A woman in North Yorkshire was arrested and locked inside a cell for 17 hours after she asked her bodybuilding husband to help clean their home, the Daily Mail reported.
Although there are certainly far more offensive spousal incidents that would be worthy of arrest, this woman found herself cuffed simply for trying to get her husband to do some chores. And yes, this is somehow a real story.
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Valerie Sanders, 58, met her gym-obsessed husband Michael, also 58, back in 2012.
The couple met online and dated for two years before tying the knot in 2014. However, their marriage wouldn’t be the fairy-tale “happily ever after” story, particularly not after Michael complained that his wife demanded he do chores, leading to her ultimate arrest.
In 2018, Michael was visited by Jobcentre staff who noticed he was unhappy during the interview.
The former prison officer and now gym manager admitted that he was feeling pretty low, and attributed these feelings to his home life.
Just one day later, Valerie found herself locked in a cell and charged with coercive or controlling behavior.
According to Valerie, she only asked her husband to vacuum, clean the patio doors, and perhaps stop going to the gym so often.
She also wanted him to stop shopping at Aldi and Lidl so often.
She claimed his bodybuilding was ruining their marriage, particularly the fact that the steroids she claims he took killed their s*x life because she couldn’t bear to touch his muscled body: “It was like cuddling an ironing board.”
However, as outrageous as it may sound, there were legal grounds for her to be arrested.
In December 2015 . coercive or controlling behavior became a crime in the UK in an effort to tackle cases of non-physical abuse. This includes acts of humiliation or intimidation, or making the victim subordinate or dependent.
In the eyes of the law, “controlling or coercive behavior” is punishable by a 17-month prison sentence.
So, after speaking with Michael, Jobcentre staff telephoned police, leading to four police officers in two vans arriving at Valerie’s home to arrest her on these grounds.
In a series of allegations given by her husband, Valerie was accused of “nagging” him for spending so much time at the gym.
He also complained that she wouldn’t eat the food he prepared for her, and that she complained he spent too long cleaning his sports car.
Michael accused his wife of further “nagging” him to clean the house every day, even going so far as to leave him daily chore lists. When he told her he was becoming depressed, he alleges she laughed and told him to “go and do it,” which Valerie denies.
Valerie said their marital troubles went beyond her husband’s reluctance to help her keep their home clean.
“I just didn’t see him,” she said. “If he wasn’t in the gym he was washing his car for hours on end.”
She also claims she discovered her husband had a profile on the male e****t site Gentlemen4hire under the username “BigMikey1400.”
They are now in the process of divorcing after splitting 14 months ago when Valerie was first arrested.
The pair were due to appear in court this week for the case to begin, but it was thrown out before a jury was selected.
Valerie’s not-guilty plea was accepted in exchange for a two-year restraining order.
Speaking to the charges laid against her, she said they were “outrageous” and said she had been “treated like a criminal,” simply for trying to see her husband help out more around the house.
“These laws were brought in to help protect vulnerable people who are in suffering relationships — not prosecute nagging wives. It’s outrageous this ever got to court.”
h/t: Daily Mail
Last Updated on June 27, 2019 by Caitlyn Clancey
