Rob Lowe Says He Was Bullied For Being 'Pretty' While Growing Up

Rob Lowe says he wasn't a cute kid, he was a pretty one ... which made his life difficult as a boy growing up in the 1960s and 1970s.

The actor had Oprah Winfrey on his "Literally!" podcast ... and they ended up discussing his childhood -- with Oprah asking him what in his early years affected him deeply.

Rob says people considered him "pretty" growing up ... which led to bullying -- including some NSFW language thrown his way.

Despite the profound effect Rob says the bullying had on him, he says he has a "never complain, never explain" mindset -- basically, he doesn't open up about his past because he was taught not to.

Rob says he internalized a lot of the insults thrown his way ... and while he would've had a forum to open up about the bullying on social media in today's world, such recourse wasn't available to him when he was growing up.