Home and Away star reveals her harrowing domestic violence ordeal and how she almost lost her teeth when her boyfriend punched her in the face
Christie Hayes has bravely spoken about her harrowing domestic violence ordeal.
The former Home and Away star, 37, revealed on Hit Network’s Dan & Christie radio show, she was just 15 when her boyfriend punched her in the face.
‘I haven’t ever spoken about it on-air. I’ve really (never) told anybody about it apart from my Mum,’ she admitted.
‘I was 15. I was on TV. Wherever I went I would have people stare at me and whisper, “Oh, that’s Kirsty from Home and Away!”
‘I remember being at the airport with a boyfriend and he had gone through my bag, he’d gone through my stuff, and I had written a Christmas card to a co-star of mine – a guy who was on the show with me. I had said, “Hey, I love you. Merry Christmas. Have a great break”,’ she explained.
Christie Hayes has bravely spoken about her harrowing domestic violence ordeal
Christie continued: ‘He read the card, I hadn’t even gotten a word out of my mouth (before) he turned around and (hit me).’
She said he ‘hit her so hard she almost had a tooth missing’ and was ‘bleeding all down her face’.
‘I remember shaking with embarrassment going, “Oh my god, what if someone saw that?” I ran to the bathroom, and I started to cry,’ she added.
‘I was 15 when this happened. I was young, I was a little girl. I look back on that little girl and I just think, I just want to protect her.’
She continued: ‘It’s still happening. It’s happening to little girls, it’s happening to grown women – we are being hit. We are sick and tired of it. I look back at the kid I was, and I wish I protected myself. I couldn’t protect myself.’
The former Home and Away star, 37, revealed on Hit Network’s Dan & Christie radio show, she was just 15 when her boyfriend punched her in the face
Christie also recently opened up about her devastating miscarriage.
She was expecting her first child with husband and radio announcer Justin Coombes-Pearce and was due to give birth in 2024.
Speaking with New Idea magazine earlier this month, the ex-actress said the ‘stars all aligned’ when she found out she was pregnant.
But as the family began sharing the pregnancy news with family and friends, Christie suffered a miscarriage.
‘Losing our baby ripped my heart out,’ she told the publication. ‘Justin was devastated too.
‘By now, I should be heavily pregnant. I still cry if I need to. I let myself grieve.’
One week after her pregnancy loss, the radio host shared the tragic news with her followers.
‘It’s still happening. It’s happening to little girls, it’s happening to grown women – we are being hit. We are sick and tired of it. I look back at the kid I was, and I wish I protected myself. I couldn’t protect myself,’ she said
‘It’s been seven days since I had a miscarriage,’ she wrote. ‘Seven days since we lost our baby. The baby we wanted so badly and were so in love with.’
She added: ‘Ultimately, I now live with what happened. My pregnancy ended, I have experienced “end of pregnancy.” I don’t feel I lost our baby.’
Christie, who shares two sons Hendrix and Harley with ex-husband Daniel White, tied the knot with Justin in May 2021.
The Hit Network star still remains ‘hopeful’ in having another child, but is being ‘realistic’.
‘We are living and loving our lives and believe if it happens, it will happen when it’s meant to,’ she added.
Christie starred on Home and Away as Kirsty Sutherland from 2000 to 2009, before trading acting for a career in radio, which led to her meeting Justin.
National Domestic Violence Service: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
It comes after Christie recently opened up about her devastating miscarriage. The former Home and Away star was expecting her first child with husband and radio announcer Justin Coombes-Pearce and was due to give birth in 2024
