Wife is charged for controlling behaviour after asking husband to help in tidying the house

A wife has been arrested and locked in a cell for 17 hours after being accused of controlling behaviour because she asked her gym-obsessed husband for more help around the house.

Valerie Sanders, 73, said that she begged her bodybuilder husband Michael, 58, to clean the patio doors, hoover and workout less and also claims that he took steroids - killing their s3x life.

Mrs Sanders, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, was arrested and ended up facing charges of controlling behavior, but her case was thrown out just before it went to trial after the key witness  believed to be her husband  refused to give evidence.

The mother-of-two called the charges 'outrageous' and said that she was 'treated like a criminal' for asking her husband to do his bit around the house.


The couple met online in 2012 and married in 2014 - but are now in the process of divorcing after splitting around 14 months ago when the case began.

In 2018 Jobcentre staff called in the police after 16st Mr Sanders, a former prison officer who was made redundant but started working in a gym, said he felt low and he blamed his home life during a routine check on his new job.