From the outside, Richard Spencer seemed to have it all — a loving wife, three daughters, and a beautiful home in Yorkshire. But behind those doors, his life was a quiet nightmare. For twenty years, Richard endured daily abuse from the woman he once called his soulmate.
His wife, Sheree, a respected government worker, unleashed drunken rages filled with insults, violence, and humiliation. “It wasn’t the punches,” Richard said softly. “It was the shame. The way she broke me down.” He hid his bruises, his fear, and his pain — until one day, he decided to record the truth.

Using a hidden nanny cam meant to watch their children, Richard captured the unthinkable. In one clip, Sheree screamed at him, cracking eggs over his head as their children cried. In another, she held a knife to his throat. “Keep cleaning, you dirty b***,” she snarled as he tried to wash away the mess. The recordings revealed years of torment — what a judge later called one of the worst cases of coercive control ever seen.
When the truth came out in 2021, Sheree was sentenced to four years in prison. For Richard, it wasn’t victory — it was survival. “I stayed for my girls,” he said. “I thought if I could protect them, it was worth it.”
Now, in a Channel 5 documentary, Richard shares his story so others — especially men — know they’re not alone. “If my voice helps one person escape,” he said, “then all the pain was worth something.”