Jewel Says Mother Embezzled More Than $100M

Jewel is getting candid about her strained relationship with her parents.

In an interview on the Verywell Mind podcast, the 48-year-old singer-songwriter described how her mother, Lenedra Carroll, who was once her manager, stole more than $100 million from her.

"I didn't really realize what my mom was until I was 30-something. I woke up and realized she embezzled all of my money, over $100 million," Jewel said, according to the Daily Mail.

"Thirty-four years old, realize I'm $3 million in debt, realize my mom stole it, realize everything I thought my mom was, isn't what she was, very difficult psychological thing to come to terms with."

Jewel also spoke about her traumatic childhood and how it affected her mental health. She was 8 when her parents divorced and she went to live with her father, Atz Kilcher.

"Nobody told me it's because my mom didn't want to be a mom," Jewel said. "She [Lenedra] left us, and so my dad took over raising us. I didn't know that at the time."

Jewel went on to describe her father as a "volatile alcoholic" who would hit her. Her mother seemed to be the complete opposite — calm and soft. She never raised her voice or hit Jewel.

"I didn't realize I was being abused in another way at the time," she said.

Jewel's childhood experience prompted her to help create the nonprofit organization Inspiring Children in the early 2000s, which includes the singer's free in-person and online mental health program, Jewel Never Broken. She also recently launched a new mental health app, Innerworld, with virtual peer-to-peer support groups along with 100 weekly events.

"I didn't have a safe figure," Jewel said. "But that's also why I formed our youth foundation, is because there's real hope for kids like that."

Jewel added that she hoped the app can help others who are struggling, regardless of their background.

"It doesn't mean they're broken, either," she said. "There's so many tools and things we can do to help ourselves with a little bit of guidance."