A WREXHAM woman who lived in fear of her abusive ex-partner has opened up on her experiences in the hope of helping others facing domestic violence. 

Paige Reddington has lifted the lid on her experiences of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of an ex-partner. 

The 28-year-old had her eyes gouged, head smashed against a wall and was the victim of strangulation in the two-year relationship. She was also subjected to punches, and had personal items intentionally damaged. 

She was also the victim of threats to kill, and emotional blackmail. "He'd always play the victim," Paige said. "He'd say about his mental health and what he'd been through as a kid. He'd threaten to kill himself and I'd be too worried about having blood on my hands.

"I was caught in a vicious cycle."

Talking about the impact it's on her mental health, Paige said: "I have a lot of nightmares and the impact is having an effect on my current relationship. I feel like I've brought a lot of the trauma into new relationship. But my partner has been so supportive through it all.

"I'd be so fearful for the weekend, that's when it would always kick off. He was a big drinker and I knew when I saw him opening a can what was coming and anxiously waiting for his eyes to turn." Paige, a mother-of-one, was prescribed anti-depressants. "I lost a lot of weight and by the end I was absolutely terrified of him," Paige said. 

Talking about the scope of domestic abuse, she said: "I know a lot of people who have been through the same as me, and a lot who have been through much worse. It's scary how much domestic abuse goes on. A lot of my friends have been abused by their partner. 

"The reason I've gone public about is to let people know they shouldn't suffer and silence and that they shouldn't have to put up with being treated in that way by someone who claims to love them. In my experience, it got worse every single time. The last time he hit me, he got a knife and I did think he was going to kill me and I was terrified. At that point, I thought enough is enough."

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Paige said neighbours would often call the police after overhearing the shouts and screams coming from the property, but that she felt too scared to ever take things further. 

"This is until the day after I thought he was going to kill me," she said. "I went into the police station to report it and made four or five statements on other incidents," she said.

Addressing the issue of seeking help, Paige said: "It's not just as easy as getting up and leaving. You have the emotional blackmail that he will harm himself if you do, and the fear of what he may to do to me.

"There's also the fake promises of never doing it again. But my advice is, if they've done it once they will do it again, and it will get worse and worse. 

"There's plenty of men out there who will treat you properly and will love you the way you deserved to be loved. Girls should never feel ashamed or embarrassed about speaking up about it. It's hard, but there's so much support out there."

Paige received support from Domestic Abuse Safety Unit North Wales. "They were brilliant with me," she said.

Paige's ex-partner was jailed, but more importantly made the subject of a restraining order. 

"Getting that restraining order was the best thing that could have happened," she said. "You know at that point there's no going back and you can truly move on."