For the first 15 years after she became a household name for cutting off her husband’s penis on June 23, 1993, Lorena Bobbitt had done a pretty great job of remaining out of the public eye. In 1997, she briefly made headlines after she reportedly attacked her own mother, but the charges were dismissed, and then we didn’t really hear from Lorena again until the 15th anniversary of her and John Wayne Bobbitt’s bizarre case of domestic violence. That’s when Oprah Winfrey and the talk show brigade came calling, because nothing brings ratings quite like digging up crazy, old news stories and milking them for nostalgia.
But NBC News4 in Virginia didn’t need much of a reason to check in with Lorena this week to see what the 44-year old is up to now, other than that was the network that originally broke the story of her eventful June evening, and she’s close enough for the occasional “Where are They Now?” feature. Amazingly, while her ex-husband had a brief career in porn, a strange cameo on Monday Night Raw, various arrests for crimes of all kinds, and several other domestic violence accusations in his three marriages since, Lorena has led a pretty normal life in Gainesville, VA, where she’s a real estate agent and mother of an 8-year old girl.
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So how exactly does one rise above being classic Saturday Night Live fodder and known as the woman who cut her husband’s penis off and threw it in a field?
“I took my life back and I gave myself a second chance,” she said. “It takes a lot of energy to say, No, I’m not a victim, I want to go on with my life, and you just don’t look back.”
A big part of moving on: Being mom to 8-year-old Olivia, a daughter she shares with her best friend and partner of 16 years.
It shouldn’t surprise you that Lorena has found a man to spend the rest of her life with, as much as it should surprise you that she had many suitors to choose from.
Dating after John Wayne Bobbitt was not as difficult as you might think, Lorena said.
“Believe it or not, I had quite a few gentlemen that wanted to date me,” she said.
Maybe they were curious or egotistical, Lorena suggested, but then she fell in love. She went on to raise a family privately after the highly publicized trial.
Curious, egotistical… maybe they were just the kind of hopeless romantics who think they can help a troubled woman find true love. Either way, it’s nice to see one-half of this crazy, old story have a happy ending.