Ryan Giggs trial: lockdown ‘utter hell’ for ex
Football star denies claims by Kate Greville that he was aggressive and controlling
Ryan Giggs’s ex-girlfriend had panic attacks when their relationship became “utter hell” during the Covid-19 lockdown, a court has heard.
The former Manchester United and Wales footballer is charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against his former partner Kate Greville between August 2017 and November 2020. He is also charged with assaulting Greville and her sister at his home in Greater Manchester in November 2020.
The relationship between Greville and Giggs – who denies all the charges against him – was “punctuated by acts of violence and volatility”, prosecutor Peter Wright QC told Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court as the trial began at the start of the week.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lockdown claims
Yesterday, Greville told the court that living with Giggs in Worsley, Greater Manchester, during the Covid lockdown was mentally “horrendous”. She said: “I felt like I was losing my mind. I was having panic attacks. It was a horrific time.”
The court heard that the couple joined online family quizzes, Zoom wine tastings and had Michelin-starred chefs bring in food for them. Asked why she decided to move in with Giggs by his barrister, Chris Daw QC, Greville said: “We were back in that cycle. He promised a family... I desperately wanted that and I wanted that to be true.”
In a tense exchange, Daw suggested: “It wasn’t that he had a large house with a garden and a more pleasant place to be locked down than a flat?”
Greville said she could have gone to either of her parents’ homes, to which Daw asked why then she chose to spend lockdown with someone she claims is a “serial abuser”. She said that she was “hugely ashamed” that she moved in with Giggs in March 2020, despite his allegedly aggressive and controlling behaviour.
Greville said she became “a slave to his every need and every demand”, adding that: “He made me feel like I had to do what he said otherwise there were consequences.”
Hotel room incident
Earlier this week, the court heard Greville’s claims that on one occasion in a hotel room Giggs had kicked her in the back so hard that she “flew off the bed and landed on the floor”.
“He grabbed me again, into the suite bit of the room, got my bag with my laptop in and threw it at my head. He left me naked in the lounge bit,” she said.
And Wright said that after Greville had repeatedly caught Giggs cheating on her, he attempted “to gaslight her” –“a form of manipulation in which an abuser makes a victim question their judgements and reality”, The Times explained.
“The emotional abuse was calculated to erode any sense of self-worth, any resistance, any independence of thought or action,” Wright added.
When Greville finally decided to end the relationship, Giggs “entirely lost control”, headbutting her and elbowing her sister in the jaw, according to the prosecution.
The sports star was also alleged to have threatened to send images “of a personal nature” to Greville’s friends unless she did what he said.
‘Distortion and lies’
Giggs’ lawyer, Daw, admitted that the footballer was “far from perfect”. But “there were lines that Mr Giggs would never cross”, he said.
He told the court that the assault claims were based on “distortion, exaggerations and lies”, and that the headbutting allegation was “not only a nasty lie but a ridiculous one”.
Giggs quit his role as Wales national manager ahead of the trial, which is expected to last for around ten days. Witnesses called by the defence may include former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and former player Gary Neville.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How Harris and Trump differ on education
The Explainer Trump wants to disband the Department of Education. Harris wants to boost teacher pay.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How to minimize capital gains tax on investments
The Explainer It can take a chunk out of your profits
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 4, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested on federal charges
Speed Read The hip-hop star was hit with sex trafficking and racketeering charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
David Copperfield faces sexual misconduct claims
Speed Read Allegations by 16 women include claims the world-famous magician drugged them before having sex with them
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
How sexual harassment is rife in Antarctica
Under The Radar Women have been 'gaslit' over reports of abuse at 'the emptiest, windiest, highest, driest, coldest place on Earth'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The #MeToo movements around the world
The Explainer French men have been sharing stories of abuse in the latest calling out of sexual assault and harassment
By The Week Staff Published
-
TB Joshua: the disgraced Nigerian televangelist
Why everyone's talking about The late church leader allegedly subjected followers to sexual assault and abuse over nearly 20 years
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Rape in the metaverse: a case for the real-life police?
Talking Points Investigation launched into attack on girl in virtual reality game amid warnings that sexual offences 'rife' in online worlds
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Journalists in UK courts: question of transparency?
Under the radar Proposed changes to justice system include excluding reporters from rape and sexual assault trials
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Russell Brand: trial by media?
Comedian denies accusations of sexual assault and rape in joint media investigation
By The Week Staff Published