Television presenter Ruth Dodsworth has released a brave message for others as her coercive ex-husband is freed from jail. Jonathan Wignall was jailed last year for coercive behaviour, and his shadow still hangs heavy over the weather presenter's life.
But, despite admitting to being "nervous" and "having to look over her shoulder" again, Ruth is determined to look for the positives, and has a burning desire to use her case to help others.
On the day she believes he has been released (victims are not told directly), she shared pictures of what a difference three years has made to her life.
In a recorded message, she showed a picture of herself around the time when Wignall was arrested. She only weighed six-and-a-half stone and her hair was falling out.
It was around the moment her children told her not to come home because Wignall was threatening to kill her.
Speaking on Tuesday (October 11), she said: "Today, is the day we believe my ex husband comes out of prison. As victims it is standard not to tell us when or where. I understand why, but it doesn't make it any easier, but it is pretty tough. It is back to a new normal for us now. A new chapter of locking doors and windows and looking over our shoulders.
"I am nervous, and I am worried because I don't know what the future holds for me and my family. So many people in this situation are in exactly this situation. For me, it wasn't punishment or prison, it was about getting out an abusive relationship, and getting out alive. It hasn't been an easy journey, and every day is different.
"This was my face (above) after 20 years of an abusive marriage had taken its toll. it is not just about hiding cuts and bruises, you can do that with make-up but my weight was six-and-a-half stone and my hair was falling out. I was dead woman walking.
Ruth, who has since remarried, then shared the picture that was taken today when she did a weather report.
She says: "What a different three years make. I am happy, I'm a stone and a half heavier. The hair will always be a disaster, but I am alive and I am here to tell the tale. So, if you are watching this thinking it is too hard to get out of an abusive relationship, or it is too difficult, I should stay, look at me. Look at the future I know have, and you do have a future, and you can be happy."
After Wignall was sent to prison, Ruth spoke to WalesOnline in an emotional and open interview about the impact his campaign of abuse had on her life and how she was now determined to help others. She has since repeatedly spoken out about her experience in her bid to help others who are going through the same thing.
Ruth is determined that her story will help others and has taken part in a television programme, Controlled By My Partner? The Hidden Abuse. She spoke here about finding new love and re-learning what normal life is like.
Nightclub owner Jonathan Wignall was sentenced to three years in prison in April 2021 after he pleaded guilty to stalking and coercive control. He had subjected Ruth to a nine-year campaign of abuse.
Ruth has discussed how it took her years to recognise she was being abused and how her children’s fears for her safety made her realise Wignall’s behaviour was not normal. She said: “I had no idea that the threats and manipulation my ex-husband used for almost a decade were actually a pattern of criminal behaviour.
“He would call me dozens of times a day, wanting to know where I was and who I was with. He would check my phone and even delete contacts from it. He would turn up at my workplace or insist that I leave the studio to eat lunch with him in his car.”
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