WHEN DATING HURTS

Sarah lives in Melbourne, Australia and yet her story could have emanated from anywhere.  You will recognize the patterns.  Nice woman meets guy and falls for him. He seems like what she was looking for but begins to show signs of potential trouble. She ignores signs and stays with him. It gets worse, but she works around the rough spots. We have heard it before, but it is good to hear it from som...

Former Deputy Sheriff, Joy Farrow, and Technologist and Domestic Violence Survivor, Laura Frombach, have authored the new book entitled, "Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living”. It is available for purchase now. This book was written to help women learn how to defend themselves and give them the tools to continue pursuing their interests and upkeep their physical and mental...

Dave Thomas is focused on projects pertaining to the National Law Enforcement Leadership Initiative on Violence Against Women—which is funded by the United States Office on Violence Against Women.  During his law enforcement career with Maryland’s Montgomery County Police Department, Dave taught at the Police Training Academy, served on the S.W.A.T. team, was a Hostage Negotiator, and a member of...

This is part two of a two-part story of abuse during high school. Think of it as “Dating Violence 101”. Rebecca takes us back to her high school years. As a sophomore, she met a guy and thought she was in love with him. He took full advantage of her. This story is a narrative all parents should hear and share. Yes, it happened a few years back, but it could have been the same as a relationship tak...

This is part one of a two-part story of abuse during high school. Think of it as “Dating Violence 101”. Rebecca takes us back to her high school years. As a sophomore, she met a guy and thought she was in love with him. He took full advantage of her. This story is a narrative all parents should hear and share. Yes, it happened a few years back, but it could have been the same as a relationship tak...

On this informative episode of the WHEN DATING HURTS podcast series, we had the honor of speaking with Rosie Santulli. Rosie has been involved with the Women’s Center of Montgomery County for over ten years. The Women’s Center of Montgomery County is a domestic violence service near Philadelphia. After a long career as a research scientist in both academia and with Johnson & Johnson, Rosie felt it...

We were fortunate to catch up with Angela Hayde and hear her dating violence story. In captivating detail, she tells what it was like to be dating a young man who was abusive to her when she was in high school and in college. In this "on again/off again" relationship, Angela gave it her best. You will hear how it began and how it deteriorated. You might ask why she stayed in this. She explain in t...

Lt. Heather Glogolich and I met during an all-day conference on domestic violence (DV) in October 2020. We were so impressed with each other’s presentations we knew we needed to do something together. This podcast episode is that solid start.  DV Can Happen to Anyone: On October 16th, 2008, Heather's life changed forever when she became the victim of intense emotional and physical abuse at the han...

This is part two of two parts focused on dating abuse. Jessica had her life going in the right direction until she met up with Jeff. She accommodated him way too much, and he took full advantage of her generosity. Jessica's innocence shines through in this WHEN DATING HURTS Podcast interview. She admits she was naive with her handling of Jeff. She trusted him and received no respect in return.  Fo...

This is part one of two parts focused on dating abuse.  Jessica had her life going in the right direction until she met up with Jeff. She accommodated him way too much, and he took full advantage of her generosity.  Jessica's innocence shines through in this WHEN DATING HURTS Podcast interview. She admits she was naive with her handling of Jeff. She trusted him and received no respect in return. F...

Has it ended? Not yet. Not in the mind of Marcus. Jill began dating Marcus when she was 16. He was a few years older but seemed to be everything she wanted. Unfortunately, he brought plenty of trouble with him. Listen to Jill, who lives in Canada, as she takes us through falling in love with a guy who used all the classic tactics seen in unhealthy relationships. No matter what she faced with him,...

Becca was coming out of a marriage that had lost all of its energy. She then thought she had found a guy who provided all she was missing.  For a while, he seemed to be "that guy", but when he showed his real self, he was more than she could handle. She never anticipated the trouble she was in for, and when things started to break loose, it was a turbulent storm. Hang in there throughout this two-...

Becca was coming out of a marriage that had lost all of its energy. She then thought she had found a guy who provided all she was missing. For a while, he seemed to be "that guy", but when he showed his real self, he was more than she could handle. She never anticipated the trouble she was in for, and when things started to break loose, it was a turbulent storm.   Hang in there throughout this two...

Patrisha McLean was married to a world-renowned singer for 29 years. It started as a fairytale relationship but devolved into a 24/7 nightmare. For 29 years! Like many survivors, it took Patrisha a long time before she recognized this as classic domestic violence. Getting out almost cost her life.  This episode teaches what can happen to anyone who doesn't know the warning signs. It also informs y...

WARNING: The descriptions of events in this episode can be triggering. I was contacted by Detective Kristine Holt (Texas) who is a loyal fan of the WHEN DATING HURTS podcast. In fact, she uses it for training. Besides a wealth of knowledge about handling "domestic" cases, she wanted to speak with us about a case she will never forget. The domestic violence abuse suffered for years by Lisa Waldon i...

This is part two of a two-part narrative with Ashley. Ashley's story covers many of the classic warning signs of an abusive dating relationship. She went head over heels for a guy (Mark) and that led her to overlook clues that indicated this relationship was headed for trouble. Praise goes to Ashley for hanging with Mark for so long. She gave her best to get him on the right track. The more she ga...

This is part one of a two-part narrative with Ashley. Ashley's story covers many of the classic warning signs of an abusive dating relationship. She went head over heels for a guy (Mark) and that led her to overlook clues that indicated this relationship was headed for trouble. Praise goes to Ashley for hanging with Mark for so long. She gave her best to get him on the right track. The more she ga...

This is part two, the final episode of JaNae's story. . JaNae was studying to become a nurse. Tony was studying to be a doctor. To all who knew them, this looked like the perfect marriage of two smart professionals. Their parents were happy and proud of them. Nobody expected what was really happening in their “perfect world”. At home, when Tony couldn’t get his way or felt like dispensing some abu...

This is part one of two parts. JaNae was studying to become a nurse. Tony was studying to be a doctor. To all who knew them, this looked like the perfect marriage of two smart professionals. Their parents were happy and proud of them. Nobody expected what was really happening in their “perfect world”. At home, when Tony couldn’t get his way or felt like dispensing some abuse, JaNae was bore the br...

Molly’s story is so much like others you might have heard. She met someone she really liked. He had some issues, but she wanted to continue with the relationship.   They met in college. They had little in common, but he was so different and exciting. He fit neatly in the category of a “bad boy”. Her parents and her brother thought he was bad news, but Molly carried on with this relationship. Molly...

This is part one of two parts.  Molly was so much like other survivors you might have heard in this podcast. She met someone she really liked. He had some issues, but she wanted to continue with the relationship. They met in college. They had little in common, but he was so different and exciting. He fit neatly in the category of a “bad boy”. Her parents and brother thought he was bad news, but Mo...

This is part one of three parts with Laurie and her turbulent marriage to a law enforcement officer. Laurie wanted to tell the WHEN DATING HURTS podcast her “doozy of a story”. Those were her words.  The point she wanted to make was being married to a serial abuser is complicated exponentially when he is also a law-enforcement officer. Typically, these interviews take between one and a half to two...

This is part two of a two-part true dating abuse/violence story with Olivia Engstrom. Olivia was stretched to the limit by a man who swept her off her feet from the start. Never before had she felt so good about a guy—or about herself—as she did when dating him. That was his insidious scheme to capture her and keep her. At times, Olivia’s story will take your breath away. You will hear how this ma...

This is part one of a two-part true dating abuse/violence story with Olivia Engstrom. Olivia was stretched to the limit by a man who swept her off her feet from the start. Never before had she felt so good about a guy—or about herself—as she did when dating him. That was his insidious scheme to capture her and keep her. At times, Olivia’s story will take your breath away. You will hear how this ma...

This is part three of three parts with Laurie and her turbulent marriage to a law enforcement officer. Laurie wanted to tell the WHEN DATING HURTS podcast her “doozy of a story”. Those were her words. The point she wanted to make was being married to a serial abuser is complicated exponentially when he is also a law-enforcement officer. Typically, these interviews take between one and a half to tw...