RTE's Jennifer Zamperelli has opened up about an abusive relationship for the first time, according to Her.ie.
Zamparelli and co-host Lottie Ryan spoke about the relationship on the latest episode of their podcast, 'Jen and Lottie do...Parenting'
Opening Up
Zamparelli bravely stated, “But my name is Jennifer Zamparelli; I am a businesswoman; I am a presenter on TV and radio; I am a mother of two; I have the most amazing husband… However, I was in an abusive relationship in my younger years. That’s the most nervous I’ve been in saying something,”
The presenter has been honest about the shame and judgement which she received due to this relationship. Her excuse to herself was that she believed that she could 'fix' him. "It was a very toxic, frightening relationship at times."
She further spoke out against people who believed that she could 'just leave him' if what he was doing was truly as bad as she says. But her answer to this is that "When it's good, it's really good. But when it was bad, it was worse than sh**."
Love Bombing
She then went on to explain 'love bombing', which is widely understood to be the lavishing of a partner with attention and affection in order to manipulate them.
“The first time there was physical contact and physical abuse, I was so afraid to tell anybody because I felt so ashamed of letting it get to that stage. I nearly blamed myself in a way,” the mum-of-two confessed. She then went on to leave her boyfriend when he struck her in front of another person.
Zamparelli opened up in the hopes that her story would inspire others to speak out about abuse in relationships.
Help is there
If you have been affected by abuse in a relationship, you can contact Women's Aid on 1800 341 900 or at [email protected], 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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