Aerosmith's Steven Tyler has lived a life filled with it all: highs, lows, drama, peace, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. But it turns out that his life included something else: a dramatic relationship with a teen girl whom he became the legal guardian of, impregnated, and then apparently abandoned.
Julia Holcomb met Steven Tyler when she was 16 years old. Within a few months, she became his legal ward and was pregnant with his child.
Julia's brother was killed in a car accident when she was 13. The accident also killed her grandfather and injured her grandmother, her sister, and Julia herself. Julia writes that the accident triggered her parents' divorce, and she was often left on her own as her mother and family each grieved in their separate ways.
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When she was 15, Julia met an older 24-year-old woman who was often able to get backstage at concerts. The woman taught her how to attract rock stars, and Julia was soon introduced to Steven Tyler after an Aerosmith show.
Steven came up with the idea of asking her mother to sign over guardianship rights to him, an idea Julia thought her mother would refuse. She writes, "I remember my surprise when Steven told me she had signed the papers and trying to take this in mentally. A sense of vulnerability came over me, knowing that I was his ward, but we were not married. He had not expressed his intentions of a long-term relationship with me. He had mentioned that he wanted guardianship papers so I could travel across state lines when he was on tour."
Julia shares that she was on birth control when she moved in with Steven. Eventually, he asked her to stop taking it. "After some months together, Steven spoke to me of his desire to have a child. He had grown up in the New Hampshire countryside and at times he behaved like a down-to-earth farm boy. He wanted a family and he asked me if I was willing to have a child with him. I was touched by his sincerity and said yes."
Julia got pregnant within a year and recalls that Steven seemed thrilled by the news. "He took me to New Hampshire to tell his parents about the baby and the marriage. He asked his grandmother if he could give me her wedding ring. His parents were conflicted about the idea of Steven and I marrying. His mother was supportive of everything Steven wanted and I remember truly loving her. She was such a kindhearted lady, with a wonderful sense of humor. His father had grave reservations because of my youth and immaturity."
The pair ended up not getting married after so many reservations were expressed, and Julia was angry and confused. "For the first time I realized that I should not have been foolish enough to conceive a child outside of marriage with a man who might not be interested in a life-long relationship. His guardianship of me complicated things further. I was subordinate to him as in a parent relationship and felt I had little control over my life. I had trusted him and now was the moment of truth."
In the fall of 1975, Julia stayed in Boston while Steven and Aerosmith were touring. She writes, "I was alone and pregnant in the apartment with no money, no education, no prenatal care, no driver’s license and little food." When Steven called, Julia asked for money to get groceries, so he promised to send his friend Ray Tabono over to take her shopping.
Then something mysterious happened.
"He came to the apartment and I let him in through the front door.
"The next thing I remember was waking up in a cloud of dense smoke fighting for air to breathe. Ray was gone. I fell to the floor from the couch in the front room. The couch was not burning and I had no burns on my body, but thick black smoke was consuming the room. The smoke was less dense on the floor, but still, I could barely see."
Julia eventually woke up in the hospital, and Steven was there. "Steven told me the doctor did not expect me to live, and thought that if I lived there would be brain damage from the lack of oxygen. He gave me a teddy bear and I clung to it. He told me I had received many cards and flowers from people wishing me well. I was too weary to talk and I drifted off again."
Julia then states that Steven began to pressure her into getting an abortion. Eventually, she gave in.
"I had no health insurance or money and did not believe Steven intended to help provide for our baby or me. He had not been providing medical care for me up to that time. I believed he was abandoning me as my father and my mother had. I began to cry and agreed to have the abortion. Steven was relieved and happy. He reassured me that he cared for me and that after the abortion everything would be fine."
She concludes, "Everyone around me seemed to be moving on with life, but I was carrying a wound that would not go away. Steven was already involved with other women at that time. The fact that he was my guardian complicated things for him because he was legally responsible for me. I was young, had dropped out of high school, and did not understand my legal rights at the time. I felt completely powerless.
"I left Steven in February 1977 and returned to live with my mother and stepfather. Steven called a few times after I returned home and then I never heard from him again."
