Olivia Attwood has revealed she was the victim of domestic abuse in her previous relationships as she backed a new Loose Women campaign on Tuesday.
The TV presenter, 32, said that the abuse she faced ranged from coercive control to intimidation and she began to ‘edit’ herself to make her ex-boyfriends happy.
Olivia opened up in aid of the Loose Women Facing It Together campaign, which aims to raise awareness for domestic abuse.
In a film shown on the programme, Olivia said: ‘I wanted to be part of the Loose Women Facing It Together campaign because I want people to know the Olivia you see on the panel – the confident version of myself – I wasn’t always like this…’
She went on: ‘It would probably surprise a lot of people – as I’ve never spoken about it publicly – but in some of my past relationships I have suffered domestic abuse.
Olivia Attwood has revealed she was the victim of domestic abuse in her previous relationships as she backed a new Loose Women campaign on Tuesday
The TV presenter, 32, said that the abuse she faced ranged from coercive control to intimidation and she began to ‘edit’ herself to make her ex-boyfriends happy
‘And I think by being transparent, it might help someone else in a similar situation.
‘When I look back over past relationships, there has been issues that have shown themselves in different forms – from coercive control to intimidation… and for a lot of people it’ll be hard to imagine me editing myself because I felt like I was annoying or I was too much.
‘I very quickly became conditioned that the things I was experiencing were normal or if not normal, that they were my fault.
‘They’ll always find a way for you to doubt yourself and they almost become artistic in placing those seeds of doubt and you start to believe it. If you hear something enough it becomes the truth.’
Before adding: ‘Something I read almost daily on my DMs from young women is ‘how did you become so confident?’ but what I want to convey is that that didn’t happen overnight.’
‘We’re seen as these women on television doing amazing things but, equally, it can happen to people like us.’
Olivia, who is now happily married to her husband Bradley Dack, does not name the ex-boyfriends who carried out these behaviours.
The panellist has joined her co-stars Brenda Edwards, Charlene White, Denise Welch, Frankie Bridge, Judi Love, Kelle Bryan and Sunetra Sarker in pushing the agenda.
The panellist has joined her co-stars Brenda Edwards (pictured), Charlene White, Denise Welch, Frankie Bridge, Judi Love, Kelle Bryan and Sunetra Sarker in pushing the agenda
Denise opened up on her ordeal too. She said: ‘Many, many, many years ago I was in what I would call an emotionally abusive relationship’
Kelle also spoke about her experience: ‘I wish I had someone to face it together with when I was facing domestic abuse’
Denise, 65, Kelle, 48, and Brenda, 55, all also revealed that they have personally experienced domestic abuse in the past.
The campaign, which has been guided by Women’s Aid and SafeLives, aims to highlight the help available to those living with domestic abuse.
The initiative highlights key ways in which friends and family can spot the signs or support loved ones living with domestic abuse.
Denise opened up on her ordeal too. She said: ‘Many, many, many years ago I was in what I would call an emotionally abusive relationship – it was never physical – but they are bruises that you just can’t see.
‘It makes me shudder now to think that I put up with that for so long and getting out of that was the best thing that I ever did.’
‘These people chip away at your personality. People have said to me that I can’t imagine you’d ‘put up with that’, but my personality was diminished.
‘There is something in many of us who think that we can change people, [but] unfortunately these leopards very rarely change their spots…’
Kelle also spoke about her experience: ‘I wish I had someone to face it together with when I was facing domestic abuse.’
The campaign, which has been guided by Women’s Aid and SafeLives, aims to highlight the help available to those living with domestic abuse (pictured Charlene White)
The initiative highlights key ways in which friends and family can spot the signs or support loved ones living with domestic abuse (pictured Sunetra Sarker)
Charlene, Frankie (pictured), Judi and Sunetra also explained why they were supporting the campaign
Judi admitted: ‘I definitely came across this a lot in previous work and with people that I know on a personal level (pictured Judi Love)
‘We’re seen as these women on television doing amazing things but, equally, it can happen to people like us.’
Charlene, Frankie, Judi and Sunetra also explained why they were supporting the campaign.
Charlene said: ‘Probably all of us have examples where we know that our friends have been in situations that are unhealthy for them and perhaps unhealthy for their children. Hopefully through this people can understand the best way to approach it and the best way to offer support.
‘Sometimes all somebody wants is just to be listened to. Your girl gang can be the most important support that you could ever ask for.’
Judi admitted: ‘I definitely came across this a lot in previous work and with people that I know on a personal level.
‘There’s always that moment where you think to yourself ‘what can I do’ so it’s always something I thought I would love to campaign behind.
The panellist has joined her co-stars Brenda Edwards, Charlene White, Denise Welch, Frankie Bridge, Judi Love, Kelle Bryan and Sunetra Sarker in pushing the agenda
She said: ‘There’s always that moment where you think to yourself ‘what can I do’ so it’s always something I thought I would love to campaign behind’ (pictured Judi and Olivia)
‘One of the main things that people who abuse will do is make people feel like they are the only one and that’s the easiest way to silence you.’
Whilst Frankie said, ‘I think it’s so important for us to be able to use our space to raise awareness.
‘I think being a mum of boys makes the campaign important because it happens to men as well and I think we forget about that, but also, to teach my boys the signs for them – to make sure they’re not falling into bad habits with partners as well.
‘I hope from doing this campaign that we make people feel stronger, and I think to be able to help people to help that person…’
Before Sunetra concluded, ‘I really hope that this makes somebody feel that they can pick up the phone and tell a friend or reach out or be honest.
‘I think focusing a campaign on domestic abuse is so necessary and essential and we should keep reminding people that this doesn’t just go away after we talk about it once. It’s forever present and if we don’t keep facing up to it then people will forget.’
