Wife arrested for 'nagging' her husband speaks out

A woman who was arrested for 'nagging' her husband to do the housework has spoken out.

Valerie Neal, formerly Sanders, said she all she did was ask her then partner, Michael, to vacuum more around the house and clean the patio doors.

The 59-year-old spent 17 hours in a prison cell after being arrested and was charged over controlling behaviour last April, however she is adamant her behaviour was completely legal.

Neal was charged with controlling and coercive behaviour towards her ex — an offence that became a crime in December 2015 in an attempt to tackle non-physical abuse in domestic relationships in the UK.

Neal, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, was also dealt a two-year restraining order against her husband, who later dropped the case.

Neal told Mail Online  "All I ever asked my husband to do was vacuum the house, make me a cup of tea and wipe marks off the patio doors."

She added "If that's nagging, I'll hold my hands up to it. But asking your husband to vacuum is not, in my eyes, a criminal offence."

The divorcée said the couple's marriage was on the rocks but her ex-husband had no right to treat her the way that he did, saying that it was devastating "after all the love and care I put into the relationship".

Neal said the situation got more serious in 2018 when Sanders left his job and stopped eating and sleeping. Sanders responded in a newspaper interview in June saying that his then-wife said he was training too much and that she wanted him to clean every day.

"I know people might say the nagging is just married life, but this is not married life to me." he said.

Neal has now found love in a new relationship.