'I'm a 6ft tall, big man - but what she did to me made me want to die'

DOMESTIC ABUSE HAPPENS TO MEN - JOEL SPEAKS OUT ON HOW HE SURVIVED

- NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

JOEL and his girlfriend were 'happy! They had been together the best part of a decade and lived together in what he called a 'good relationship!

But as the country was plunged into a national lockdown, something began to shift. Joel, now 50, saw his girlfriend struggle to cope with the increasing isolation, noticing the dependence on drinking that had begun to seep into their happy house. Behind closed doors, their relationship became controlling and toxic.

Even once restrictions were lifted, Joel's partner continued to be reliant on alcohol, often leaving the house on a Friday night and not returning until Sunday. He says she became increasingly possessive, stopping him from going on his phone or seeing his children. But one night when she returned it also became violent.

"It got to the point where she started hitting me and strangling me," he remembered.

Joel says his partner forced him to become isolated from his family, only allowing him to see them occasionally. When he did see them, he would become embroiled in arguments about his relationship and stuck up for his partner, putting further distance between himself and his loved ones.