Robin Givens: Rihanna's story is "my story"

Robin Givens: Rihanna's story is "my story"

44-year-old Robin Givens, who famously survived an abusive relationship with Mike Tyson, says Rihanna's situation with Chris Brown brings back horrific memories.

On CNN's Larry King Live speaking on Tuesday, Givens, said it was hard hearing the news that Brown, 19, allegedly attacked Rihanna, 21, last month.

"Even sitting now ... it shakes you up. You know, you begin to sweat. You begin to feel sad all over. ... It's hard to sit here," she said.

"I've spoken to women every[where] ... and what's amazing is that I find that my story is their story; their story is my story -- down to the details," she went on. "He dragged me down the hall by my hair. He pulled me out of bed by my panties. He would like to choke me. He would kick."

Robin Givens added, "When I wrote my book [2007's Grace Will Lead Me Home], I was somewhere talking about something. And a woman came up to me and she said I wanted you to stop talking because I felt like everybody would know that you were talking about me."

Tyson was alleged by Givens. Tyson was never convicted of domestic abuse, who hit her for the first time before they wed in 1988.

This violence escalated: He once threw her up against the wall, punched her in the head, often swung at her and even threatened to kill her.

In spite of this, she said she always found herself taking Tyson back.

"All of a sudden this person, this man that you love, that's claiming his love for you, is crying, you know?" she said.

"And then you're consoling them. And it just becomes, 'I'll never, ever, ever do it again. ... I just love you so much. It's so hard for me to handle how much I love you.' And it just begins [again]," she continued.

Mike Tyson, she said, also promised her "he was going to get help. And I loved him. I wanted to make it work. I was very bonded. And it's hard to be bonded and save yourself at the same time."

Robin Givens divorced Tyson in 1989. (She has said her ex, Brad Pitt , consoled her through the ordeal.)

Robin Givens said, she worries that some may say Rihanna provoked Brown to attack her after getting into an argument with him about a text message he received on the night of the assault.

"I mean, I don't know why in our society that is, that we blame the victim," she said.

Robin Givens, before the interview ended, delivered a strong message to the singer: "As difficult as this all is, she does not have to answer to the media. She doesn't have to explain it. She has to take care of herself."