No one plans to get married and walk out the next day, but strange things happen and spouses can change overnight. It doesn’t make sense that a guy who was head over heels in love with his girlfriend a few months ago — who spent all his savings on a lavish wedding in Florence and a dream honeymoon in the Bahamas — would wake up one day on the wrong side of his bed, raising his voice and lifting his hand to beat his wife.
Indeed, this is a horrific picture, but unfortunately, it happens every day in many African homes.
Most wives are shocked about how their husbands have transformed. How did they miss the red flags while they were dating, and how did they get trapped in this cycle of domestic violence? As we all know, during courtship (or whatever you call the period before you move in together), everyone puts their best foot forward: couples hide their secrets and pretend that all is well and hope to live happily ever after.
Unfortunately, many women are desperate to get married and ignore the red flags. Isn’t it better to be lonely and single than married and trapped with an abusive spouse?
Others are ashamed of exposing their spouses and refuse to call for help while suffering in silence. Others who have no funds of their own stay on in these abusive relationships as long as they’ve got a roof over their heads and meals to eat.
Don’t wait until you’re rushed to the ER with a black eye or a bruised lip, and don’t regret for the rest of life that you should have left earlier.
In the event you’re not sure you’re in a relationship prone to physical abuse, below are five tell-tale signs you are in one:
