The Truth About Charlie Heaton's Secret Child
It's not news to anyone that Stranger Things is a major hit on Netflix.With the premiere of its 4th season, fans are ecstatic to see the chemistry between Jonathan Byers (played by Charlie Heaton) and Nancy Wheeler (played by Natalia Dyer), especially considering they've been dating in real life since late 2016.
However, what fans might not know about his personal life is that he shares a child with someone he might've met when he was 16.
Charlie Heaton Was The Drummer In The Band Comanechi
Not too long before he found fame as the quiet, brooding character Jonathan Byers, he was an aspiring musician in the UK. When he was 11, his father bought him a drum set, and he quickly fell under the spell of rock and punk music. There's even a video of him at a young age playing the drums on Youtube (courtesy of his ex-girlfriend).
Soon after, in his teens, he found himself integrated in the UK punk scene where he met singer and drummer Akiko Matsuura. Her band, Comanechi, was in need of a drummer and in 2012, Charlie began recording and touring with the punk duo (now a trio).
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While with the band, he grew closer to Akiko and eventually the pair started dating. 2 years later, they welcomed their son Archie Heaton to the world. They seemed happy for a time, but Charlie was in need of money in order to provide for his baby, so he turned to acting on the side. He was cast in a couple adverts here and there and truly wasn't expecting it to go anywhere, but then he was asked to audition for Stranger Things. And the rest, as they say, is history.
But why did they break up in the first place, and what is it about this relationship that had fans concerned for Charlie?
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Rumors Circulate That Charlie Heaton Was Groomed
Charlie moved to London to live with his father at age 16. There, he spent much of his time in his uncle's recording studio watching bands come in and out with the music he'd become infatuated with. One of those bands was Comanechi, the duo he'd end up playing drums for. The problem that fans have with this story is that he officially joined the band when he was 18, but according to GQ, he knew them from his uncle's studio beforehand. How much longer beforehand is a mystery, however it's been reported that he met Akiko at a mutual friend's house party in 2012 before recording ever commenced. At the time, Akiko was 32 years old.
Their son was born in 2014 when Charlie was 20 and Akiko was 34. The age gap alone was reason enough for fans to suspect that Charlie might've been a victim of grooming. There's no source that can confirm exactly how old he was when he met Akiko, but the timeline is certain to raise some eyebrows.
One fan took to Twitter to express their frustration on the matter, saying, "charlie was 16 and akiko was in her 30s when he started working for her. she got him on ecstasy and loads of other drugs, and 3 years later she was pregnant with his child, and yet people call him an abusive deadbeat for not being with her"
With that said, the legal age of consent in the UK and Wales is 16 years old. This means that if Charlie did meet Akiko and start dating her when he was 16, it wouldn't have been against the law. Questionable? Undoubtedly, but not illegal.
How Charlie Heaton Juggles Being A Parent And A Superstar
News of Charlie even having a child only broke out in 2017 when he was denied entry into the US for the Stranger Things 2 premiere in Los Angeles. His detainment was due to allegedly having trace amounts of drugs on his luggage. According to Flaunt, he was reported saying, "Everything happened so fast, and I hadn’t come to terms with the fact that I was famous."
As for the reason the pair broke up in the first place, it unfortunately will also remain a mystery. Neither party has openly discussed the troubles their relationship faced, but Charlie is reported to spend time with Archie back home in London whenever he's not filming in the US. According to Us Magazine, Akiko and Charlie are "amicable co-parents". It's apparent that he's now happy with his new girlfriend and co-star, Natalia Dyer, and it's only a matter of time before Stranger Things fans discover if they're in if for the long haul.
