Jonah Hill Used Therapy Speak to 'Control' Sarah Brady, Therapist Says

A couples therapist has slammed Jonah Hill's alleged texts he sent to his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Brady, while they were still together.

Professional surfer Brady shared a series of messages the Wolf of Wall Street actor had allegedly sent during their relationship. In the texts, which have yet to be verified, Hill tells Brady she can't pose in bikinis on social media, have "inappropriate friendships" with other men or spend time with "women who are in unstable places."

"Jonah Hill is using therapy speak to control his girlfriend, Sarah, his now ex-girlfriend," therapist Jeff Guenther, otherwise known as Therapy Jeff to his 2.7 million TikTok followers, said in a post on Sunday. "And it's important that we go over this misuse of therapy language, which is kind of a thing these days, and how it can be super problematic as it masks controlling behavior under a commonly accepted positive concept—in this case, 'boundaries,' making it harder for the person on the receiving end, Sarah, to challenge it."

The pair started dating in 2021 and the actor has now moved on with online vintage shop owner, Olivia Millar. He had allegedly sent Brady a series of texts, telling the surfer his list of "boundaries for a romantic partnership."

Brady shared screenshots of the alleged exchanges to her social media and captioned the post: "This is a warning to all girls. If your partner is talking to you like this make an exit plan."

"Sharing this publicly now because keeping it to myself was causing more damage to my mental health than sharing it could ever do," Brady added.

The text exchange appears to center around Hill's "boundaries," which include "surfing with men," "to model," "to post pictures of yourself in a bathing suit," or "friendships with women who are in unstable places and from your wild recent past." He allegedly wrote that if Sarah Brady "need[s]" to engage in this type of behavior, he was "not the right partner for [her]."

"Respect however you want to live your life, you only get one. Sort of done with explaining myself," he also allegedly wrote.

Another text message reads: "[I]t's not my place to teach you. I've made my boundaries clear. You refuse to let go of some of them and you've made that clear and I hope it makes you happy."

Newsweek has contacted Hill's representatives by email for comment.

While a debate has ignited online about whether the texts were inappropriate, Jeff Guenther, a licensed professional counselor, said the actor was likely trying to control Brady.

"Okay, so Jonah is basically telling his professional surfer girlfriend, I am not going to be with you if you surf with men, have 'boundary'-less friendships with men, model, post pictures in a bathing suit or post suggestive pictures and are friends with women who are in 'unstable' places," said Guenther. "He goes on to say that these are my boundaries for a romantic relationship."

Guenther added: "Jonah's use of the term boundaries in this message is a misuse of the concept. A boundary is a healthy limit a person sets for themselves to protect their well-being and integrity. It is a rule or guideline that one creates to identify reasonable safe and permissible ways for others to behave towards them and how they'll respond when someone passes those limits.

"However, in the message Jonah sent to Sarah, he is not setting boundaries that protect his emotional well-being. Instead, he is dictating what behaviors and friendships Sarah is permitted to have. He's essentially instructing Sarah on who she can be friends with, what she can do professionally and how she can show up online."

The therapist said the texts were "not an example of healthy boundary setting."

"Instead, it reflects an attempt at control. It demonstrates a lack of respect for Sarah's autonomy and individuality. Jonah's message is more about restricting Sarah's behavior to suit his comfort levels and insecurities, rather than expressing his feelings or needs in a healthy manner," said Guenther.

"A healthier and less manipulative approach might be for Jonah to express how Sarah's actions make him feel without using ultimatums about what she should or should not do. Side note, I bet he loved how hot Sarah looked in her posts before they got together. So this is a bunch of b*******."

Guenther then spoke about Hill's Netflix documentary where he interviewed his own therapist Phil Stutz.

"Jonah needs to consider Sarah's needs and feelings and not just focus on his own, which it seems like he's selfishly doing. One last thing, Jonah Hill made a lovely documentary about therapy and it's a shame to see him weaponizing what he learned to attempt to manipulate his girlfriend. That sucks," Guenther concluded.

In the documentary called Stutz, which came out in November 2022, Hill speaks to his counselor about his work and personal life, including the practice of psychotherapy and the experience of grief.

Throughout the series, viewers are walked through Stutz's technique known as "The Tools" aimed at empowering his patients to be the best version of themselves.