Strictly Come Dancing professional Karen Hauer broke down in tears during her first public interview about her "toxic" marriage to ex-husband Jordan Wyn-Jones.
The 43-year-old dancer described a relationship filled with fear and control.
Dressed in a white suit and Adidas trainers, Hauer had tears streaming down her face as she accused her ex of leaving her "emotionally battered". She revealed she started losing her hair from stress during the marriage.
"I was just in panic mode, panic mode, love should not be panic," Hauer said. "It's almost like he made up things to scare me so that I wouldn't go anywhere."
Hauer described living a double life, lying to friends, family and even to Wyn-Jones just to get through each day
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Speaking on Paul C Brunson's We Need To Talk podcast, Hauer described living a double life, lying to friends, family and even to Wyn-Jones just to get through each day.
"I was not only lying to my family and friends and they were seeing it, but I was lying to him as well, because that was the only way I could get through the day, that would keep the peace," she explained.
The dancer suffered hair loss caused by autoimmune disease alopecia, which she believes was her nervous system responding to the stress.
"But it's ok and I get on with it, I get on with it and smile because I don't want to cause trouble, I don't want to shake things up because that puts you in a bad mood which then makes my day really awful, and that's the state I lived in," Hauer said.
She revealed that on her wedding day in 2022, her brother confronted her and begged her to leave Wyn-Jones.
Hauer revealed her friends staged an intervention to encourage her to end the relationship.
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She described a pivotal weekend when she attended a Pink concert with her two best friends, using work in London as an excuse to get away.
"I cried for the first 35 minutes of the show. The freedom of being out there with my friends and them holding me up. And going, 'you have to do this'," she said.
During the concert, Wyn-Jones called asking why she had taken her luggage, seemingly aware of what was coming.
"I remember that moment, 'I have to, I have to do it because if not something is going to happen to me'," Hauer recalled.
After the split, she said Wyn-Jones "started losing control" and "pulled every shot, every string" to regain her attention, making the divorce process difficult.
Hauer is now in a new relationship with rugby player Simon Davidson and says it's her first proper relationship at 43 years old.
"He has a job. Tick. He takes care of himself. Tick," she told the podcast.
"We have conversations about what we want, our values. I'm still a little bit messy, and the thing with me, what I'm navigating right now is learning when to accept when someone's telling me this is the way you should do it and now this is how you do it," Hauer explained.
She said she's learning to distinguish between controlling behaviour and genuine help.
"So, making sure that I understand where you're coming from without going, oh, why are you telling me what to do? Instead of oh, you're trying to help me. That's what I'm learning in this relationship."
Following her appearance, Hauer posted a heartfelt Instagram story with a photo of her on the show, captioned:
"I haven't been able to listen to the episode myself just yet... it still feels a bit raw. But the outpouring love and support from all of you has truly moved me. Knowing it's resonating and reaching so many hearts means more than I can say. Thank you for holding space for it and for me."
She added the number for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline- 0808 2000 247- which is open 24/7.
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