He called me fat cow, or stupid fat cow. When I talked about current events he would call me an idiot or retarded. The verbal abuse started as progressive control as he went through my ‘Facebook’ friends and grilled me on all of my male friends to see if I had slept with them. Then it became insults around what I was wearing, having lip gloss on, breakouts. Then it progressed to “don’t speak unless spoken to” and “nobody will ever love you.” The verbal abuse was constant and escalating. Initially, I would fight for hours, but over time as my self-esteem was chipped away, I gave up and just took it. This abuse took me away from myself, my family and friends. It caused constant fear, anxiety and devastation in my life. I speak openly about it now and became an advocate to others. Do not let him get to you. He isn’t worth it. No sex is worth that. And it looks like I’m not the only one.

Ash – Houston, TX