Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years for drugging and raping Gisèle Pelicot and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious, in abuse which lasted nearly a decade.
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French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has revealed details of a three-year affair she had with another man while she was married to the ‘Monster of Avignon’ Dominique Pelicot in a bold new memoir.
Ms Pelicot's ex-husband Pelicot was jailed for 20 years for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to rape her while she was unconscious, in abuse which lasted nearly a decade.
The 73-year-old survivor, who waived her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse, said shame should fall on her abusers, not her. In a new memoir, Ms Pelicot breaks her silence on an affair she had during her 50-year marriage.
She also reveals heartbreaking details about her fractured bond with her children and how she fell in love again after trauma.
Her affair took place over a three-year period with a colleague called Didier when she was in her 30s. The Frenchwoman writes that she loved Didier and her husband at the same time and recounted one occasion when she bought them the same "red jacket" on one occasion.
"I was about to turn 35. The age my mother was when she died,” she writes.
“I thought about this so often. My fear of dying returned, but only for me to overcome it and cry victory. I was going to live longer than she had. I was going to keep my promise. I was going to be happy. I still loved my husband. I loved both men."
Ms Pelicot said her ex-husband – who had affairs of his own – grew suspicious of Didier and she eventually admitted to cheating, which she said led to a "violent" confrontation."
Dominique began drinking. He had got it into his head that I was going to take the children and leave him.
The whisky made him increasingly violent. He started insulting me, then grabbed a chair and threatened to smash it over my head," the memoir reads.
She then fled from the house terrified, leaving her children and all her possessions behind. Ms Pelicot said Didier denied the affair to her husband when he confronted him, and later suggested to Gisèle that they carry on with their relationship.
Riddled with guilt, Gisèle says she let her "sexually demanding" husband pursue his own extra-marital affair afterwards.
She recounts one instance where Dominique asked his lover and her husband to look after their children, leaving Gisèle confused.
However, she admits "the idea of him having an affair of his own eased my guilt and I imagined it also offered him a more exciting sex life."
During Dominique Pelicot’s trial, Gisèle said she was forced to confront her guilt as she heard testimony from her perpetrators' partners and wives.
Alongside her husband, 50 other men were accused of raping Gisèle received sentences – many of which came in as shorter than expected.
Depicting a "perfect" marriage to the outside world, he was found guilty of organising for the strangers aged between 26 and 74 to rape his wife.
He filmed the assaults, which took place between 2011 and 2020, and was convicted on multiple charges of aggravated rape.In court, Dominique Pelicot also referred to himself as "the devil".
The ordeal inflicted over nearly a decade on Gisèle Pelicot in what she thought was a loving marriage, and her courage during the trial has transformed the retired power company worker into a feminist hero of the nation.
The scandal rocked France, bringing sexual violence against women into the spotlight and inspiring rallies in support of Gisèle Pelicot nationwide.
Gisèle's trial galvanised campaigners against sexual violence and spurred calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.
Campaigners against sexual violence were hoping for exemplary prison terms and view the trial as a possible turning point in the fight against rape culture and the use of drugs to subdue victims.
A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides is available to buy in bookstores now.