Escaping the Castle

How to become your own knight in shining armor.

- Stephanie McPhail

Thirteen years ago I got married in a castle in Long Island, NY, the same one where the celebrities get married. I was surrounded by my best friends and family from all over the world.

That night when we went back to our honeymoon suite, my new husband drew a bath and when I put my foot in the tub I spilled water on the marble floor, which made him fly into a rage. He chased me around naked for hours threatening to have me killed, telling me marrying me was the worst mistake of his life, and then he threw his wedding band at me. It ended with him pushing me down on the bed and strangling me until I almost passed out. Luckily, he stopped.

Then the begging to forgive started. He blamed it on his stress, alcohol, etc.

He promised it would never happen again. I stayed. For five long years. It didn’t get better.

I tried to leave a few times but was always roped back in. He kept promising he had changed, and I would let him back in. The cycle got worse each time.

He didn’t change.

One day while working a second job, he texted me to say he had quit his job because he didn’t like how his boss was talking to him. I begged him to get his job back. I had been taking care of the bills as he got us more and more in debt.