A man who had his penis cut off by his wife as he slept recalled what he did as the realization set in.
John Wayne Bobbitt's name became synonymous with one of the most notorious incidents of the 1990s.
Bobbitt first made headlines on June 23, 1993, when his wife, Lorena Gallo, severed his penis while he slept, an act she later claimed was driven by years of physical and sexual abuse, per the Daily Mail.
The couple’s tumultuous relationship and Lorena’s subsequent trial for malicious wounding gripped the world, and the name “Bobbitt” even became an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning to cut off a penis.
Thanks to swift action by medical professionals, Bobbitt’s penis was reattached in a grueling nine-hour surgery, and Lorena was acquitted in 1994 by reason of temporary insanity.
However, Bobbitt has always denied the allegations of abuse. The couple’s divorce was finalized a year later.
Bobbitt recalled in a 2019 interview with ABC News that they constantly argued. Lorena claimed that the first instance of domestic violence occurred just one month into their marriage when Bobbitt allegedly hit her.
Bobbitt denied the allegations, saying he was merely "subduing" her during her own violent outbursts and describing his ex-wife as "jealous and possessive."
The tension finally boiled over on June 22, 1993, when Bobbitt's friend Robert Johnston stayed with the couple while they decided who would keep their apartment.
After a night of drinking, Bobbitt returned home. Lorena later claimed she was woken by the sound of a slamming door before Bobbitt allegedly raped her.
Bobbitt, however, insisted she made sexual advances on him, but he was too "exhausted" to reciprocate.
Regardless of the differing accounts, what happened next shocked the world.
Lorena admitted that after the alleged assault, she went to the kitchen to get water but returned with a knife.
Overcome by memories of the alleged abuse and her abortion, she said: “I pick up the knife and ... I went back to the bedroom. I took the sheets off and I cut him. Everything went just fast.”
Bobbitt recalled the terrifying moment he woke up: "I sprung up and I was bleeding, I was applying pressure, then immediately I thought it was something out of a horror movie. A nightmare… turned into reality."
Lorena fled the scene, driving away with both the knife and Bobbitt's severed penis, which she later threw out of her car window.
She then called the police to report what she had done. Meanwhile, Bobbitt was rushed to the hospital by his friend.
Despite the shocking incident, Bobbitt found work performing in adult movies.
