When Carolyn Shepherd first met Wayne Wellings, she thought he was the perfect match and within six months they’d moved in together. However, his obsessive and controlling side soon began to show
A cruel thug subjected his wife to years of abuse which left her feeling so worthless that she tragically started to believe she deserved it.
Carolyn Shepherd first met Wayne Wellings online in 2013 and within six months, the pair had found a place together. Carolyn’s friends and family were overjoyed – though she soon realised everything wasn’t as it seemed when Wayne’s obsessive and controlling side began to show.
“Wayne was drunk when we got in and ordered a takeaway. He flew into a rage when the food was late, and somehow turned his anger on me. ‘You’re fat’, he sneered. ‘You need to lose some weight. You’re nothing but a dog’. Lunging at me, he threw me to the floor and rubbed my face in the dog’s bowl. I was in shock. I’d never seen him behave like that before,” she told the Mirror.
Although Carolyn knew she should leave, it “wasn’t so simple” for the then 27-year-old. From that night onwards, Wayne continued to degrade her and destroyed her sense of self. “As I was doing my make-up each morning, he’d spit in my face and then run his hand down my cheeks, smudging my mascara into my foundation. He pulled out my hair extensions, too. ‘You’re a s**t,’ he said. ‘You deserve everything you get’,” she said.
Carolyn also got lip fillers and Wayne would press down hard on them until they split, telling her: “That will teach you.” On other occasions, he’d ruin her make-up back or raise his hand when walking past. “He laughed when I flinched, as though it was all part of a game. But the threat of violence was somehow worse than the violence itself,” she added.
As the years went on Carolyn, who’d loved fashion and make-up, began to lose interest in her appearance. “I worked in the car industry, so most of my colleagues were male, which Wayne didn’t like at all. I wasn’t allowed to text or call another man, even though it was related to work,” she explained.
In 2016, Wayne proposed and Carolyn told herself it would mark the beginning of a new chapter. However, deep down she knew it was a mistake, though she “couldn’t see a way out” and began to believe that she “deserved” it. “I felt so depressed and worthless, I couldn’t see a way out,” she said. “I’d started to believe that I deserved the abuse, just as Wayne claimed.”
In December 2020, Carolyn found the strength to walk away. The pair had gone out for a meal when Carolyn received a text from a male colleague. This made Wayne furious and when they returned home he worked himself up into a rage. “He looked almost demonic,” Carolyn said.
“I went upstairs, to get away from him. But he followed and pulled down a curtain pole in the bedroom. To my horror, he began beating me with it. Even then, I gritted my teeth and didn’t dare cry out. I was so used to staying silent.
“Covering my head, terrified, I suddenly heard Mum’s voice downstairs. ‘Is everything OK here?’ she called. She hadn’t been able to reach me by phone, so she’d come round. I almost cried with relief. She may just have saved my life.” Her mum took her away and she never went back.
In September 2024, Wayne was found guilty of two counts of ABH and controlling and coercive behaviour. He was jailed for five years in November. “I am so relieved he’s behind bars. I have a chance to look to the future,” Carolyn said.
“I’m back at work, and life is better than it’s ever been. For eight long, lonely years, I stayed quiet, thinking that was best. Now I realise that finding my voice is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk.