Dr. Bethany Marshall

He forced her to call it an emotional affair, which it was not.

And then those text messages were read aloud in court with the defense attorney saying, didn't you say you were having an emotional affair?

Of course, an abuse victim,

is going to use whatever language the perpetrator wants her to use.

So in some ways, you know, she's been bashed in the face with a rock.

Now she's being bashed psychologically by the defense attorney and she sits there.

She's so dignified.

She answers every question.

She calls the defense attorney

Sir, I'm thinking like, that's so respectful.

He is just like one more person in the system who's trying to blame the victim.

It is so disturbing.

I think everybody needs to watch that testimony and sort of see what's really playing out in that courtroom.

The shock that everything turned on a dime.

But what I think you're talking about is idealization of the other person is necessary for staying in love.

We think our spouses, our wives, our husbands, we see the best in them.

We see the best in our family members.

We want them to inhabit our idealized view of them.

And so when she received this card, she thought, wow, the Gerhard that I married, that I knew, that I loved, that I was bonded with.

he's back and she was hopeful.