It's a very heartbreaking truth.
[been there, done that]
Thank God you're out of that situation. It takes courage. Congrats on believing in you.
After I could breathe and stand up again, it took the courage to inform him that "this time" would be the last time.
I told him I'd blow his brains out while he slept if he ever laid a paw on me again.
So....he hid my bullets and left the next day....:)
Reckon I took all the "fun" out of it, for him.
I did find my bullets up on a rafter in the attic about 3 years later....LOL!
Hard times followed, financially and otherwise but it was worth it and my only regret was not doing it years earlier.
[I'd not have nerve damage from an untreated neck fracture, for one thing]
*But*...life is GOOD now and the new hubby is truly a God-send...:)
Thanks, DJ.