My Love Is Blind groom tried to murder me – now I’m speaking out to help other women

This week, news of a Love Is Blind groom who tried to murder his on-screen wife has emerged. Santiago Martínez was jailed for 15 years last week, after he was found guilty of the attempted murder of his TV bride, Emily Ceco.

Emily and Santiago met and got married on Love Is Blind: Argentina. They were then together for around a year. However after this, she reported him for gender-based violence. Following a trial, he was found guilty of attempted murder, repeated assault, and unlawful detention.

According to reports, during the trial it was found that Martínez had attempted to suffocate Emily. Martínez has said he didn’t try to kill his former bride, he argued it was “just a family fight.” Now, she’s speaking out and trying to help other women, who might be going through something similar to what she has.

CW: This article contains details of violence that may be distressing.  

via Netflix

‘I felt like I was going to die, I felt like he was killing me’

“When he was killing me. Choking me. He was covering my face with a pillow, and punching me. He wouldn’t let me out. I made the decision to run away, and file a complaint,” Emily explained in an interview.

She added: “He threw himself at me and started to choke me and covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream. I bit his hand so he would let me go and then he pushed my face against the bed and started hitting me on the head.”

It wasn’t just physical abuse, Emily suffered emotionally and psychologically. “He told me I was fat, that I wasn’t good enough,” Emily said. “He said I was stupid, that I was ugly. All the insults you could imagine.”

She said Martínez would tell her to cover her face with makeup, and not speak to neighbours or her family, slowly isolating her more and more from those closest to her.

Emily said she was “terrified” of Martínez and his gaze “paralysed” her. She explained she felt deep “shame” that this was happening to her, so didn’t want to open up to friends and family. “I sleep very little, in fits and starts, and with nightmares,” she said. “I felt like I was going to die, I felt like he was killing me. He would get upset about anything I did that didn’t make him feel safe, then he would tell me I was the love of his life and apologise while crying.”

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What made her want to speak out about her ordeal was that she has realised other women probably feel the same way, but the shame doesn’t lie with her. It always lies with the abuser.

via Netflix

‘I can’t imagine what he might do to me or my family after 15 years of anger’

Martínez was jailed for 15 years. Upon sentencing, Emily said: “I can’t believe it. I feel it’s over, I’m finally going to have peace. Justice has been done.”

Despite feeling like justice has been done, Emily is still scared of the future. She added: “I have 15 years of peace ahead. I don’t know what will happen when he gets out, but I hope the justice system continues to protect me. If he tried to kill me when I gave him everything, I can’t imagine what he might do to me or my family after 15 years of anger.”

Following his sentencing, Emily also posted a statement on her Instagram, and said: “Sentence was announced yesterday. And I’m still trying to understand everything that moves inside me. It’s not just a closure… is to remove a story that marked me deeply.

“There were days of so much fear, of feeling lost, of not knowing how to go on. And there was also something in me that, even in the darkest moments, chose not to give up. But I wasn’t alone. And that’s what I feel the strongest today.”

She continued: “Thank you to my family, for holding me even when I couldn’t hold myself. Thank you to every person who wrote to me, who hugged me with words, who didn’t let go of me.

“Thanks to those who, without knowing me, chose to accompany me anyway. And especially, thank you to my attorneys, for walking through this process with me, for delivering, for patience, and for never giving up on me. This doesn’t erase the experience. But today I feel like a part of my story was heard.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is out there. You can seek support from Refuge, a UK charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Call for free and in confidence, 24 hours a day: 0808 2000 247.