Welcome back to Unfiltered Stories! Melanie Gonzalez, our guest today, will share her heartbreaking tale with us. Melanie was introduced to a kind man by her closest friend, whom she eventually married, but little did she realize that her husband would turn into a monster and stab her 37 times.
#trauma #domesticviolence #toxicrelationship #survivalstory #mentalhealth
Thank you for watching Unfiltered Stories! We offer a platform for our guests to speak openly about their life stories and journeys, shedding light on the challenges they faced and the resilience they've shown.
Our mission is to raise awareness about survivors by delving into their stories, exploring the impact of their experiences, and how they've managed to heal and rebuild their lives.
By sharing these stories, we aim to break the silence surrounding those challenging memories and create a compassionate environment.
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#trauma #domesticviolence #toxicrelationship #survivalstory #mentalhealth
Thank you for watching Unfiltered Stories! We offer a platform for our guests to speak openly about their life stories and journeys, shedding light on the challenges they faced and the resilience they've shown.
Our mission is to raise awareness about survivors by delving into their stories, exploring the impact of their experiences, and how they've managed to heal and rebuild their lives.
By sharing these stories, we aim to break the silence surrounding those challenging memories and create a compassionate environment.
🌅 FOLLOW US 🌅
Facebook ➮ https://tinyurl.com/UnfilteredFB
TikTok ➮ https://tinyurl.com/UnfilteredTT
Snapchat ➮ https://tinyurl.com/UnfilteredSN
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NewsTranscript
00:00I was shocked when he did that. The look that he had in his eyes was like I was staring
00:08at a totally
00:08different person like I was staring at a monster. It was so hard for him to get him to you
00:14know come
00:14back to reality and I was literally like he's gonna he's gonna hurt me. So I remember like
00:20telling him I didn't please don't kill me. Please don't do this. The kids are sleeping. You cannot
00:26do this. The kids are gonna wake up. You cannot kill me in front of the kids. You cannot kill
00:31me
00:32because what's gonna happen with the kids? Begging him for my life. My name is Melanie Gonzalez and this
00:38is how I survived being stabbed 37 times by my husband. I grew up in Humboldt Park, Chicago. I met
00:46my husband like nine years ago through my best friend who was a sister. It was about two months
00:54that I then I caved in because he was very like he would come spend the night. Me and his
00:59sister
01:00were roommates. He would come spend the night every weekend him and all his other brothers
01:04and they would come and spend the night. He would like bother me. He would like you know
01:08try to watch Netflix with me and and finally one night I was like fine. So what made me like
01:15him was
01:16he was so sweet in the beginning. So me and his sister always been best friends. Even we were
01:23roommates when me and her brother got together he ended up moving in with us and then we kind of
01:31just
01:31you know eventually grew apart. We got our own place. She stayed there with her significant other and
01:38even to this day we're very close. We just limit on what we talk about but we're very close. And
01:45you
01:45know it wasn't until like we moved in together that things started to like you know shake up a little
01:51bit and get a little bit. Then I started to see like you know how he was when he was
01:55angry and
01:56and how he would talk to me. So I remember the first big argument that we got into was because
02:05his ex
02:05girlfriend at the time um she kept calling him and the mother ex-mother-in-law kept calling him and
02:12I just
02:13remember telling him that I was tired of them calling and it just went from like zero to 100.
02:20He pulled over he grabbed the phone threw it made this big old scene and I just was like oh
02:27my god I
02:27was like taking home and he tried to like you know do the whole I'm sorry you know I was
02:33just mad because
02:33the whole situation got me frustrated. I continued the relationship with him because I don't want to say
02:39I felt bad but I felt like he never really got the love so maybe if I love him then
02:46I can get him
02:46you know to be a better person. So when we moved in together that's when I noticed like a pat
02:54the pattern
02:55of him snapping and then acting like he was sorry and me being like okay just one step at a
03:05time we
03:05could work through this together you know he busted the windshield out of my car he punched the mirror
03:12and the glass flew in my eye and I got stitches you know little he kicked my review mirror like
03:18little
03:18things and then I always took him back because he always came with them puppy eyes like you're all I
03:24have. I was spending the night at his mom's house he actually was the first time that he put his
03:29hands on
03:29me he put me like in a choke hold and like body slammed me his mom woke up and she
03:35tried to separate
03:36it and that was the first time that he actually like you know put his hands on me. He ended
03:43up
03:43showing up to my mom's house and was like with the puppy dog eyes these and that's when he told
03:50me that
03:50he was suffering from bipolar disorder. I can't give up on him because he has bipolar I have to try
03:55to help
03:55I took him back we got an apartment I want to say the following week or two it started with
04:02a car
04:03he busted my windshield then it went from that to him we're at his mother's house and he kicks in
04:09my
04:10review mirror because he's upset and he's trying to tackle me to the floor to him punching the mirror
04:17in the bathroom of our home and the glass shooting and hitting me in the eye I got three stitches
04:21what was
04:22hard for me was because his mom was always like just give him time you know you know she would
04:27always
04:27pull the guilt trip on me like you know he's going through a lot you know just let him breathe
04:32and
04:33then come back and then start talking we got married in 2017 things were not like they were going up
04:41and
04:41down and then I think he knew I was kind of getting fed up and then he asked me to
04:47marry him he wants to
04:48marry me you know you know and I let him know like okay if we get married things are going
04:53to be
04:53different we got married in the church we did the whole reception it was a beautiful wedding and then
04:59I found out I was pregnant a month before the wedding so I did not enjoy it at all it
05:05was a beautiful
05:05wedding I danced I could not drink I cannot do anything so I was like a little upset and then
05:12we moved to a different house and I noticed a change I found out that I was three months pregnant
05:19I was three months pregnant we just got married he cheated on me so then that's when I emotionally was
05:26like I don't want to do it anymore I've always said it it's going to sound horrible we can argue
05:31we can
05:31fight but he never cheated on me and then boom he cheated on me here he comes with his puppy
05:39dog eyes
05:41and you know his I can't do this I can't live without you I want to be a father to
05:47my kids I
05:47want to see them grow up being a child who didn't grow up with both her parents that's the one
05:52thing
05:52I want for my parents my kids is both parents so in my mind I'm thinking like okay I'm changing
05:57him
05:58he's changing we're having a baby we just got married he messed up but we're gonna work through
06:05it we're gonna try to make it work because he made such improvements that um it we can't just end
06:12it
06:12now and we moved to Florida and COVID hit and when COVID hit I want to say that was the
06:19worst
06:20worst time of my life because he picked at me and picked at me and picked at me and he
06:29I would
06:29literally be in the bathroom crying during COVID time is when he started accusing me of moving to
06:37Florida to be with like another man and mind you we're locked down we're always together all the
06:45time together 24 7 like I wasn't working he wasn't working it was so bad and then I got a
06:52job so that
06:53kind of kept us separated you know and it kind of like things started dying down wanna say I was
07:00there
07:00for about a year at that location and then we decided to move to Port Richey my mom and my
07:08dad
07:08they live in Tampa and my mom's the type of person if she don't hear from me in a couple
07:13days she'll
07:14pop up at the house so little did I know that the real reason for us moving to Port Richey
07:19was because
07:20it's about an hour away and she can't just pop up when she don't hear from me I decided to
07:24go back
07:25into management I got the job of my dreams love that job oh my god the job of my dreams
07:34and I started
07:35realizing my self-worth I'm better than this I deserve better than this I have a career of my dreams
07:46I
07:46have three beautiful children the house of my dreams and there's only one thing that's holding
07:51me back he destroyed everything on Christmas and when I called the police on him they told me
07:58that there was nothing they can do one layer that made him mad was when I called the law to
08:05get divorced
08:06and the attorney told me that we were never legally married
08:13and that the pastor never sent us the paperwork I remember being like the biggest weight off my
08:20shoulders so Mother's Day we got into an argument and I told him you know what I'm done
08:28I have no fight in me and he's like you're done then I will come back from Chicago I'll stay
08:36over there
08:37I'll take all my social travel and I will never come back and see you and the kids and normally
08:42I would be like you can't do that to the kids who you know fights him so hard because I
08:47wanted
08:47it wanted him to be a part of my kids life and that day I said okay that was the
08:53first time he shut
08:54up and walked away from me the next day I woke up like nothing 5 30 in the morning getting
09:04ready for work
09:06doing my daily routine put my stuff in the car came back inside to fill my water jug I noticed
09:14my daughter
09:14was awake I knew something was off and I remember passing by my daughter's room and seeing him sitting
09:23there shaking and I remember the way his foot was hanging off the bed shaking this isn't gonna end well
09:33like something is gonna happen and I remember the night before I told my mom I can't wait for him
09:40to
09:40leave because either he's gonna kill me or I'm gonna kill him and at that like passing by the room
09:48seeing him shake like that it was like paranoid because he was too quiet and the way he was shaking
09:59gave me the like the rush of anxiety like I literally was like I just gotta go to work
10:06I remember my daughter woke up and was like mommy like in her like half asleep like mommy and I'm
10:16like
10:16it's okay go back to sleep and like patting her to go back to sleep and then when I seen
10:21her like
10:21you know knocking out I told him hey Malia's waking up I don't know if she's up or she's not
10:28up
10:28can you check on her so he gets up he checks on her but I remember like getting this uneasy
10:35feeling
10:35like I didn't want to go by him so I remember asking him like hey you're going to Chicago tomorrow
10:41I know you're gonna take the kids with you to my mom's house because she's gonna take you to the
10:46airport in the morning but can you wait until like you know I get out of work so I can
10:50say good night
10:50to them so I don't have to drive all the way to Tampa to say good night and then you
10:54could just leave
10:54tonight you know and he was like no I'm not gonna make anything easy for you I was like okay
11:00and he was
11:01like you know I hate you right and then he was like I effing hate you so much calm though
11:10he said
11:12angry with such like rage in his eyes I effing hate you so much and I said you know what
11:19I gotta get
11:20to work and I don't have time for you to be acting petty and I remember grabbing my water bottle
11:25and walking I have to pass him now he's standing there and I remember walking and I remember him
11:33taking one step close to me like when I was almost a turn and I remember seeing his fist I
11:40remember
11:40seeing him pull his hand all the way back and punching me in my nose at that time I didn't
11:47know
11:47that he stabbed me in my face I just thought punch me so I'm like oh my god there's so
11:52much blood but the
11:53first thing that came to my head was like you broke my nose dude like are you kidding me right
11:58now
11:59I have to go to work and you just broke my nose so I remember running to the sink and
12:04I'm like you
12:04broke my nose are you freaking psycho what is wrong with you but I'm not paying attention to the amount
12:11of blood that I've lost I just remember trying to clean my face and then he came up behind me
12:16and was
12:16like punching me in my back and so I'm trying to clean my face and he's grabbing me and punching
12:22me in my
12:23back and that's when I was like okay we're gonna fight until I turned around when I turned around
12:31I seen the knife and I looked down and I seen all the blood and I looked to the side
12:40and I see all
12:41the blood and that's where like my fight or flight instincts came in and I grabbed him by his wrist
12:48and I pushed him into the fridge and I ran but when you wear business attire and you have the
12:54shoes that
12:54you have on as soon as I got I passed the blood I slipped and I fell boom I crawled
13:03to the door
13:04I'm crawling to the door and he's just hitting me in my back I get the door open I grab
13:10the handle to the
13:11door and I open the door right and I go to scream and he slams the door and drags me
13:18back
13:20and at this time I'm like in and out like I'm like looking on the floor like Melanie get up
13:27like
13:27if you don't get up I remember like staring at the floor like all this but I'm like you're gonna
13:31die and
13:32I got up and I grabbed his hands and I remember we're fighting and I'm like I'm like this and
13:40like
13:40this you know and he stabs me like across right here trying to just get away and defend myself but
13:46I don't want to leave my kids so like now I'm tugging and warring with him trying to figure out
13:50okay
13:51how can I grab the kids how can I run away I can't leave the kids because what if he
13:55turns to the kids
13:56so I'm gonna have to kill him like I don't know what's going on like I'm just like my son
14:01gets
14:02out the room and I remember him stopping and I turned around and my son had him and like uh
14:09his arm
14:10around his shoulder his other arm under his armpit and pulled him with all his strength from the hallway
14:18all the way to almost to the living room and that's when my mommy instincts kicked in I'm like no
14:25so I run up to him I grab his wrist and I'm trying to take the knife off his hand
14:30and that's how I cut
14:31my finger right here because I'm trying to take the knife off his hand and I told my son Andre
14:37please
14:40stop please so then my son
14:46go to run out I hear my son come back in and then I hear my daughters I'm falling and
14:53getting back
14:53up I'm falling getting back up I tell my son Andre lock your sisters in the room and go get
14:59help I'm
15:00trying to get away I'm trying to run to the back door to scream I can't open the glass screen
15:05he's
15:06grabbing me and pulling me um I get to the patio he grabs me he drags me back in the
15:11house he throws
15:13me on the floor and then he's I fall on the floor and I remember I'm on my arms face
15:20down and I'm trying
15:21to get up and he comes around with the knife and stabs me across my face I instantly am like
15:30that's
15:31it I'm freaking dead and I told him that's it you win I'm dead and he grabs his fist right
15:43here
15:44and he punches me like three times in the eye and then he stops stabbing me I don't know where
15:53he got
15:53this stick from he starts beating me with a stick in the back of my head and my back I
16:00keep getting
16:01back up but I can't get up anymore and then I hear my door the keypad
16:13the door opens and then I hear my son and I hear my neighbor I got up so fast I
16:24ran to the back
16:26I'm fighting to get out of the screen door he comes he grabs me by my shirt and I'm telling
16:33him
16:35I don't have anymore fighting me just let me go he kind of switched back and he's like crap
16:45the neighbor came in the neighbor saw the neighbor went screaming to his wife call the police so now
16:52he's freaking out he can't find his car keys so he's searching through my pockets for my keys he dragged
17:00me
17:00all over the house so that I can find the keys and I'm trying to explain to him I can't
17:05see I'm not
17:06scared I'm not sad I'm not anything I'm dead like in my mind I'm like I'm dead he starts freaking
17:16out
17:16because I'm telling him I can't see he lets me go I run to the back and my sons are
17:23not opposite side of
17:24the screen door and he's trying to you know open it and that's when he looks up and he actually
17:31looks
17:32at me and he stops and he oh and I told him don't look at me Andre open the door
17:41I took my sweater off
17:43I wrapped it around my head and I tied it tight and I told him push the door and that's
17:49I started feeling
17:50weak now so I'm like trying to push the door he opens the door I told him Andre grab your
17:57sisters
17:58he runs into the room he grabs the sisters and I said I'm gonna use the last bit of my
18:03strength
18:03and we're gonna run so he grabs his sisters and I use my last bit of strength and and we're
18:13running
18:14from the back through the left side of the house to the front and I see my neighbor and it
18:18was just
18:19like I saw Jesus you know like I could take a deep breath because I knew like my kids were
18:28gonna be
18:28saved so he's like go into the house and I told him no put the kids in the house I'll
18:35sit in front of
18:35your house I don't want to bring blood in his house and I didn't want to scare my kids anymore
18:40then they were already scared I sat in front of his house and he sat right there with me he's
18:47on
18:47the phone with the police I could hear my husband getting into the car and driving off the ambulance
18:54came and I remember the ambulance driver was arguing with the police officer because they didn't call in
18:58a trauma but the police officer was like we thought it was just a domestic dispute and I remember looking
19:03at the ambulance guy and I'm like I'm gonna die right and he's like you're not gonna die and I
19:09told him tell me the truth I'm gonna die and he's like you're not gonna die we're gonna say we're
19:16gonna help you we're not we're gonna make sure you don't die I looked at my neighbor and I said
19:19make sure my mom gets my kids so I'm gonna die it's like that feeling of like you're gonna die
19:26like
19:28that is the worst feeling in the world because then everything flashes before your eyes I got my mom
19:33I got my dad I got my brothers I got my sisters I got my kids my kids what's gonna
19:40happen to my kids
19:41who's gonna take my kids and I walked and the whole time I'm in surgery my stepmom is
19:47talking with the DCS people and that's when they tell my stepmom that they're taking my kids away
19:55and that I failed my kids because I knew I was in a domestic violence situation and I knew I
20:03was
20:03gonna get stabbed 37 times and I knew that I could just get up and leave and I knew all
20:08the resources
20:09that there was out there in the state of Florida my dream only been here three years
20:12so they're gonna take the kids away I remember being so angry
20:19and I remember driving getting out the hospital and being so afraid and I remember the first night
20:29I was home I was so scared it was raining and my mom and her husband were like oh we're
20:36gonna go get
20:36some food but I was just so tired that I didn't want to go with them and then they left
20:45and I had so
20:45much anxiety because my brain was like not registering that it was rain it was like telling
20:51me like that's him trying to get into the window I believe that it takes a tribe to move further
21:03and I've always been the type of person that I've always been alone I've never liked to tell people
21:07my business and I never like to really be around people and if you know my best friend understood that
21:14I wasn't an easy friend but she still loved me and when my best friend came to make me breakfast
21:24my
21:24cousins came from Orlando my mom and we all and they wouldn't leave me alone as much as I wanted
21:31to be
21:31alone they were like no we are here and the day that I got my kids back when I moved
21:41into the new house
21:44was the best day of my life so I can't sit up here and hate the world and hate life
21:50because why did he let
21:51him take my eye and why did you know do I have no hair right here I can't be upset
21:59at anything
22:00because I'm still alive and I'm still alive and I'm still with my kids
22:08and there's life after domestic violence there's life after trauma you just have to learn how to live it
22:18so
22:23you