Alex Scott breaks down in tears as she reveals she still suffers horrific childhood flashbacks
ALEX Scott broke down in tears as she revealed she suffers horror flashbacks from her childhood of her dad beating her mum.
The former footballer, 38, spoke about her terrifying upbringing where she claims dad Tony constantly left her mum battered and bruised.
Speaking to the Loose Women panel on Monday, the pundit told how she would pray every night her mum was “going to be alive in the morning”.
Alex cried as she recalled: “I think that in the world I grew up in, everyone had a perception that you have to be strong and I needed to do is strip that back and show my emotions and vulnerability.
“We felt like we couldn’t do anything, and you wanted to save your mum.
“I thought I was better now and would be okay, but the visuals come back.
“You’re just laying in bed hearing everything and praying your mum is going to be alive in the morning.
“My mum is my everything and I want to give her everything. Victims think they’re cowards, but my mum isn’t a coward and she saved me and my brother.”
She previously wrote in her memoir How (Not) To Be Strong, that Tony left her and brother Ronnie traumatised after beating them and making them throw away their toys.
Talking about her coping mechanisms as a kid, Alex added: “The football cage was a safe space.
“I felt fun, I felt free and at home I was locked in, it was an environment where it was very much controlled.
“I wanted to love my dad so much, I was daddy’s little girl, but he had this dark side and that’s a side we saw a lot of growing up.
“Drink helped it out come out a lot more, you could see him turn, that’s how he took it out on all of us, more so my mum.
“From a baby I could feel it, the environment we’re in. If you step out of line you know what’s going to happen and you don’t want that to happen.
“What my mum would go through, the terror, the helplessness that you can’t do anything, you’re just living in fear.”
Tony had denied Alex’s allegations in the past.
He told the MailOnline: “I have no idea why she’s saying all this stuff. I was raised in a strict but loving Jamaican family and Alex should know what they are like.
“I taught her discipline, I did a lot to help her.
“Perhaps she is judging me by today’s standards, I don’t know. Parents were a lot tougher back then.
“But I was never violent, that’s just not me. I never beat Alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that.”
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.