Control & Abuse Disguised As Love! School of Rock Bottom 37: Smilee

[TW//Coercive Control & Abuse] Today, I welcome singer/songwriter Smilee. At 18, she entered a relationship with a man who was 24 years older which started off with a lovely holiday abroad only to be trapped in relationship with regular menacing threats, humiliation, manipulation, isolation, stalking, intimidation, gaslighting & even examples of financial and physical abuse. Unfortunately, Smilee's ordeal is far too common... 1 in 5 adults experience domestic abuse during their lifetime. This equates to: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6-7 men. Coercive control is a crime (in The UK) & 95% of those prosecuted are male & 94% of cases escape conviction due to failures in the justice system & many victims do not tell anyone. Coercive control slowly hijacks your life - leaving the survivor isolated & dependant. It is a crime against your rights and resources so I thank Smilee for sharing her story to help others and she is undeniable proof that you can bounce back stronger and more resilient. Huge thanks ❤️ Topics - 0:00 Intro 3:50 Smilee's rock bottom 6:05 What is coercive control? Threats & manipulation 16:05 Isolation, smokescreens & financial abuse 22:05 Monitoring activity 26:00 Gaslighting, name calling & intimidation & stalking 34:10 Controlling career & sexual coercion 38:55 What kind of person would do this? 40:10 Love bombing 45:37 Using creativity/music as therapy 47:30 What do you wish you knew at 18? For anyone struggling with these topics Smilee suggests reaching out to: National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free and confidential advice, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. This Podcast is not for profit but my goal is to break even. To help me make more please donate here. Thank you! https://bit.ly/3kSucAs Follow Smilee Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vsmileemusic TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@vsmilee1 Follow Oliver Instagram - https://bit.ly/3IemHLY Facebook - http://bit.ly/3w8S1Gx TikTok - https://bit.ly/3YGLsYm LinkedIn - http://bit.ly/3kp4ymC Threads - https://bit.ly/3svw7yL X - http://bit.ly/3GQYj2l Listen or watch on: (please subscribe/follow & rate/review) Spotify - https://bit.ly/3XUDahV YouTube - https://bit.ly/4bDBZqd Apple - https://apple.co/3PajZvQ #coercivecontrol #domesticabuse #strength