NBC

Rob Porter Ex-Wife: He Was ‘Verbally and Emotionally Abusive'

Telling her story in recent days has been "really cathartic," Jennifer Willoughby said

Jennifer Willoughby, an ex-wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, told NBC News on Friday that "shame" once kept her from coming forward with allegations of spousal abuse.

But telling her story in recent days has been "really cathartic," she said. 

"I think anybody who has been in a toxic or abusive relationship recognizes that, [to] some degree, you feel as though it's your fault and you carry that shame with you," Willoughby told Savannah Guthrie on NBC's "Today." She added that he was "verbally and emotionally abusive" and leveled "attacks on my character and intelligence."

Porter announced his resignation Wednesday, a day after a British online publication reported allegations from two ex-wives — Willoughby and Colbie Holderness — of physical and verbal abuse.

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