STARR’S WIDOW I do forgive Freddie.. I’m a survivor of domestic abuse but I remember good times

On the eve of the first anniversary of his death, Freddie Starr’s widow has finally forgiven him for the shocking domestic abuse she suffered.

Sophie Lea, 39, says she was physically and emotionally tortured by the controversial TV comic, who died aged 76 from heart disease at his Costa del Sol home on May 9, 2019.

She previously told how their marriage descended into hell after the entertainer’s arrest on suspicion of historical child sex attacks.

He was first held in November 2012 by detectives from sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree, and was rebailed several times. But after spending 18 months on bail, he was never charged with any offences by the Crown Prosecution Service due to a lack of evidence.

The domestic abuse he meted out led Sophie to self-harm and she then tried to take her own life after being mocked by “control freak” Starr.

Despite her horror marriage, she helped organise the comedian’s funeral so that his children could say a final goodbye to their father.

In the months that followed, she says she was haunted by chilling flashbacks of the abuse he inflicted on her.

But then Sophie decided to begin therapy sessions – and says the results have been “life-changing”.

She says: “What happened with Freddie was one moment in my life. I can now let that go and say I’m still here.

“I’m a survivor of domestic abuse and I’ve come out the other side of it. It has been life-changing.

“I don’t see myself as a victim. Regardless of what happened, the anger has gone and there is forgiveness.

“A lot of that fear, of how it was with Freddie, has passed now. I think I’m over what happened in our relationship.

“I do forgive him, definitely. The anger has gone. I’ve got myself to the point where I can forgive what happened and move on with my life.

“I’m remembering the positive times we had together. It wasn’t all bad, we had some amazing times and good laughs.”

Sophie met Starr in 2009 when she