Beaten, Left for Dead, and Still Standing: The Simone O’Brien Story

Simone O’Brien’s story is one of the most powerful and heartbreaking domestic violence cases in Australia — and one of the most inspiring survivorship journeys in the world.

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Simone sits down with Your Trauma Talks to share the night that changed her life forever: when someone she trusted brutally attacked her, leaving her with life‑threatening injuries, permanent trauma, and a long road to recovery.

Simone opens up about:

• The early warning signs she didn’t realize were red flags
• The violent attack that nearly took her life
• The surgeries, rehabilitation, and emotional rebuilding that followed
• How domestic violence affects the brain, body, and identity
• Why silence protects abusers — and storytelling protects survivors
• Her mission to educate, advocate, and save lives through awareness

Today, Simone is an international speaker, survivor advocate, and a voice for those who can’t speak for themselves. Her courage is reshaping conversations around domestic violence, coercive control, and survivor empowerment.

This episode is a reminder that trauma doesn’t define you — your strength does.

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#resiliencestories
#overcomingadversity
#inspirational interviews
#healingjourneys

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey everyone, it's Ra and today I'm here with an amazing. And when I say amazing, I know everyone always says, what's wrong with his vocabulary? Doesn't he have a better word than amazing? Amazing suits it all because this soul I'm sitting with here is a domestic violent survivor and we have heard stories on your life experiences with drops but what you're about to hear is something that's breathtaking and it's really heart-wrenching. I'm really sorry that Simone. This is Simone O'Brien. Simone, it's nice meeting you. Thank you for having me on today. No, no, no. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being able to struggle that struggle that you went through and you fought through. Thank you for doing it and being here so you'll be able to spread your message. So I want you to introduce yourself to everyone and we'll go from there. Hi, everyone. I'm Simone O'Brien.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

We begin tonight with a story of courage and survival. Simone O'Brien is lucky to be alive, the victim of a brutal attack by a man she had trusted who tried to murder her with a baseball vet. She is bravely telling her story for the first time in the hope of saving other women.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Having to look at myself in the mirror each day, seeing myself is scary and makes me frustrated. It just seems endless.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Twor hours was all it took for Simone O'Brien's peaceful world to intersect with a monster. Trying her luck at online dating, the mother of three met this man, real estate agent Glenn Cable. Months later, without warning, he viciously attacked her with a baseball bat and left her for dead!

SPEAKER_04 2:25

In the next ten minutes, I endured forty-five to fifty hits with a baseball bat on the right side of my face. I thought I was going to die.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Hi everyone, I'm Simone O'Brien. I'm from Australia and I've come over to Paris, and it's so lovely to have um bumped into this amazing man and being interviewed today to tell my story. I um couldn't be more honored to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Thank you. It's my honour to be around you as well. Uh question for you, for everyone, is tell them a little bit about what you do and how you inspire people.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

So now I've um my life has turned tidy around um 10 years ago being a survivor of domestic violence, and I was never a speaker in myself, but um after the assault of trying to end a relationship, just saying no to um my partner at the time, he actually did a backflip and hit me with a baseball bat um 45 to 50 times to the right side of my face, hence why I do look a little bit um strange. But from that, I've actually lost my eyesight, my my sense of smell. I've got an implant on my cheekbone when this whole side is titanium with my um jawline all smashed in. So coming through that after 52 operations and obviously endless treatment to where I am today, which is on a daily basis, um, and you know, having to go and have treatment um in itself every seven to ten days, I am a prisoner in my own body, but in a positive way now, um, and that's where I've turned my story into from a negative into a positive, and um, you know, was travelling around Australia, presenting to schools, corporates, um, football clubs, etc., and now um obviously internationally, which is um just totally blown away for myself, and I just want to make a change now and help our next generations coming through with domestic violence, you know, just being out of control and um, you know, one woman dying every every week, and our stats back in Australia, there's all already 24 children that have lost their life because of domestic violence.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Oh, thank you. That's uh that is that's sad, and it's like I would I was we were having a conversation yesterday when I was telling you back when I was a kid in Trinidad and Tobago, and you would read on the newspaper all the time, some man now chopped, they use a cutlass or a machete, and they would cut their wife's head, or they will poison them, they will kill them, they will drink poison themselves, and it was like every other so day or within that week you would see another person die, you would and they're killing their kids too, and then killing themselves. Like, why? I would always ask myself why until I become this person to understand about insecurity, narcissism, and all these things that these people they have stored up in their minds that create these things that causes that to reach that far. Not putting it in a positive way because it's all negative, because this is how they are. But you look at this beautiful individual who says that you know you look strange. There's nothing strange about you. Thank you. And the thing about I said I tell people this all the time. You look at a person from within, yeah. We were speaking earlier, by the way. We're in Paris, yes, France. We're in Paris, France. I met Simone at this amazing conference where I heard so much we did, right? We heard so many stories. I'm telling you, it's like really connecting. Yes, and I met Simone here, and when I heard her story, I was like, Wow! But before we met, she sent me the articles on what happened to her, and I was like blown away. I actually got on the phone with my mom and I cried and I was like, Mom, Simone actually took it basically for you because this is how I see it, or for another woman or another person, or an individual, because it could have been her, absolutely, it could have been another person. Yeah, I'm sorry that you had to go through that, but you're here to help so many people. But before that, Simone was this amazing real estate agent. Simone has three beautiful kids.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

So, um, and you'll put it, see a smile on my face, they're they're my world, and um, I've got three, yes, Gabby, Ashlyn, and Zach. And they're now 25, 22, and 20. Um, and the sad thing about it is they witnessed uh the two girls witnessed what I actually went through to the extent Gabby had to ring the ambulance and get the neighbours for helps. And with that, also Ashlyn mentally, it's has affected her, and Ashlyn and Zach, the age they are, as I speak to you today, um, they still have not had a relationship, so it's affected them mentally moving on into their adulthood life. So domestic violence isn't just the person involved, it's that ripple effect, and not only family, but your community that you're in.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

It's it is true 100% because I have a story in my book, and um there's that this family was beaten and raped and whatever. Both two sisters were involved, and one of them went on, had kids, had a husband because her life, in a positive way, she actually found an angel of a husband, while her other sister just never could see anyone touch her. She could never think about another relationship. Yeah, and I could understand like how your your kids feel because at there were certain times, things I saw happening growing up in my life. Yeah, I always think in my head, no, this is not going to be your and you're not going to go out, you're not going to ever treat anybody like the way you were treated, or your mom was treated, or anyone in your family was treated. And people talk all the time about overcoming certain things. You can go to doctors, you can take treatments, it's all about you, the individual, just like Simone here. She could have decided being bashed, and you all will see because Simone is gonna send me the slides. And when you see the pictures of Simone, you will really understand what we're talking about. She, Simone, could have been in a place where she gives up, or she could have said, Look at me, my beautiful body, look at what has happened, you know, the outer image that people see first, or whatever. This beautiful person you see in here went through a transformation. Absolutely. And when you see this transformation, you yourself will be shocked. And she did not bundle up in a ball, she's in Paris today. She travels throughout the world telling her stories. Her best friends is the football team, the soccer team, and that's amazing that she can inspire so many people. Absolutely. What have you like accomplished so far when you reach the hearts to let them know about domestic violence?

SPEAKER_02 9:38

I've um not realizing what I actually do, but in corporates I've changed a lot of policies and procedure because um a lot of men are the DGs of the corporates, and they didn't realise that a workplace can be a safe place for many women to go to. So they've um had to open their eyes and ears and realise that wow, you know, and so I've been thanked for that, for helping them in that space. And obviously, um with working with the police and the football clubs, which are you know male-oriented, seeing what they do behind the scenes to help women is absolutely fantastic. And changing minds of our um working in schools and changing our young younger generation's mind to let them know, um, just using Johnny as an example that if Johnny is seeing his dad, you know, hit or swear at the mum and Johnny thinking that's the normal, we don't want that. We want him to grow up. As Ran said, he's now does not want him being affected, doesn't want his life to put that out to everyone. So we need to change mindsets of our next generations coming through. So um, you know, being very proactive in that area and um just feeling blessed that yes, um this hit did happen to me, and in a roundabouts way, I'm actually glad it did happen to me, and not, you know, my daughters or aunties or friends or any other woman out there because for somehow I've um I've got this fighting spirit and I just want to make a change now. Um, in in a little nutshell of a story, I shouldn't actually be here speaking to you about domestic violence if the perpetrator's first wife had spoken of about domestic violence because I would never have met him.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

That that's um that's a great point. You see, it happens, and he didn't have one wife, right? Yeah, no, it was two people before her, and and the sad thing is he lied to her, yeah, so she never knew about his past, and he was one of the sweetest people she has ever met, one of the sweetest persons she has ever met because that's what he portrayed to her, and it was a simple breakup, right? Absolutely a very simple breakup. She tells him, I don't want to see you anymore, it's not working. I my kids are my focus, and my um, I have this my work and everything, so I don't really have time for a relationship. And a lot of people like me right now have reached a point after being going through so many relationships and whatever. I've reached a point for the past two years, plus I'm um single, yeah, and every time like someone try to get close to me, it's one of my greatest lines, I wouldn't lie. Yeah, I and but it is the truth. Yes, I do your life experiences with all and so many other little things. I'm writing my fourth book and I'm going through a lot of different phases and changes in my life to bring a new person, a new human, to get involved in that. That person might want to pour their whole heart into you and you just cannot give it back, but that person wasn't about rejection. No, that person was not about rejection, and that's the sad thing. There's some people you could tell straight up, listen, I don't have time to do this, and they will walk away. Another thing we spoke about was letting go. Yes, at the beginning, when you see one, two red flags, don't wait for the third one. No, absolutely a lie brings on something else. You must see something else. It's so so simple. This person portrayed a life where he had money and everything, right? Yeah, and then is stealing her money out of her wallet. And now she knows her three kids. Her littl at that time was 10, was Zach? Yes, 10. And Zach. Now you're thinking now the first thing kids, if you tell them money is missing, they'll all feel offended. That what mommy's trying to say, it's me? Yeah. Where is a grown adult doing this to you? How did you like during those times? Like, how did you accept that type of betrayal?

SPEAKER_02 13:39

That's where um I have learnt in life now you run with your gut feeling, and it didn't sit well with me in my stomach at all. And yes, that is a little red flag. Um, and my emphasis on that, from a little red flag, they were adding up and going into a big red flag. Huge. And um, and that's the importance of um just getting back to the first wife, sorry, talking about red flags. If she'd reported her red flags to the police, yes, I wouldn't be here talking to you today about domestic violence because I would not have met him, he would not have got his real estate license. So it's that ripple effect of how one little red flag can turn into several other little red flags.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

And what's what's that? She's she mentioned um a real estate license, and not only that, is he she actually was broken up for a while and was not in any violent relationship or anything. Two people, two adults basically just went separate ways, which people supposed to do. And she was single and alone for all this time. She's taking care of her kids, and this decided, hey, let me just try the dating world. As simple as that. You know, she just tried to date someone. The first person she met, she checks him out, she checks his background, everything, but it was clean. Absolutely, and it's sad that one person, because I mean, there's a lot of there, there are a lot of women out there afraid of men. We had a seminar today with mental health, and a lot of women, women rise, and women speak out, and still, there's so many places in the world that look down at women and men especially. It's sad. There are a lot of men who still think that women are underneath them rather than look at women as equal, rather than like I tell a story all the time. We are all one, we are all connected, but people don't realize that because everybody had is very swollen that they want to be better than the other, or they're in competition with someone. Like writing on your life experience was raw. You know, many people copy me and I laugh. When I see they do that because I am raw, yeah, and what I do is original. That means that that means to say I am the leader and you're just a follower. And when you're copying someone, you don't know their next step, and you don't know what they're coming about. So try and be you, but the connection that you have now, I always say a vessel. If you dip an ocean, the ocean is full of water, and you dip out a bucket, and you go and you put them in small glasses, and the glasses change in sizes and different colors, but it's that same water. The only thing that's changed is the vessel, and that's us humans. Like we're here in the seminar, and like I was just saying, repeating it to Natalie that the main thing, 90% of the people that tell their story, there was one word that stands out God. Yes. Every person that survived something spoke about God. God, absolutely, because they believed that God saved them. Now you would hear this little part. I want you to describe, I don't want, I mean, you don't tell the rest of it because they will see the slides, but at least from the minute he rang the door to that time you were in ambulance, just tell that little piece of that story.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

Sure. So um I'd actually ended the relationship um from a text message on my way into work um the morning of Monday, the 25th of September 2012. And back then, being in the government, um, phones weren't used like we use them today. And so by the time I got to work, I'd ended it and it was such a relief. I was like, oh, awesome. By lunchtime, I did check my phone, and there were hundreds of messages. I didn't reply or open them up or anything like that. Um, and then went back to work and caught the train home and looked at my phone again, and there was lots of messages, still no reply. Got home at six o'clock, and um my little man Zach was at basketball training. The two girls were at home, and Gabby would always start cooking dinner for me and walk in at six o'clock and say, Hey girls, how's your day? And you know, they say, Oh, it's boring, you know, data as they do about school. And then 6.06, there was a knock at my door, and I could see through the little glass panel that it was the perpetrator. And sorry for any men listening, but that's um he doesn't deserve any other word, um, so I apologise for that. But and I thought, I'm teaching the the girls' life skills, I need to acknowledge that he's at the door because I was brought up with respect. And so I went and opened the door and he said, Um, hey, and I said, Hey, I said, could we talk about this? And I said, Yeah, sure. And so we went into my bedroom, he asked to go in there, and he just said to me, He said, Why can't we be in a relationship? And I was open and honest. I said, Look, you deserve 110% of a relationship. I said, I can't give it to you. I said, I've got two jobs and three children. I said, You deserve more than that. And um, he me walking in um just to put you in the picture, I then ended up on the ground, and the investigators don't know if he actually pushed me or I tripped because I did have high heels on. But um I I sent look up and you may see a scar here on my arm, and I sent a baseball bat coming down on my arm, and my my arm was actually broken. Um, I could see that it didn't hurt. I think my body just went into shock. But I yelled out to the girls, like, girls, come and help mommy, and my eldest Gabby, she looked at me as if to say, Mum, you can do everything from fix the car, the house, and da da da. But do you know what? I honestly thought I was gonna die. I I couldn't get up from this arm because it was broken, the bone was out my skin. And from 6.06 to 6.16, um, with my girls running in and out getting me help, I actually endured uh 45 to 50 hits to the right side of my face, um, hence why I look like this. And um, with the ambulance and the services coming, obviously they weren't expecting me to survive to get to the hospital, so they um put me in a juice coma at the scene, um, taking me to hospital, operating on me, and saying that I'm not going to pull through the night, in which the children had to come and say goodbye to me at 2 a.m. on the 26th. And that um is something that um I get tear about every time because that's actually Ashlyn's birthday. So each and every year um it's a tough time for her and me because she always brings it up, Mummy. I had to say goodbye to you, and she'll never get that out of her out of her head. And but I got through that night, and then obviously I had to go back the next night, and they said this time we're gonna give her a three to five percent chance so the children were bought in again to survive. And they said if mummy does survive, she's gonna be a vegetable, brain dead, you know, tube fed, not able to walk or talk or anything. And obviously, the first 10 days were touch and go, and um, I'm here today after 52 operations, and you know, as I say, daily treatment to myself, but daily treatment in the hospitals every seven to ten days. Um, but I take it as a positive. I now call it my grease and oil change that um gets me, allows me now to get out and do this and just helping our next generation coming through.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Amazing and sad all in one, but I'll tell you this tell your daughter, I said, well, she'll see this, that she lost that mommy. She came this mommy, this new mommy, this stronger mommy that will never let anything like that happen or repeat itself, and you will not allow anyone to do that to them. Absolutely, and that's amazing. And now you're not only protecting your kids, you are protecting so many other kids and so many other women and men as well, because men go through domestic violence as well. Absolutely, yeah. Trust me, I know that because I personally was in some spots as well. Yeah, and and it's sad that that that people would think they have the right to put their hands on someone, and that's wrong. Absolutely, you know, don't matter what it is, how much you can argue with someone. Yes, people have big mouths, they have their own opinions, they have their own way of thinking. We all no one is the same, yeah, and that's the thing about it. But you have no right to raise your hand towards any human being, whether it even's your child, you're not supposed. Abuse anyone or take advantage of them. And it's really sad that you had to go through that. But the bright picture is that you're here sending a positive, very positive message. And God blessed you, and we're bringing God into this again. Like I said, your life experiences withdrawal was not supposed to be religious or political or any of those type of things. But throughout the past four years, plus that your life experiences withdrawal has been a wrong. Many of the stories that come on here, 90% of the stories as well, and anyone tell their story, majority of the time they are going to use that word and say, God save them in some sort of way. And you're here today, and we thank God for the blessing and thank you for that fight that you had from inside. Even though majority of the time, I'm sure, within those 10 days and all these things, you don't know what's going on. No, most people like like I had pain when I had surgery, and you at that moment you remember the pain. But when I tried to check it and remember that pain now, I knew I had pain. I don't want to have that pain anymore. But you just that moment, you don't get back that pain, and the same with you. You passed through that. Yes, something helped you, and today you are reborn as the new Simone. And that's amazing. And I'm I'm happy that I could be able to connect with you and you can be able to share your story. Absolutely. So before we leave, I want you to share some positivity.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Yeah, I I just want each and every one of you out there, whether you're female or male, I want you to love yourself. Um, I I have never, prior to the being in the age of 37 when this happened to me, I have never loved myself, never even thought about it. But going through treatment and having to put myself first, I I actually do love myself now inside and out because I've learned treating internally helps externally heal as well. And that's why everyone says you're always smiling and everything. It's because I love myself and and give myself, you know, that love each day that no one else can actually give it to you in the way you can. And also, I just want to say three things that I'd love you to say at three, you know, to yourself, which has got me in today is never give up, keep smiling and saying positive.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Wow, that's amazing. You see, Ralph teaches you this all the time. Believe in yourself, love yourself, and you cannot love anyone if you can't love yourself first. And this is the truth. You cannot, you have to let that love from within you that you have here, that's how it's gonna go out. And I think when you love like that, you bring that love back. Yes, so it comes back to you. Absolutely, that's amazing. Thank you, Simone. Can I get a hug? Absolutely, thank you. This is your life experiences of dry, it's raw, and Simone, thank you. We love you all. Thank you.