Coercive control: Abuse was 'my normal', says survivor

Zoe Castle says Marc Masterton quickly became violent and controlling in their relationship

A woman who was mentally and physically abused by her partner for two years has told the BBC she is trying to rebuild her life after he was jailed.

Zoe Castle's former boyfriend Marc Masterton, 26, pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour against her.

He had already been sent to prison for 41 months last year for the same offence against another partner.

Chloe Holland died in hospital after trying to take her own life.

Zoe said it was hearing about Chloe's experience that finally gave her the confidence to officially report Masterton to police.

The 24-year-old said she wished she had known "what she was going through because I definitely would have tried to help in any way I could".

She said: "I think it would have helped her if she knew she wasn't the only one that was going through that, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you can get away from it."

Chloe Holland had reported Masterton for domestic abuse before her death

Zoe met Masterton when they were at school and they began dating in 2017, when she was 18.

She said there had been a honeymoon period when he moved in to her flat in Southsea, Hampshire, where she was living with her young daughter.

"He just became very violent, very quickly," she said.

"One of the first times he slapped me, he was crying and he was really apologetic that he didn't mean to do it and I forgave it - but since that time it didn't stop."

She explained that she believed "that was my normal", adding: "I believed it was my fault, I was the one that made him do those things.

"He would always make me feel like I was the one to be blamed and that if I just didn't say anything, he wouldn't have done it."

Masterton was jailed on Thursday for three years and seven months at Portsmouth Crown Court

Zoe called the police several times after being assaulted by Masterton and body-worn camera footage from attending officers showed some of the injuries she suffered.

But she said she was too afraid to ever make a formal complaint against him.

Their relationship ended in 2019 when Masterton was sent to prison for an unrelated offence.

Police body-worn camera footage and photographs showed some of the injuries Zoe suffered

It was not until 2023 that she found out Chloe had also been abused by him.

Zoe said: "I went so hot and all my body hairs just flew up and that's when I realised that it's not just me."

Chloe's mother Sharon previously told the BBC that her daughter, from Portsmouth, had taken her own life after a year of torment from Masterton.

Since then, she has been campaigning for perpetrators of coercive control to face manslaughter charges if their victims take their own life.

Sharon wants coercive control offenders to face legal consequences in line with the suffering they cause

Zoe said she contacted Sharon after hearing about her daughter's death and they have been able to offer each other emotional support.

She said she was gradually rebuilding her life and seeing a psychiatrist to support her mental health but said the damage caused by Masterton was long lasting.

"I have good days but I also have a lot of bad days," she said.

"It sticks with you when that is all you know. Mentally, you don't know anything but violence and abuse, you don't know anything else."

Knowing Masterton has been jailed has given Zoe some comfort, she said, but she believes he would be a danger to other women if he was released.

"I do believe that it will just happen again and I do believe that without a doubt in my mind. There will be someone else, there's no way it'll just stop at that."

If you have been affected by issues raised in this report, details of organisations offering information and support about suicide and emotional distress are available via BBC Action Line.