Nicola Bulley’s partner has branded the social media storm which surrounded her disappearance in Lancashire a “monster”.
Ms Bulley, 45, vanished while walking her dog near the river Wyre after dropping off her two children at school in January 2023.
Her body was recovered weeks later on February 19 and a coroner ruled she had died after falling into freezing water with no evidence of foul play or a suicide bid.
In the weeks of the search for the mortgage adviser thousands jumped online to give baseless theories about the case.
However, her partner Paul Ansell came under scrutiny from social media users who became obsessed with the case and without any evidence suggested he was implicated in her death.
Speaking publicly for the first time since Ms Bully’s body was found, he told the BBC in a documentary that the social media profile of the case was initially helpful because it helped publicise the search but then heaped yet more pain on the family.
He said: "I think anything like that is a double-edged sword...that's the problem. You're poking a monster.
"I was getting direct messages from people that I've never met - they don't know me, they don't know us, they don't know Nikki.”
He was told "you can't hide" and "we know what you did". Unable to reply, he says he felt "silenced".
"On top of the trauma of the nightmare that we're in, to then think that all these horrendous things are being said about me towards Nikki - everyone has a limit."
Police officers investigating Nicola’s disappearance say they felt they had to release personal information about her struggle with the menopause and drinking.
Det Supt Rebecca Smith told the BBC: "Because of the commentary that was coming up on social media, Paul was just key to a lot of people's theories, and we had to negate that.”
Mr Ansell added: "On top of the trauma of the nightmare that we're in, to then think that all these horrendous things are being said about me towards Nikki - everyone has a limit.
"I was as getting direct messages from people that I've never met - they don't know me, they don't know us, they don't know Nikki.”
