ITV Wales weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth has revealed that her abusive ex-husband controlled her finances so tightly that she could only buy lunch with his permission. Jonathan Wignall would take her salary and give her back just enough cash for a meal deal, preventing her from socialising with colleagues.
Speaking to the BBC, Dodsworth explained that the financial abuse happened gradually over their relationship. 'My salary would go into my bank account but then he would take it out, so I would say in the last few years I had absolutely no access to my own money,' she said. Wignall gave her cash after her bank card 'disappeared'.
Wignall also bombarded her with calls, turned up at her workplace unannounced, and used her fingerprint while she slept to check her phone messages. The abuse left Dodsworth terrified, causing her hair to fall out and forcing her to cry on the way to work before hiding in a dressing room.
After their relationship ended, Dodsworth said she was left 'absolutely penniless' and with debts she knew nothing about. Wignall was jailed in 2021 for three years after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour and stalking. He also pushed her, causing a fractured rib, and received a restraining order.
