I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO KILL ME

ASHLEY MORGAN SMITHLINE SAYS HER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROCK STAR TURNED INTO TWO YEARS OF LIVING HELL. THE MODEL OPENS UP ABOUT WHAT SHE ENDURED — AND WHY SHE AND OTHER WOMEN ARE SPEAKING OUT TO CALL MANSON A PREDATOR

When Ashley Morgan Smithline first began conversing with Marilyn Manson in July 2010, she thought he was the perfect man. “All we talked about was our favourite movies and our favourite books. We knew the same lines from the same movies,” says the Californiaborn model, who was introduced to the singer (real name: Brian Hugh Warner) by a mutual contact, photographer Tyler Shields.

Surviving Marilyn Manson

Then working in Bangkok, Smithline says her relationship with the LA-based Manson, known for heavy metal with shocking lyrics, grew from emails into hours-long phone conversations. Over several months, “he lured me in with this endless intelligence”, says Smithline, 36, who thought she had found a sensitive soul underneath his ghoulish persona. “It felt very safe and secure.”

But soon a monster emerged, according to Smithline, who says their relationship over the next two years turned into a terrifying ordeal of sexual, physical and psychological abuse. He began to bombard her with dozens of messages at a time across email, Facebook and text, around the clock. Then “it was slowly more and more invasive”, she says. “He asked me to spend a week where I took a photo every five minutes and sent them to him. If I didn’t, he would freak out.”

He told Smithline, who is of Jewish descent, to hunt down Nazi memorabilia for him in Asia, she says. “He asked specifically for whips, knives, throwing stars, masks, any uniforms I could find,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘You know I’m Jewish, right?’” Still, she had grown attached to Manson and complied.