Lorena “Bobbitt” Gallo, who cut off her ex-husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis and threw it out of a car window, said she now lives a “happy” life.
When Lorena, now 55, used a butcher knife on the private parts of her former sailor husband on Wednesday evening at their home in Manassas, northern Virginia, the crime attracted worldwide attention.
On June 23, 1993, Lorena, then 24, cut off her husband’s penis while he was sleeping after she said he had taken advantage of and raped her. She then drove away and dumped the remains in a field before calling the police and confessing to what she had just done.
Now, in the new ITV documentary ‘I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind The Headlines’, Lorena has revealed how she lives a happy lifestyle with her college-age daughter and a “wonderful” man.
“Not only am I a survivor, but I am an advocate against domestic violence, sexual assault and marital rape. I created a foundation to help victims of domestic violence,” she said in the documentary, which will be broadcast tonight at 9 p.m.
Lorena Bobbitt (pictured), who cut off her husband’s penis after she claimed he molested and raped her, told how she now leads a “happy” life in the new ITV documentary I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind the Headlines lifestyle
Lorena continued: “I usually wake up at six and walk the dogs. Dogs are very important in my family.
“My daughter is in college. My husband has his own company. We like to cook in our backyard.
“We like movie nights, basically just regular family life. Life is good, it’s good for now, I can’t complain, we are happy.
Lorena added: “I mean, sometimes I wish it had happened to me, but my life is not a tape I can rewind… there is no such thing.
“I became a mother, I have a bond with this wonderful man, it’s really a matter of a new life.
“Not only am I a survivor, but I am an advocate against domestic violence, sexual assault and marital rape. I created a foundation to help victims of domestic violence.
The sensational case received wide coverage around the world, and the term “Bobbitt”, meaning “to cut off the penis”, was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
During the trial, Lorena’s lawyers argued that the cause of her temporary insanity was the result of years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband. John has always denied these allegations.
In 1994, she was found not guilty of malicious wounding, and the couple’s divorce was finalized a year later.
The mother of one has since set up a foundation to help victims of domestic violence and marital rape
Pictured: Lorena on the fourth day of her malicious wounding trial in Manassas, Virginia, January 1994
John Wayne was accused of marital sexual assault. He was acquitted in a 1994 trial and still maintains his innocence.
After being acquitted of the attack by reason of temporary insanity, Lorena underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation and divorced John.
She has since started a new life in her hometown of Manassas with her longtime partner and daughter, who is currently in college.
Lorena has spent the last decade advocating for victims of domestic violence through her nonprofit organization, Lorena’s Red Wagon.
The ruling came after Lorena, an immigrant from Ecuador, sharply criticized sexist media coverage of her trial after she was the subject of a four-part documentary executive produced by Oscar winner Jordan Peele in 2019.
She revealed that one of the factors that motivated her to join forces with Peel and director Joshua Rofe was the election of Donald Trump, who has been accused by many women of sexual harassment.
In the docuseries, Lorena told the story from her perspective during the #MeToo era, examining “significant moral issues” such as domestic violence and sexual assault that, according to the film’s description, were not covered by the national media 25 years ago.
The 55-year-old now spends time with her high school daughter and her “wonderful” husband, who runs his own company
Lorena supports victims of domestic violence through her non-profit group, Lorena’s Red Wagon
“She became a national joke and her suffering was ignored by the male-dominated press,” reads the film’s promotional website.
Ahead of the documentary, Lorena told The New York Times about the sexual harassment she claims she experienced at the hands of her husband.
One of Lorena’s main complaints is that the media and public opinion have always been obsessed with her ex-husband’s sexual organ, which she threw out the car window as she drove away from the crime scene that fateful night.
“That was always their only focus,” she told the newspaper. “And like everyone missed me or didn’t care why I did what I did.”
John Wayne Bobbitt always denied raping his wife and during his trial he claimed she attacked him because he refused to have sex with her.
At the time, the male-dominated media portrayed Lorena as an angry, crazy suburban wife with a grudge, while feminists accused her of harming their cause with her violent actions.
During John Lorena’s trial, she became the butt of jokes and was widely vilified in the media as a crazy, vengeful wife
Pictured: John Wayne Bobbitt testifying on the sixth day of Lorena’s trial in Manassas, January 19, 1994.
The media slandered us, slandered us and it is very sad. It happens to women,” Bobbitt said.
Lorena said that when Peele, a comedian-turned-filmmaker who won an Oscar for the horror film Get Out, approached her with the idea of making a documentary about her, she feared her story would turn into a farce.
“I was the butt of a lot of jokes in the 1990s, and for me they were just cruel,” she said. They didn’t understand. Why would they laugh at my suffering?
After years of therapy, Lorena has come to terms with the fact that there will always be jokes about her and John Bobbitt.
When police located the severed penis, they placed it on ice in a Big Bite hot dog box from a 7-Eleven store and then took it to the hospital, where doctors were able to reattach it to the body.
The surgery was a success and John starred in several adult films to capitalize on his fame.
After years of therapy, Lorena has come to terms with the fact that there will always be jokes about Lorena and John Bobbitt.
“I’m going to face the jokes and all, as long as I can shed light on domestic violence, sexual assault and marital rape,” she told the New York Times.
I’ll Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind the Headlines airs tonight on ITV1 at 9pm.
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