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среда, 19 апреля 2017 г.

Meet the worst e-ffenders out there...

There are ways to avoid that annoying friend... well, unless they’re online – then you have to listen to all kinds of nonsense.  

The baby bore






The culprits: Mums who believe their child is the most interesting thing in the world - and that you need to hear about the blighter's every cough, smile and burp.
Baby bore's post: "Alfie just did his first wee on the potty!" or "Daisy's already learning Mandarin - and she's only two!" All accompanied by 3,456 pictures of their little angel, including previous photos of mum-to-be showing off her bump and every scan image.
Least likely update: "Kids really ruin your social life."

BB's Chanelle
Celeb offender: Big Brother 8's Chanelle Hayes recently gave birth to her first baby, Blakely, and has been tweeting about him ever since. "Happiest day of my life. I'm a mummy and my baby is beautiful!" was followed by: "Baby update: he gets more gorgeous every minute!" and then "Blakely is officially the best baby ever to have graced this planet." Snore off.
The face-feuders






The culprits: People who want to air their dirty laundry in public, and try to guilt-trip those they think have crossed them. Online. For all to see.
Face-feuder's post: "I can't believe that Sue has accused me of sleeping around! Like she's so innocent"
Least likely update: "I'm not going to talk about my private life on here."

Singer Sinitta
Celeb offenders: We've had Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Osbourne and Paris Hilton sharing their grudges, so it should be no surprise that other celebs have jumped on the public-ranting bandwagon. Singer Sinitta recently had a go at former friend and fellow ex of Simon Cowell Jackie St Clair, who had apparently accused her of having an affair with a male friend.
She retaliated on Twitter: "Stop telling people I'm having an affair at 15 and 25 I was afraid of you, I'm not now!" She later apologised for her comments. And actress Sadie Frost recently had a go at Sienna Miller on Twitter after discovering Jude's girlfriend had taken Sadie's daughter Iris for a spontaneous haircut.
"I think ya should get ya own child and then cut their hair!" she fumed, before shutting down her Twitter account.
The attention tweeter






The culprits: Cry-for-help posters who are hoping to shame you into feeling concern and rushing to their virtual aid.
Attention tweeter's post: "I just want today to be over" or "So sad today".
Least likely update: "Ain't life great!"

Heidi & Spencer
Celeb offender: The Hills star Heidi Montag recently filed for divorce from her reality TV partner Spencer Pratt, who's been left feeling more than a little down in the dumps about his hard luck (and can now probably kiss goodbye to lucrative fame-seeking stints on the likes of I'm A Celeb!).
He recently tweeted poor-me messages like: "Yes I'm lonely" and "Being an ego-maniac is my defense mechanism to stop myself from getting hurt and feeling rejected? It never works." Ah, diddums!
The ODA*-ers ( Online Display of Affection)






The culprits: Nauseatingly loved-up couples desperate for the world to know they've still got that spark.
ODA-er's post: "Last night was totally amazing, babe. Love you sooooo much ; )" or "Alan's taking me out for a romantic Michelin-starred dinner tonight. He's AMAZING."
Least likely update: "If Andy keeps me awake snoring again, I will kill him."

Ash & Demi
Celeb offenders: Hollywood couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have been together since 2003, but they're still devoted to each other - and don't we all know it. Ashton regularly tweets pictures of his wife (including one of her bending over in her knickers), while Demi recently wrote: "My hubby is a true romantic! @aplusk said he's gonna build a house on the land of his 1st date w/ @mrskutcher."

Tony & Eva
And in July, Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria shared her happiness at her third wedding anniversary to Tony Parker by tweeting: "Happy Anniversary to my honey bunny @tp9network! 3 years baby!" Yeah, yeah, we get it. Bleugh!
Other e-effenders






And if you don't recognise any of that lot, you must know one of the following:
The teaser
The ones who keep you guessing with their cryptic statements, just so their friends will ask them what they mean. They post things like: "Last night was simply incredible" or "I can't believe what just happened!". Just spill your guts properly, people!
The face bragger
Really annoying show-offs who insist on ramming all their "amazing" news down their not-so-lucky mates' throats. Yes, well done, you've been promoted to your dreamiest dream job - that doesn't mean we all want to know about it.
The suck-up
AKA that annoying person who "likes" everyone's status, comments on how "gorgeous" some girl she's only met once looks in her holiday pics and retweets everything you write. Argh! Facebook off!
The lurker
Individuals who loiter around Facebook and Twitter looking at other people's updates, but never actually posting themselves. You know who you are.
The new netiquette






Tim Collins, author of The Little Book Of Twitter: Get Tweetwise! (Michael O'Mara Books, £3.99) says:
Only update your status or tweet if you've really got something worth telling people about. No one cares how many cups of tea you've had that day.
Be careful about posting pictures or talking about social events. Friends might feel offended if they weren't invited.
Remember to acknowledge people who write on your wall or send you a message. If you don't, it's just like ignoring an email or phone call.
Don't be boastful in your tweets or status updates. You'll end up looking like an attention seeker.
Never drink and update. Come on, you know why.

суббота, 4 марта 2017 г.

Jo Wood - ‘I’m single and loving it’

She’s the ultimate rock chick who bounced back from a very public betrayal... introducing our new agony aunt, Jo Wood

There's no doubt it must be tough being married to a Rolling Stone. And even tougher when he cheats on you and the whole world knows about it. Jo Wood's been there, done that and come out a stronger woman.
She is happy to be single, a mum of four, gran of six and an always-available shoulder to cry on for her celeb pals. Oh, and she's a successful businesswoman in her own right, too. Phew! That would leave many women half her age exhausted. We reckon at 54, Jo Wood not only looks amazing, but is the kind of feisty, formidable woman who makes the best type of friend. Which is why we've asked her to join Fabulous as our new agony aunt.
"I've lived a wild and crazy life. I've seen a lot, I've done a lot and I've been in lots of difficult situations," she smiles. "And I'm still happy!"

Jo with her ex-hubby, Rolling Stone Ronnie
A former model, Jo spent 31 years with Rolling Stone Ronnie, before he cheated on her with waitress-turned Celebrity Big Brother housemate, Katia Ivanova, 21. Suddenly single, Jo could have hidden herself away, but instead went for therapy, put herself back together, partied with friends, then won the nation's hearts on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing. She says: "I'm proof there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I want other women to see that."
Most of her pals, including model Kate Moss, 36, and singer Sarah Harding, 28, already turn to Jo when they want advice. "It's very flattering that they come to me for help," says Jo.
But first and foremost she's there to advise her children. "My kids do come to me - about anything and everything - including their sex lives," she reveals. "Sometimes, I think: 'Oh god, that's too much information', but I'm glad they feel they can talk to me, no holds barred."
So, who does Jo turn to when she needs advice? None other than her own mum, Rachael Karslake, 75. "I talk to her about everything other than sex!" she laughs. It was her mum who helped her through her very public split from Ronnie, 62, last November. Jo discovered his betrayal after finding a text on his phone.
When the affair became public, Ronnie left their family home in Kingston, Surrey, to be with his lover. It was Jo's dignified behaviour through this difficult time that earned her the nation's respect. "I didn't want to be that bitter woman no matter how much it hurt," she says.
So Jo went to therapy, where she learned it was time to put herself first. Which she did - with girls' nights out on the town. But mention her hell-raising ex's recent arrest after he assaulted his now former-lover Katia and, far from gloating over his misfortune, Jo's pretty face furrows in concern. "I think we all knew it would end in tears, but I worry about Ronnie. He's not good on his own," she says.



She should know. They first met in September 1977, when Jo was just 21. For a while, theirs was a very rock 'n' roll lifestyle. She admits that years of living with Ronnie and his drug and alcohol addiction took its toll.
"I was constantly worried he'd drop dead because of his drinking, and I never knew when he was going to go mad because there was no alcohol in the house," she says.
"I was very protective and I didn't want anyone to see the seriousness of his addiction. It was stressful. But when ¿he left me, I went for therapy and everything clicked.
"I had to start looking after myself. Now I wake up and think about me and my life," says Jo. But even so, when she heard of his break-up from Katia, she rang him immediately.
"I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. And I'm still happy!"
"A friend told me he'd been arrested for assault," she says. "I called him to find out if it was true he'd spent the night in the cells - and he said it was. I was furious with him."
She insists Ronnie was never violent towards her and, despite everything, it's obvious she still cares for him. "I can't help it," she shrugs. "I liked that he had someone to take care of him. Now I worry he's a loose cannon."
Ronnie's recently been spotted out with a string of women and says he's off the booze. Jo's not convinced.
"For him to become sober he needs to go into rehab," she says. "I don't think he's strong enough to do it himself. But I hope he does stay sober. He's such a sweet man when he is."

But Jo says there's no chance of a reconciliation. The pair's split was finalised last November in a 'quickie' divorce, and Jo received a £6.5million settlement.
"I loved him and thought we'd grow old together, but knowing he'd been with someone else for 18 months... I couldn't live with him again. I can't imagine being with him now. I've come out from his shadow."
When Jo's not out partying, running Jo Wood Organics and practising her foxtrot, she's mum to Jamie, 34, Leah, 31, and Tyrone, 25, and stepmum to Ronnie's son Jesse, 32.
A very glamorous gran indeed, Jo's constantly on-call, but insists: "I don't want to nag and fuss."
It's this straight-up approach to life that made Jo the ideal choice for our new agony aunt. And she can't wait to get started in her new role. "After of all I've been through, I hope people trust my advice. It's from the heart," she promises.
Mum, stepmum, grandmother, businesswoman and the ideal best mate Jo welcome to our Fabulous family!

пятница, 10 февраля 2017 г.

Anna Chapman. Sexe, mensonges et espionnes

Quand Anna Chapman a été arrêté le mois dernier, accusé d'être un espion russe, sa double vie a fait les manchettes dans le monde entier. Mais elle est l'un des nombreux ...

Passez sur James Bond. Il est avec secoué Martinis et avec Cosmos. Comme présumé espion russe Anna Chapman, 28 ans, un peu moins de la moitié des 3.500 «barbouzes» du Royaume-Uni sont des femmes et, selon les experts, il est, les femmes intrépides fougueuses qui font les meilleurs espions. Avec des pistolets cachés dans leurs sacs à main de créateurs et rouges à lèvres doubler en tant que dispositifs d'écoute, les femmes mettent leurs compétences féminines à la bonne utilisation, le forgeage des carrières dans ce qui a toujours été le monde d'un homme.
"Espions Femme comme Anna Chapman utilisent leur sexualité à leur avantage», dit Claire Thomas, co-auteur de Spooks: The Unofficial Histoire du MI5. "Une jolie femme intelligente peut piéger un homme et lui faire baisser sa garde, elle va le transformer en mastic dans ses mains et obtenir l'information dont elle a besoin, elle n'a pas besoin d'utiliser le sexe -.. Mais il est une arme puissante. "
Alors que nous, les filles pourraient ne pas avoir la force physique de nos homologues masculins, dans le monde de l'espionnage, ce n'est pas un problème.
"L'espionnage est plus sur la collecte de renseignements que d'entrer dans des bagarres Jason Bourne style», explique Claire. "Agents masculins ne sont pas un avantage. Si quoi que ce soit, les femmes sont mentalement beaucoup plus forte que les hommes. Ils peuvent faire face à la pression mieux, et les exigences de mener une double vie."
Un espion WW2 allemand, le nom de code «Mme Amos», était si profonde infiltration à Londres, pas même son mari de 20 ans savait qu'elle était un agent. "Son histoire de couverture était qu'elle travaillait dans le War Office», dit Claire. "Elle était modeste, femme d'âge moyen, mais elle aperçut sur les gens et a donné des informations aux nazis. Elle a même recruté d'autres femmes au service. Son mari ne se doutait de rien."
 Le plus sexy de l'espion 
Quant à Bond-girl regarde, la beauté de la circulation d'arrêt peut effectivement être un obstacle plutôt qu'une aide. "En fonction de la mission, l'agent peut vouloir être banal et voler sous le radar», dit Claire. "Si elle est un miel piège cependant, le plus sexy de l'espion, le meilleur."
Quand il a fondé le British Security Service (MI5) en 1909, Sir Vernon Kell stipulé que les agents féminins devaient être «bien élevé et avoir de bonnes jambes". Et dans les années 30 et 40, MI5 spymaster Maxwell Chevalier a recruté des femmes sexy pour aller en mission de piéger les hommes avec des liens allemands ou russes.
L'un d'eux était Olga Grey. Une bombe blonde baptisée 'Miss X', elle a infiltré un réseau d'espionnage dans le Woolwich Arsenal pendant WW2. Malgré tomber en amour avec sa cible communiste, Olga n'a jamais abandonné sa mission. "Elle avait faufiler dans sa salle de bain tard dans la nuit et photographier ses plans top-secret pour les armes. Il ne l'a pas suspect et, après son arrestation, il a été dévastée à sa trahison», dit Claire.
Comme Olga, Joan Miller a utilisé sa sexualité comme une arme aussi. Un autre agent WW2, glamour Joan infiltré une société anti-juive secrète appelée le droit Club. Composée de tout le monde de politiciens à la cinquième duc de Wellington, le groupe a rencontré dans les Swish Tea Rooms russes à Londres, où ils ont bu de la vodka, caviar a mangé et discuté comment supprimer les Juifs des postes de pouvoir dans la politique et la presse. En gagnant leur confiance, Joan cassé la bague.
"Une fois, Joan nécessaire pour obtenir son appartement recherché pour les robinets», dit Claire. «Les agents de la Special Branch ont dit qu'ils ne pouvaient pas le faire, alors elle les soudoyé avec une photo d'elle en bikini!"
Mais comment les femmes se mettent au travail dans les services secrets, en premier lieu? Tout le monde a entendu l'histoire à obtenir une tape sur l'épaule, mais MI5 a commencé le recrutement ouvert il y a 10 ans. Fini le temps d'être secrètement approché et a invité à appliquer, comme le personnage de Jennifer Garner dans la série télé américaine Alias.
La réalité est moins excitant. Après avoir terminé un test de compétence, les candidats retenus se lancent dans une série d'entretiens et des procédures de contrôle. Les intervieweurs se plonger dans les origines de la famille et les amis, ainsi que leur vie sexuelle et les relations personnelles pour assurer la crédibilité des prétendus espions.
«Les femmes sont plus susceptibles d'être envoyés en mission d'entreprise ces jours-ci, où ils peuvent obtenir des emplois dans les bureaux qui leur permettent l'accès aux fichiers, ou avoir des boissons avec des gens bien connectés», dit Claire. "Mais l'essence de leur travail est toujours le même.
«Ils peuvent exploiter la vanité des hommes, les séduire en leur disant ce qu'ils veulent savoir. Les hommes ne soupçonnent pas les femmes à poser des questions étranges de la même manière qu'ils le feraient un homme."
Avec Anna Chapman en attente de procès pour espionnage, et des centaines d'agents féminins au travail à travers le monde, il semble que Bourne pourrait avoir enfin rencontré son match.
Pourquoi les femmes font de meilleurs espions






«Les femmes sont habitués à prendre plusieurs rôles - être une personne au travail, l'un avec des amis, et un autre avec notre mec ou les enfants», explique la psychologue
Dr Funke Baffour. "Nous gérons ceux-ci ont de façon transparente et presque« double vie »déjà. Les femmes sont également mieux à mentir et à garder des secrets que les hommes. Nous pensons que par des problèmes et les résultats possibles avant de parler, sont donc moins susceptibles d'être pris au dépourvu."
Les Obligations Jane






Mata Hari



Danseuse exotique tourné espion, d'origine hollandaise Mata Hari scandalisé Paris en effectuant nue et affichant ses amants de grande envergure. Recrutée par la France en WW1, elle a été exécuté comme un agent double allemand en 1917, pour avoir trahi les secrets qui ont conduit à la mort de milliers de soldats alliés.
Violette Szabo



Jeune, brave et belle, Violette a signé pour devenir un espion dans WW2, après la mort de son mari. Comme un agent secret pour Special Operations Executive de Grande-Bretagne, elle a rassemblé des renseignements et sabotée missions nazis en France. Elle a été tuée dans un camp de concentration de 23 ans.
Virginia hall



Vivre à Paris lorsque les nazis ont envahi, American Virginia Hall a fui à Londres, où elle a été recrutée par le Special Operations Executive. Malgré avoir perdu sa jambe gauche sous le genou, Hall était leur première espionne. Elle a ensuite rejoint la CIA, et est mort en 1982 âgé de 78 ans.
Stella Rimington



La première femme à la tête du MI5, Stella a dirigé le Service de sécurité de 1992 à 1996. Au cours de sa carrière de 30 ans, elle est devenue le premier chef d'espionnage pour aller public et photographier. A sa retraite, elle a publié son autobiographie, Open Secret. Depuis lors, Stella a écrit cinq romans d'espionnage.
Eliza Manningham Buller



Un enseignant avant de rejoindre le Service de sécurité en 1977, Dame Buller a été directeur général du MI5 à partir de 2002 jusqu'à sa retraite en 2007. Elle a commencé sa carrière à taper des transcriptions de conversations téléphoniques taraudés entre diplomates russes, mais est rapidement devenu un spy- à temps plein chaser.
PHOTOGRAPHIE: REX, GETTY

понедельник, 9 января 2017 г.

He murdered thousands but I still love my dad Khadija Amin

As a child, Khadija Amin’s father Idi was her hero – until she learnt the shocking truth about his past

When Khadija Amin's father died in 2003, it made front-page news around the world. But far from global outpourings of grief and remembrance, the headlines rejoiced in his death, expressing hatred and revulsion against the man Khadija had adored since she was a little girl.
"I was 20 when my father died, and it was only then, watching news footage of people celebrating in the streets of my home country of Uganda, that I finally accepted who my dad really was," she remembers.
Khadija with Idi Amin - the father she adored




The man Khadija affectionately called "Baba", who loved to sing and dance with her and take her swimming in the sea, was not simply the loving father she believed him to be. Rather, he was Idi Amin, the notorious Ugandan dictator responsible for the brutal deaths of an estimated 300,000 people.
As she read the newspaper reports following his death, Khadija found tales of gruesome murders, dismembered corpses and enemies fed to crocodiles. Around 80,000 Asians were expelled from Uganda in a bid to "Africanise" the country, thousands more were imprisoned in military camps and a vicious secret police force were allowed to kill without recrimination.
Khadija could no longer hide from the truth about her father, the man they called a monster. A corrupt dictator, drunk on power, Amin was branded the "Butcher of Africa", but preferred to be called "Big Daddy".
"Growing up, there had been clues about my father's past, but I had either been too young to understand them or perhaps I just didn't want to believe," admits Khadija, now a 27-year-old marketing executive living in north London.
Born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where her father lived in exile after he was ousted from power in 1979, Khadija remembers numerous occasions when she was aware something was different about him.
"Sometimes I went out with Dad in his car and everyone would want to shake his hand," she says. "He had been invited to live there by the Saudi rulers who sympathised with him. He was like a hero there and I realised he must have been very important back in Uganda. I felt proud to be with him."
But there were also times when it was obvious that not everyone was so fond of her beloved daddy. "I went to boarding school in Kenya, and one day a boy there asked me what my father's name was. When I told him, he said: 'They will come and kill you for this.' I didn't understand what he meant, but after that I noticed other children looking at me strangely and whispering," says Khadija.
"Another time, at home in Jeddah when I was seven, I found a video called The Rise And Fall Of Idi Amin. There was a man called Idi in it who looked like my father, wearing a military uniform just like the one I'd seen hanging in his wardrobe," says Khadija. "He was barking orders at soldiers and laughing at the sight of severed heads in a freezer. I was so confused and ran to ask my dad about it, but he brushed off my questions."
 How could I believe my father would do those things? 
And on two visits to Uganda between the ages of seven and nine, Khadija became aware of the huge security presence that guarded her family.
These incidents make it hard to understand how she could not have realised there was a very dark and dangerous side to her father. However, according to psychologist Kathleen Doorbar, an expert in family relationships, Khadija's reaction was perfectly understandable.
"No one wants to believe their parent is capable of evil," says Kathleen. "Khadija chose to believe what she saw - the loving, affectionate father instead of the life-rocking truth. She held him in such high esteem that for him to have been anything less than perfect - much less a monstrous tyrant - would have made her re-evaluate her whole life."

Forest Whitaker as Amin in The Last King Of Scotland
Khadija agrees. "How could I reconcile the father who raised me with one of the most feared figures in history? But by the time I hit my teens, the pieces were slotting into place. The TV reports about his 'brutal regime', his warning to be careful because some people didn't like our family - it all began to make sense, but I was desperate for it not to be true."
Aged 16, Khadija left school to study in London, where her mother had been living since her marriage to Amin ended when Khadija was just two months old. Still in denial about her father's bloody history, she was heartbroken to leave him behind.
"The day I left, he hugged me, said he loved me and told me to work hard," she remembers. "I was bursting with questions about what I had seen and read about him, but I just couldn't bring myself to ask them, so again I pushed them to the back of my mind."
In the UK, Khadija forged a relationship with her mother. "I had no bitterness over her absence. I grew up in a stable, loving environment and we became more like best friends than mum and daughter," she recalls.
 I feel like I live with blood on my hands 
Then, in 2003, when her father was 78, he became seriously ill with kidney failure. "We spoke on the phone while he was in hospital and he told me not to worry," Khadija says. The next thing I knew he had passed away." In keeping with his Islamic beliefs, Amin was buried within six hours of his death so Khadija was unable to attend his funeral.
She was devastated. But she had something other than her grief to contend with. The public outpouring of hatred towards her father, and her final acceptance about the man her father really was.
And this, according to Kathleen Doorbar, would have been even more devastating than his sudden death. "Finally being forced to accept the truth would have been appalling. And because Amin was dead, Khadija wasn't able to look to him for reassurance. She may even have wondered if, deep down, she was like him and capable of evil too."
"I couldn't go on burying my head in the sand," admits Khadija. "My father was branded one of history's most evil men. I realised he was grouped with Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin. I wasn't even alive when my dad was in power, so I don't know what it was like or what exactly happened. But as head of state, he was responsible for his people. And so many of them died.
"Sometimes I'd wonder: 'If I hadn't known this person in the flesh and had only heard the stories, how would I have felt? Would I have loathed him too?' and I probably would have done. As it is, I feel like I live with blood on my hands. So many families suffered while he was in power and I feel so guilty because of that.

For a long time I felt as though Dad was two separate people, and the bad man wasn't the same one I knew, but I've had to accept they were the same person."
Three years after Amin's death, the film The Last King Of Scotland, based on his life, was released. Watching it was an unsettling experience for Khadija, who recognised some parts of her father in Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker's performance - but not others. "Unbelievable as it may sound, I'd never seen his violence or temper," she says. "He never shouted at me, but just one look was enough for me to behave."
Even though Amin is dead, Khadija is still reminded of the hatred that exists towards her father. "Last year a close friend Googled my name out of curiosity. But when she discovered who I was, she was furious," says Khadija. "She confronted me, demanding to know why I hadn't told her. I explained that I am my own person, I did not commit the crimes of my father. I just wanted her to like me for me. I didn't want to have to tell everyone that Idi Amin is my father."
Luckily their friendship survived and, with the seventh anniversary of Amin's death looming on August 16, Khadija has finally made peace with her father's past.
"I'm still uneasy about how people will react when they find out," she says. "But I've done nothing wrong. I'm a normal girl with hopes and dreams. I just want people to judge me for who I am and not who my father was."
The life of a dictator






January 1925: Idi Amin Dada Oumee is born in Koboko, Uganda, to a local tribesman and his wife.
1946: Amin joins the King's African Rifles of the British Colonial Army as an assistant cook and works his way up through the ranks.
1966: Amin is promoted to colonel and army commander by then Ugandan Prime Minister Milton Obote.
1971: Amin seizes power in a military coup and declares himself President of Uganda.
1972: Deposed PM Obote tries to stage a coup against Amin but fails. Amin retaliates with the massacre of soldiers and civilians who support Obote. The final death toll is estimated to be between 80,000-300,000.
1977: Amin's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and rumours spread that he is a cannibal.
1979: Forces are mobilised against him by the Ugandan National Liberation Army, so he flees via Libya to exile in Saudi Arabia.
2003: He dies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 16.
2006: A film based loosely on his life, The Last King Of Scotland, is released.

среда, 4 января 2017 г.

The Jigsaw Murderer. Marriage to the man who’s now serving life for murder turned out to be a nightmare

When Jenny Morse*, 31, met Stephen Marshall, she thought she’d found The One. But marriage to the man who’s now serving life for murder turned out to be a nightmare...

I look at my life now and wonder how it all went so wrong. I had so much going for me - a beautiful son, a career in modelling and ambitions to become a psychologist.
Today, I live alone under a false identity. Too traumatised to hold down a job, I spend my days in hiding, fearful of every knock on the door. The few friends I have know nothing about my former life. Not even my own family knows where I am.
Why? Because I married Stephen Marshall, now infamous as the Jigsaw Killer. Just a few years ago I was living in fear of his beatings every day. Now, after testifying against him in court, I'm terrified he'll take revenge, even though he's locked up for life.
In January this year, Stephen, 38, pleaded guilty to the murder of Jeffrey Howe, a quiet, kind kitchen salesman whose dismembered body parts were found scattered across two counties.
I suffered at Stephen's hands for six years. I lost two children because of him. Maybe if I'd been stronger, if I'd gone to the police sooner about his violence, he'd have been caught quicker, and that man might still be alive today. I have to carry that guilt with me every day.

Jenny felt forced into marriage with Stephen
I met Stephen at the gym he owned in St Albans, Hertfordshire in September 2000. I was a model and he offered me free training in exchange for doing some publicity shots for his business.
Just 21, I was a single mum juggling a job with a college course in psychology and caring for Ben*, my 18-month-old son who had been diagnosed with autism.
Powerful, charming and popular, Stephen seemed to know everyone. When he paid me attention, I was flattered. I'd never been in a serious relationship before and he swept me off my feet.
He treated me to lunch and gave me lifts home, coming into my flat to check I was looking after myself and my fridge was full of healthy food. At the time, I thought it was wonderful he cared. Looking back, he was already starting to take control.
We became a couple three months after we first met. The following October, we moved in together.
I'd heard a few rumours about Stephen's past, and a couple of times he bragged about his connections to a notorious London criminal gang called the Adams Family. They've been linked to the drugs trade and 25 murders. He said some jobs he'd done for them had turned violent. "It's all in the past now though," he'd insist. Stupidly, I believed him.
He told me he'd started a new life, and he was so kind and caring that I couldn't imagine him ever being violent.
At first, he lavished attention on me and Ben, encouraging me to do up our family home in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. But he didn't like me going anywhere without him and hated being disturbed by my friends and family calling round.
I just thought he loved us spending time together. I didn't realise he was gradually isolating me.
Just weeks after we moved in together, Stephen began to change. Instead of nights in, he'd disappear to the pub. Then he openly started doing drugs, snorting lines of cocaine off the coffee table, and he'd watch porn so violent it made me feel sick. I wondered what kind of man I'd got involved with, but I'd started losing touch with my family and friends so I had no one to turn to and he no longer had to keep up the charade.
One night, just a month later, Stephen had been drinking and taking drugs during the day, but seemed fine as we watched TV that evening. Suddenly, he grabbed me by the neck and tightened his grip until I couldn't breathe. My screams turned to squeaks as the air was forced from my body. He was silent, his eyes full of fury.
'He's going to kill me,' I panicked. All I could think of was Ben, asleep upstairs, as I began to slip into unconsciousness. Then Stephen let go, but he wasn't finished. He held a knife to my throat then beat me to a pulp.
"Why are you doing this?" I cried.
Stephen didn't answer. Beating me until dawn, he broke my nose and gave me two black eyes, as well as countless cuts and bruises.
"If you grass me up, I'll have you hunted down," he hissed. "I'll get rid of you and Ben for good. No one will ever find you." Eventually, he passed out.

Social services believed Emma was at risk
Grasping my chance to escape, I hauled my broken body into the street. A passer-by called the police, and I was rushed to Luton And Dunstable Hospital, while a social worker cared for Ben.
Looking back, I can't believe I didn't leave him there and then, but I was terrified of what he was capable of. And part of me believed it was my fault.
As the doctors treated my wounds and the police tried to take a statement, all I could think about was Ben - Stephen's sick threats echoing in my head.
Because I was too frightened to press charges, Stephen was released from custody. When he came to collect me from hospital, I started shaking.
Quietly, he blamed the attack on drink and drugs, vowing to get clean. "It'll never happen again," he promised.
Like so many women in violent relationships, I convinced myself it was a one-off. But every night, Stephen came to bed with a meat cleaver, tucking the blade between our bodies.
"I'll make sure no one ever finds you if you leave me," he'd whisper, instead of wishing me goodnight. And if there was any chance I doubted his threats, his bedtime stories consisted of boasts about his murky underworld work - how he'd chopped up bodies gangsters wanted rid of. It was then he told me he'd spent time in prison for offences including possessing a firearm and assault.
"I'll cut you up if you ever leave me," he threatened.
He'd demand sex, beating me if I refused.

At first Stephen was kind to Ben
One of the symptoms of Ben's autism is that he can shout and scream uncontrollably. So when one night, Stephen told me I had to keep him quiet or he'd shut my son up himself, I realised I had to get him out to protect him. I arranged for Ben to be taken into residential specialist care to support his autism - and to keep him safe.
Watching him leave, I felt like the sadness would never end. At least I was able to visit him every week, away from Stephen. I lived for those days. Ben's smile was all I had to look forward to as I became more like a robot than a woman.
When I realised I was expecting Stephen's child, I was devastated. I didn't want to bring a baby into such a violent relationship, but Stephen wouldn't allow me to have a termination. And when he revealed he'd put his gym in my name to avoid it being taken away because of his money worries, I realised he was never going to let me go.
He insisted we got married to protect his finances and I was too broken to refuse. I was five months pregnant when we were married in August 2002. Wearing a simple white dress, I blinked back tears of sadness as I whispered my vows. Signing the register was like signing a death sentence.
Stephen's control over me increased when I became his wife. He kept me prisoner, locking the doors when he went out or taking me with him to work.
I gave birth to our daughter, Emma*, in December 2002.
Stephen's probation officer found out he'd been mixing with his old criminal friends again, and social services believed Emma was at risk. They decided to take her away.
As they lifted her from my arms, I could hardly believe I'd lost another child because of this man. But I was too broken to ask for help. Kissing Emma goodbye, I choked back tears of frustration, vowing to her that I'd get out too. I owed her that much. And a few months later, when Stephen was jailed for assaulting someone at the gym, I grabbed my chance.
Packing a bag and precious photos of Ben and Emma, I fled to a hostel in London. I was free for the first time in years. But I still felt like a prisoner. I barely slept, convinced Stephen was going to turn up and drag me home. Or worse.
My fears were justified when, a few months later, he used his criminal contacts to track me down. He broke the news that my 20-year-old brother, Ed*, had committed suicide. I was devastated and Stephen preyed on my vulnerability, promising he'd changed. I went back to him but, inevitably, the abuse began again. This time, instead of being scared, I was angry.
I'd enrolled on a psychology degree at the University of Westminster and was forging a life of my own. I knew I had to find the strength to leave him for good. Calling him at the kitchen shop he was working at, I told him I was at the airport. He was furious and demanded I come home, but I refused.
I spent a month in France with friends, ignoring his calls. Landing back in London, I went into hiding. For three years, ¿I rarely went out, except to visit Ben, scared someone was looking for me. I kept my head down and studied hard.
The biggest sadness came when I discovered Emma had been adopted. It broke my heart. But she deserves to grow ¿up free of her father. I hope she understands that one day. Then, in April last year, Stephen caught up with me. His picture was plastered across the newspapers - he was accused of murdering his colleague Jeffrey Howe.
I'd met Jeff at the shop he'd worked at with Stephen. He was quiet, a loner, and would have been easy prey for my husband. It was time for me to speak out. Emerging from hiding, I went to the police and told them everything.
I was terrified, but I knew I had to do it. Five months later, I appeared behind a screen in St Albans Crown Court to tell the judge what I'd gone through and how Stephen had told me he'd cut up bodies before.
The court then heard how Stephen and his new girlfriend, Sarah Bush, 21, had been living with Jeffrey at his flat in Southgate, north London. In March 2009, Stephen stabbed Jeff to death and butchered him into pieces before withdrawing cash from his bank account and selling his car on Ebay to buy clothes, food and cocaine.
His horrific crime was discovered after members of the public found Howe's body parts strewn across Hertfordshire and Leicestershire, dumped in fields and by roadsides.
Stephen pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for a minimum of 36 years, while Sarah was jailed for three years and nine months for perverting the course of justice.
Before sentencing, Stephen confessed to dismembering the bodies of four men who had been killed in the '90s. Police are now investigating these cases.
Even though he's behind bars, I'm still terrified Stephen will send someone to punish me for my betrayal. Knowing that, and living without Emma and Ben, is my life sentence, along with the guilt I feel for Jeff's death.
I'll always be Stephen Marshall's prisoner."

The facts

THE KILLER
Stephen Marshall, 38, from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, befriended Jeffrey Howe when they worked together as kitchen salesmen. Marshall had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and connections to the criminal underworld, working for the Adams Family as a corpse butcher.
THE LOVER
Prostitute Sarah Bush,21, became Marshall's girlfriend in 2007, after he paid her for sex. She was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for her role in distributing Howe's body parts. She was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.
THE VICTIM
Loner Jeffrey Howe, 49, worked as a kitchen salesman. He lived on his own and was described as a "loving and devoted son", calling his mother every day. Now known as the 'Jigsaw Man' after his remains were found distributed across two counties.
THE FIRM
Also known as the A-Team, the Adams Family are a north London gang suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, armed robbery and murder. At the height of their notoriety in the '80s and '90s, they controlled most of the cocaine, cannabis and Ecstasy coming into London.
 
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