The Repair Shop's Suzie Fletcher has bravely opened up on her abusive marriage following the release of her book 'The Sun Over the Mountains'.
The 63-year-old recounted the coercive behaviour she endured whilst married to her late husband Rob.
Speaking to Lorraine, Suzie recalled moving to the US in her early 30s and being 'swept off her feet' by Rob.
She said: "I just went with it. I'm a little bit spontaneous sometimes, and you can't plan how life is going to go.
"I was there for a two-year contract and met Rob two weeks after being in the country and my life just took a complete turn."
Discussing her husband's controlling nature, she said: "It's really difficult with some people because everyone has their faults.
"As I got to know him better, I realised he had been massively traumatised as a child and with that brings on some coping mechanisms which aren't exactly healthy and he was using alcohol to help to numb the pain.
"I did learn as time went on how massively damaged he was and a lot of his bad treatment towards me came from his own insecurities and his inability to cope with life.
"We all struggle from time to time, and we have choices to make but for him, I think he was just caught up with a lot of negative feedback as well within certain groups that he'd grown up in.
"If you can keep an open heart and love unconditionally, there's always hope and I'd rather have hope and help a person than just necessarily run away."
During their early days, Suzie admitted she didn't necessarily analyse some negative things Rob revealed about himself.
"My circumstances were quite different as well because I'd moved to another country so I didn't have the support of old friends and family, which can make a huge difference and we were good together, weirdly.
"But we had this element, which was not healthy and I'm really interested in looking into why this occurs and try and find a solution."
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.
