Erin Molan speaks out about domestic violence
'I want to worry about my daughters first boyfriend breaking her heart not her bones'
TV presenter Erin Molan has opened up about her experience of domestic violence, recounting an incident in which a former partner smashed a bottle over her head.
Molan, who is now in a happy relationship with Todd Selby, said she had been quietly dating Selby for several months before they holidayed together in Fiji last month.
Speaking on The Morning Show on Tuesday, Molan said she had been hesitant to speak about her past experience of domestic violence, but felt it was important to do so in light of the recent high-profile cases of women being killed by their partners.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time," she said. "I've been wanting to talk about it, but it's been really hard. I've been really scared about what people will think of me, and what people will say about me. But I think it's important to speak up, because I know that I'm not the only one who has gone through this."
Molan said she met her former partner through a mutual friend, and that he was initially charming and attentive.
"He was everything that I had ever wanted in a man," she said. "He was handsome, he was funny, he was intelligent, he was successful. He was everything that I had ever wanted."
However, Molan said that her former partner's behaviour soon began to change.
"He started to get jealous and possessive," she said. "He would accuse me of cheating on him, even though I wasn't. He would start to control my behaviour, telling me what I could and couldn't wear, who I could and couldn't see. He would start to isolate me from my friends and family."
Molan said that she tried to leave her former partner on several occasions, but that he would always find a way to get her back.
"He would promise to change, he would say that he loved me, he would tell me that he couldn't live without me," she said. "And I would always believe him, because I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he was the man that I had met and fallen in love with."
Molan said that the final straw came one night when her former partner smashed a bottle over her head.
"I remember thinking, 'This is it. This is how I'm going to die,'" she said. "I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. I just curled up in a ball and waited for him to kill me."
But her former partner didn't kill her. Instead, he left her alone and went to bed.
Molan said that she was so shaken by the incident that she went to the police the next day.
"I didn't want to press charges, but I wanted to make a statement," she said. "I wanted to make sure that if he ever did anything like that again, there would be a record of it."
Molan said that she is now in a happy and healthy relationship with Selby.
"I'm so lucky to have met someone who treats me with respect and kindness," she said. "I'm so grateful for everything that he does for me.
"I know that I'm not the only one who has gone through this, and I want to encourage other women who are in similar situations to speak up.
"It's not easy, but it's important. You're not alone."
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