"I am a victim of domestic violence" - Actress Chika Ike opens up

Actress Chike Ike pens an open letter to her
fans, opening up about the physical abuse she
suffered in the hands of the man she called her
husband for five years. Find her story below...
The past three years has been a very emotional period for me. I focused my energy on work and to build back my self esteem. its been really hard for me to come out straight and talk about this because sometimes I pinch myself to wake up and not believe that I was a victim of domestic
violence. I've been through a lot in my life, faced a lot of challenges but this is one topic I've tried so hard to avoid and have been waiting for the right time but I have come to a resolve that there's really no right time because every second of the day,lives are being lost due to domestic
violence. I was a victiim of domestic
violence in my marriage and that was the singular reason I left my marriage, aside
other reasons.
Growing up as a girl. I was always known as the
sweetest kid on the block, before I got married, I
have been through some relationships and for
once no man had ever laid a finger on me. The
first time it happened in my marriage I didn't
understand it because I am not the type of
woman a man beats but I guess there are no
types. It just happens and no woman deserves
it. As a young girl I thought it was love or his
way of expressing his emotions,after every
beating he pleads , cries and says it won't happen again, once again I thought it was love
and made excuses for him. Over the years when
it kept happening consistently I started looking
for other definitions for it. I started loosing my
self pride,self esteem , self worth, and most
painfully i lost a pregnancy (Miscarriage) I
almost lost my life in the process then I realised
how serious and abnormal it really was.
I have heard and read a lot of accusations from
ignorant people who don't know my story,I
guess that's why they are ignorant. I was 20yrs
old and very naïve to the world when I got
married ." They said I married for money" LOL.
I was married to a corporate guy,who had a 9_5
job in a bank, Lives in a rented 2 bedroom
apartment at Egbe.. So do the maths! . I married
for love. I did a traditional wedding. A white
wedding and a court wedding. So that's how
much I wanted to be married forever. For five
years I hoped, prayed & wished that one day it
will all change. But the last straw that broke the
carmels back was during a heated argument he
threw a glass jug to my face and I dogged it and
it shattered on d wall. I saw death flash before
me and I made a decision to save my life. I left
my marriage.
Am not saying this to draw pity from anyone
because we are entitled to our opinions and
believes. I am not also saying this to discourage
people from falling in love because its a
beautiful feeling and I still believe in it. I am
saying this to educate, share and talk about my
experience as a victim of domestic violence
because it is real.
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