ken advantage of by a friend,  Alexia told her dad.  You guys not knowing is not anything I ever wanted you to know, but I kind of wanted to protect you guys from [it]. 

8 Alexia (pictured above with Mauricio at the Los Angeles red carpet for Season 5 of  Special Forces ) eventually opened up to her dad about the assault in front of the other recruits. Fox via Getty Images

8  You guys not knowing is not anything I ever wanted you to know,  Alexia (seen above) said in part.  But I kind of wanted to protect you guys from it.  alexiaumansky/Instagram

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Mauricio appeared confused about why Alexia felt the need to protect her family from what had happened.

She explained,  Once you bring it to other people, it's hard to … it's not just yours. I feel like it's not just your own concern, you know? It just becomes everyone else's concern. But I have definitely healed. I've come a long way since then. 

Mauricio told his daughter he loved her, while fellow recruit Candace Cameron Bure thanked Alexia for sharing her story and Maxim Naumov called her revelation  so f-king powerful,  according to People.

8 Mauricio (pictured above with Alexia during their Page Six  Virtual Reali-Tea  interview) appeared confused about why she felt the need to protect her family from what had happened but later told her he loved her. Brian Zak/Page Six

8 Kyle Richards, with whom Mauricio shares Alexia, previously said she was  not happy  about Alexia joining  Special Forces.  (Alexia and her mom are pictured above at Miley Cyrus' album release party in Los Angeles.) ALEXJR / BACKGRID

Mauricio shares Alexia with his estranged wife, Kyle Richards, as well as their daughters Sophia, 26, and Portia, 18. Richards is also the mother of Farrah Aldjufrie, 37, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Guraish Aldjufrie.

Richards, 57, previously told Page Six's  Virtual Reali-Tea  that she was  not happy  about Alexia joining  Special Forces,  joking,  My first thought was,  I'm going to kill you, Mauricio.' 

 I was so worried about Alexia,  the  Real Housewives of Beverly Hills  star said.  I knew that [Mauricio] would do well or whatever, but I was really worried about my daughter, and I didn't like that she got sucked into that. 

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1 (800) 330-0226.