming — but, up to this point, she hadn’t really talked about the relationship publicly at all.

In her new memoir Tell Me Everything (via the Daily Beast), Minka revealed what it was like to navigate her work life during and after her relationship with Taylor.

In the book, Minka refers to her relationship with Taylor as “toxic” and claims that it affected her ability to make friends with other women on set.

“All the effort I might have invested in connecting consistently with the girls on the show went to Taylor,” she said. “So, when my relationship with Taylor became toxic, I had no one to turn to.”

Minka said that her life was “very difficult both on and off set” whenever her and Taylor were split up, suggesting that their relationship was on-and-off while filming. “We were young and had very few tools to handle our emotions and personal grievances,” she said.

“On the days we had to work together and were broken up, he didn’t want to be in the hair and makeup trailer at the same time I was. We couldn’t ride in the van together from base camp to set for the same reason.”

“On those days, the tension on set was high, and everyone felt the awkwardness.”

Minka also claimed that, after they broke up for good, the cast largely took Taylor’s side. “I’d show up to work with a smile on my face thinking I was being professional, while everyone else felt sorry for the guy whose heart had just been broken,” she explained.

“My co-workers weren’t taking me out for drinks after work to mend my broken heart; they were taking him out.”

Minka admitted that she and Taylor “shacked up” a little too quickly, and that she was also “very young and very sensitive.” “Vulnerability begets connection, as evidenced by the outcome of both our coping mechanisms,” she added.

“My tough-guy approach only left me alone. If you behave as if you need no one, if no one around you knows any better, most certainly, no one will, in fact, be there.”