Suzie Fletcher, the leather specialist on BBC's The Repair Shop, has courageously spoken about the abuse she suffered during her marriage to her late husband Rob. The 60-year-old craftsman, who joined the popular restoration series in 2018, endured years of physical and emotional torment that left her fearing for her safety.
Abusive Marriage and Choking Incident
Fletcher's first marriage occurred in her 20s, but she later wed Rob in her early 30s after moving to the United States for work. She described being "swept off her feet" by Rob, and the couple married within three months of her arrival in Denver, Colorado. However, the relationship quickly turned abusive.
In a candid interview with MailOnline, Fletcher recounted a harrowing incident where Rob lifted her off the ground by her throat. "I honestly thought I was going to die. He was choking me and could easily have killed me. I don't know why but eventually he let go," she said. She admitted she "went along with it for fear" and learned "how to swerve a bullet" until Rob died of cancer in 2012.
Emotional Manipulation and Lies
Fletcher also revealed that Rob attempted to isolate her from her family, including her brother Steve, who is also a co-star on The Repair Shop. Rob once lied to her, claiming Steve was terminally ill. "He tried to turn me against my family. He also was very cruel. On one visit we came back to the UK and I'm incredibly close to my brother Steve. He said: 'I'm going to tell you now, your brother is seriously ill, probably terminal. He's told me this in confidence so you can't tell anybody,'" Fletcher recalled.
The lie caused her significant distress. "So that's my brother, who is terminally ill. It wasn't true. He was frightening me, he was testing me, so for a long time, every time I talked to Steve I'd say: 'Alright. How's your health?' I do remember saying to him: 'Well Steve's fine.' And he'd say: 'Well that's good. What a relief.' So you begin to lose your mind sadly and it gets reflected back on you," she explained.
Life After Rob's Death
Rob died in 2013 from pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis that came as a shock to the family. After his death, Fletcher returned to the UK but was "physically, mentally and emotionally… exhausted." She and Rob had been married for 15 years.
In her 2013 memoir, The Sun Over The Mountains: A Story of Hope, Healing and Restoration, Fletcher shared the heartbreaking account of Rob's final moments. "On Monday morning, Rob became quite lucid and started talking. 'Baby blue,' he repeated a few times, 'Brum, brum, brum, drive.' The words were clear, but the meaning was not. And while he was speaking, his arms were going up and then down," she wrote. She described how Rob's lungs filled with fluid later that afternoon, and as medical staff attempted to drain them, Rob locked eyes with her and passed away.
Fletcher's story highlights the hidden struggles behind her successful television career. The Repair Shop continues to air on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
