Woman 'broken but still breathing" opens up on on five year campaign of abuse (2025)

Two months into the relationship Evans was jailed after he was found guilty of being in charge of a car while over the alcohol limit.

A woman says she is "broken but still breathing" after surviving a five-year abuse campaig with a violent man who made her life hell. Natalie, who asked us not to use her surname, spoke out on the nightmare she endured at the hands of Martyn Evans and believes there were times when the criminal justice system failed her.

The now-27-year-old began her relationship with Evans in May 2017 after he messaged her on a dating website. Natalie felt there were hints of a controlling personality even on their first date. She told Wales Online:"We went down to Porthcawl and he was going: 'Have a drink.'

"I'm not a drinker but because he was saying: 'Go on' I eventually had half a pint."

"After just one month we moved into a rented home together. At the time I didn't know what love-bombing was but now that's how I look back on it.

"He bought me nice things, we would go out for dinner, he would come home from work with bunches of flowers. He was very interested in being part of the family – he spent time with my nephews. My mum said he painted the picture of a perfect man."

Two months into the relationship Evans was jailed after he was found guilty of being in charge of a car while over the alcohol limit.

Cardiff magistrates imposed a six-week jail term as he had two similar crimes on his record. Natalie was concerned but decided to give Evans another chance after he allegedly assured her: "I wasn't even driving the car – they just found me with the keys."

Following Evans' release from prison she accompanied him to a probation appointment and an officer referred her to the domestic violence disclosure scheme – also known as Clare's Law – which gives people the right to know if their partner has a history of violence or abuse.

Soon afterwards Natalie received a call from South Wales Police. "All they told me was that he had previous for domestic abuse. They wouldn't give any further details. I questioned Martyn on it and he said: 'My ex pushed me so I pushed her back.'"

The next Clare's Law disclosure would come in 2022 when Natalie – who was still with Evans – had an unexpected call from South Wales Police.

"They told me about [another incident of domestic abuse] that I hadn't known about before," she said. "I remember saying: 'Why wasn't that told to me before?'"

Even after that conversation Natalie was not aware of the full scale of Evans' record. It was not until her interview with WalesOnline that she was informed he had convictions for crimes against three other women – one for assault by beating, the other two for criminal damage – as well as for a public order offence against an unnamed victim.

Natalie says Evans became increasingly controlling and jealous after the Covid pandemic began in 2020.

"He didn't like it if I put on make-up or wore a vest top or had any skin showing. He wouldn't allow me to wear dresses above the knee. He made me stop dyeing my hair red," she explained.

Natalie says there were moments when the abuse became physical. It became a regular occurrence for her to call police but at the time she did not pursue prosecutions because of her fear of Evans, she said:

"Martyn wasn't embarrassed that the police kept turning up.

"He would say: 'The police are laughing at you.' One time I told him I was going to leave him and he picked up a frame with a photo of my granddad and threw it at me. Later I went to the police station and said I needed help."

The local force then applied for a domestic violence protection order. The application, from October 2022, states Natalie was at "high risk" and "disclosed that he has assaulted her two weeks ago inside the home address".

It goes on: "The history shows seven previous domestic violence incidents over the last 10 months all of which show as medium and high risk. The couple currently live together and it is believed [Evans] poses a current threat towards the victim which will be exacerbated if this case is NFA (no further action)."

In the final months of the relationship Natalie's mental health declined rapidly. "I was making myself ill because I was working so much, taking every shift I could get, but I did it because work was my safe place.

"When I put on that uniform it made me feel like a person with a reason to keep going. I never let people see I was broken but one time I remember my aunt told me I had lost my sparkle. I'd always been happy and bubbly before."

The relationship finally ended on December 22, 2022, after Natalie felt she could take no more and arranged accommodation with the council having registered her as high risk for domestic abuse.

Leaving the relationship did not spell an end to the nightmare as Evans began sending vile messages such as: "I'm gonna ruin your life" and "I would love if suddenly you stop breathing."

A non-molestation order was granted in September 2023 after Natalie made an application based on a pattern of abuse.

She said: "That piece of paper felt like my freedom card and the messages stopped. But then they started again under a fake account. In January 2024 I attempted suicide because I couldn't deal with it anymore."

Natalie made reports to police but there were failings in the case which later led to an apology from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In a letter the CPS told her that a prosecutor had concluded there was a realistic prospect of conviction for stalking. But at an earlier stage Gwent Police had failed to include enough information in its file.

The CPS had then told the force to provide all evidence by March 11, 2024, yet it did not do so until March 28. That evidence was not reviewed by the CPS until May 2 and by then the six-month limit for a stalking case had passed. The CPS upheld Natalie's complaint over the failings and said it was "truly sorry".

Evans did plead guilty at Newport Magistrates' Court to an offence of breaching a non-molestation order by contacting Natalie under the online alias of 'Big man'. Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 70 hours of unpaid work as well as a restraining order barring Evans from contacting Natalie for two years.

But Natalie felt the sentence was "not justice" and the latest in a series of occasions when she felt let down by the system – including the incomplete Clare's Law disclosures, the failings after the stalking complaint, and the handling of the 2022 hearing for a domestic violence protection order.

She said: "My whole life was altered to the point I was scared to get on a bus because he would send messages saying he could see me. I lived and breathed my job and I haven't been able to work because I've been absolutely petrified. I've slept with a knife next to my bed. Everything I do now is in a shadow.

"People don't talk about how domestic abuse victims have to restart their whole life. When I left him I moved into a house with just a suitcase of clothes. My auntie gave me a foldout camp bed and a microwave and a charity gave me a sofa.

"I've had to go on benefits because I have agoraphobia from the trauma and it's stopped me from working. I miss my job so much that I'll burst out crying. My paranoia over leaving the house is huge."

When we approached Evans for comment he lied: "I haven't got any criminal convictions." Asked if he had any remorse for his actions he replied: "No, not at all. F*** off."

A CPS spokesman said: “We take all reports of domestic abuse very seriously. Some offences have time limits set by law and in this case charging advice was not given within that time limit.

"We have apologised to the victim and provided a full explanation. We were still able to put a case before the court, however, for a different offence and the defendant was sentenced and a restraining order obtained."

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "South Wales Police responded to a Clare’s Law application in 2017. Safeguarding officers took the decision to make a further disclosure when they were made aware of additional information about the individual."