BUSINESSWOMAN NORAH CASEY told of the violence she suffered at the hands of her first husband on the Late Late Show last night.
The Dragon’s Den star told Ryan Tubridy it was the first time she’d spoken openly about the abuse and that she now wanted to highlight issues around domestic violence.
Casey described how she’d met the man when she was a nurse in London in her 20s. They began with several dates and, despite several incidents early on that may have hinted at a controlling personality, she went on to spend nine years with him.
“This man was really sophisticated,” she said. “I was definitely learning things about life I hadn’t understood.”
One such incident she recalled was when he had planned a trip for the pair to the far side of the world and, the night before they were due to leave, they went out for dinner.
“I still do not know what I said,” Casey said. “What’s terrible is that this incident was buried so deep I only remembered it recently. I always kidded myself that I never married a man who abused me.
I said something to irritate him. I don’t know what it was. We were coming into the drive, he slammed on the brakes… There was a bad atmosphere. We went to get out and he came over to my side. I thought he was going to give me a hug.
“Instead of that he grabbed my head and slammed it off the side of the car. Really forcibly,” she said. “He then casually opened the door of the house and I followed him in.”
She said that she couldn’t believe that he had done it, as he had seemed so “normal” and “casual”.
I was also thinking “how are you going to camouflage the bruising on the side of your face?” I got up the next morning – he didn’t speak to me – I put loads of makeup on.
He apologised saying “that was a terrible thing to do”, she said.
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“I learned later that this was a process of apologising. When you love someone, you forgive them,” she said.
Casey later outlined another incident where he was abusive:
He opened [the door] in a rage. He grabbed me by the hair and he pulled me into the house and just battered me senseless… He wouldn’t take me to a doctor for three days. I broke three ribs and the side of my cheekbone was broken.
When she saw a doctor, suspicions were raised on how she suffered the injuries, but her husband apologised profusely on a number of occasions, Casey said.
Several days later, when she winced in pain, he told her “you’re milking this for it’s worth”.
Over time, she realised that he wasn’t going to change despite his apologies. She eventually did leave him and later remarried.
Ryan Tubridy praised Casey for coming on to tell her story, saying she had shown great courage to speak about it publicly for the first time.
Casey was also praised on social media for highlighting the issue.
Women’s Aid operate a 24 hour service, and you can contact them on 1800 341 900
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