A MUM-of-two has bravely told how her "monster" footballer toyboy beat her with an iron bar, drenched her in paint and smashed mirrors over her head during a brutal two-day attack.
Danielle Thomas, 33, from Doncaster, was left with devastating bruises, cuts and a broken jaw because of thug Reece Thompson, 26.
Thompson has played for York City in League Two and non-League sides Boston United and Guiseley AFC.
Earlier this year he was jailed for three years and four months, handed a 10-year restraining order and sacked from his job at Guiseley AFC for his horrendous actions.
Danielle, speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital, has now shared her story to help other victims of horrific domestic abuse…
Scrolling through my Facebook messages, I couldn't help but smile when another message from Reece, then 24, popped up. I didn't know him well, but we'd grown up in the same village.
A semi-professional footballer, Reece was good looking and successful. But I'd turned down his requests to go on a date.
At 31, I was seven years older than Reece and, as a single mum of two girls, I was looking for someone more mature.
In January 2018, after months of persistent messages from Reece, I finally agreed to meet up with him for a coffee one weekday. We started seeing each other regularly.
I felt Reece grab my hair and yank it hard. Blows rained on the side of my head
Reece would come to my house after training, or we'd go out for dinner. After being single for six years, I was ready for a relationship.
It was a whirlwind romance. After a couple of months of dating, I introduced Reece to my kids – who instantly took to him. Before long, I realised I was falling for him.
But in April 2018, just four months into our relationship, I woke to Reece hitting me.
Suddenly wide awake, I felt Reece grab my hair and yank it hard. Blows rained on the side of my head. "What are you doing?" I screamed.
Reece didn't say a word, but he was clearly furious. "I found a message on your phone," he said, through clenched teeth.
The message was from a guy both Reece and I knew. But it was innocent and, besides, had been sent four years earlier. "It's just an innocent message," I cried. "Please stop."
Reece grabbed a mirror and smashed it over my head, shattering it into dozens of tiny pieces
He began to calm down. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just got jealous."
Lying down in bed next to me, Reece went back to sleep. But my head was spinning. What had just happened?
The next day, my head was still tender from where Reece had yanked my hair. A million thoughts ran through my head.
AM I IN A CONTROLLING RELATIONSHIP?
Coercive control is a term coined by academic and activist Evan Stark to help us understand domestic abuse in its many forms.
It is a pattern of behaviour which seeks to take away the victim’s liberty or freedom, to strip away their sense of self.
It became an offence on December 29 2015 and is part of the Serious Crime Acts 2015.
Until then, domestic violence was understood as physical attacks carried out by a partner or ex.
In Scotland, they use the term 'domestic abuse' to stress abuse is about much more than just physical violence.
Signs of coercive control include isolation, degradation, mind games and the micro-regulation of everyday life – monitoring phone calls, dress, food consumption and social activity.
The perpetrator creates a world in which the victim is constantly criticised and watched. Their every move is checked against an ever-changing rule book.
Fear and confusion are central to understanding coercive control and the victim becomes brainwashed, adapting her behaviour to survive.
He had never acted this way before, he was normally so charming and kind. I decided to give him another chance.
Things went back to normal, but it wasn't long before Reece's jealous streak reared its head again.
I'd always loved pole fitness and hula hoop classes, but Reece didn't approve. "Only slags do pole dancing," he hissed.
With my confidence at rock bottom, I didn't want to do anything to upset Reece. So I stopped going. As the months passed by, I felt myself changing.
Reece would get jealous over the slightest things, even my choice of hairstyle.
On more than one occasion, he flew into fits of rage, throwing things around my house and smashing up my daughter's wardrobe.
He poured paint all over me. I was completely humiliated. He then made lick it off the floor
I knew his behaviour was controlling, but he was always so apologetic afterwards. I convinced myself we could work through his faults together.
Then, on September 10 last year, things became much worse.
Sitting on my laptop at my house, Reece suddenly said "you dirty slag". I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Not again," I thought.
Furious, Reece turned the screen to face me. He'd dug out an intimate photograph of me from over a decade ago.
Before I had a chance to defend myself, Reece punched me in the face. He grabbed me by my hair and flung me around the bedroom, continuing to punch me on my face and head.
Then he picked up my phone and smashed it, so I had no way of calling for help. "Please stop," I begged.
But Reece grabbed a mirror and smashed it over my head, shattering it into dozens of tiny pieces.
Reece grabbed an iron bar, from where he'd smashed up my daughter's wardrobe. "Get on all floors on the bed," he told me
Calmly, Reece bent over, picked up the shards of glass and rubbed them over my back, cutting me. I begged him to stop but he didn't say a word. With an empty look in his eyes, he started to hit me again.
Luckily, my eldest daughter was out of the house. But my youngest, who was eight at the time, heard the commotion and started to cry. "Please let me go and see her," I begged.
Reece waited while I went to my little girl's bedroom and tried to calm her down. I lived in a three-storey house, her room was on the bottom floor and mine at the top.
"Everything is OK," I whispered, hugging her. Tucking my little girl up in bed, I walked back upstairs to my bedroom.
At first, Reece seemed calm – smoking on the balcony – but it wasn't long before the beatings started again. He grabbed my hair, pulled me to the floor and started stamping on my head.
Then, suddenly, it was all over. Reece climbed into bed and, desperate not to be beaten again, I obediently lay down next to him.
My body ached and my heart was broken. I didn't know what to do.
The next morning, Reece made me promise to come home straight after doing the school run.
Reece gave me a choice. "You can either have five more lashings or have your head shaved," he told me. It was a cruel ultimatum
I was terrified but I didn't have the courage to go to the police – and I didn't want to burden my friends or family with my problems.
So I went back home. It was a huge mistake. The beatings started again moments after I walked through the front door.
Reece grabbed a handheld mirror and smashed it over my head. I instinctively held my hands up to shield my face, but this infuriated Reece even more.
"Get your hands down and take the beatings like a real person," he spat.
WHERE CAN I GET HELP?
You don't have to suffer in silence.
If you are experiencing domestic violence or someone you know is there are groups that can help.
Refuge runs a free, 24-hour helpline on 0808 2000 247
You can also visit the website or contact Women’s Aid.
Next, Reece opened a five-litre tub of magnolia paint I'd bought to cover up marks on the wall – caused by another of his violent outbursts.
He poured it all over me. Feeling the thick paint spilling down my head and body, I was completely humiliated. He then made lick it off the floor.
I was trapped. Reece let me have a five-minute shower before ordering me upstairs to the bedroom.
He grabbed an iron bar, from where he'd smashed up my daughter's wardrobe. "Get on all floors on the bed," he told me. Terrified, I obliged.
Nothing could have prepared me for what came next. Reece smacked the metal bar against me, hard, five times.
Then he gave me a choice. "You can either have five more lashings or have your head shaved," he told me. It was a cruel ultimatum.
Desperate not to lose my hair, I accepted five more lashings. I felt like a shadow of myself.
It wasn't long before my bum started showing deep purple bruises, from where Reece had hit me. "I can't believe I've done that," he laughed. I was shocked, it was like he was proud.
My body battered and bruised, I struggled to walk but eventually managed to open the door. The look on the woman's face said it all
Reece stopped hitting me, but my agony continued. My ribs were unbelievably painful. I felt broken.
Meanwhile, Reece acted like nothing had happened, casually ordering a takeaway.
Luckily, my daughters' dad picked them up from school that day – so they didn't have to see what that monster had done to me.
The next morning, I heard a knock at the door. Reece ordered me to ignore it but the urgent knocking continued.
My body battered and bruised, I struggled to walk but eventually managed to open the door.
The look on the woman's face said it all. Worried about me, my ex had called a support worker to see if I was OK.
The police were called and I was taken to a safe house – then Doncaster Infirmary.
Scans revealed I had two broken ribs and a broken jaw. I had surgery to reset the broken bones in my face. Meanwhile, Reece was arrested.
On April 3 this year Thompson, of Bircotes, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to damaging property, actual bodily harm and inflicting grievous bodily harm at Nottingham Crown Court.
He was jailed for three years and four months, handed a 10-year restraining order and sacked from his job at Guiseley AFC.
I'm still recovering from what Reece put me through. He may be behind bars, but I'll never forget the horrendous ordeal. He seemed like a charmer, but in reality he was a monster.
I'm sharing my story because I want to spread my message to other women.
If your partner shows any sign of violence, please tell somebody. No woman deserves to go through what I did.
Earlier this week, we reported on a woman whose sex-mad swinger toyboy hit her ‘like a punchbag’, slit her face and left her for dead when she dumped him.
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