Over thirty years have passed since the dramatic events involving Lorena Bobbitt, who severed her then-husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a kitchen knife before fleeing from their shared Virginia apartment.
The incident quickly became a sensation across the nation, capturing widespread attention in the ’90s and turning into a significant cultural reference point. Both Lorena and John faced trials as their conflicting accounts of what happened unfolded in court.
According to ABC News, Lorena claimed she reached a breaking point after enduring years of sexual abuse. She was ultimately deemed not guilty due to temporary insanity in the case of malicious wounding. In a separate trial, John was acquitted of charges of marital sexual assault.
Years later, with the rise of the #MeToo movement, Lorena’s story was revisited and gained renewed attention through the 2019 Prime Video documentary Lorena.
Lorena, who now goes by her maiden name Lorena Gallo, has transformed her infamous experience into a platform for advocacy. She leverages her notoriety to support victims of domestic violence, going so far as to establish her own foundation dedicated to the cause.
Here’s everything to know about the case and Lorena’s life today:
What Happened to Lorena Bobbitt and John Bobbitt?
John and Lorena were four years into their marriage when their union took a dark turn on June 23, 1993.
Lorena told investigators that in the early morning hours, John returned home drunk after a night out, jumped on top of her and raped her, per ABC News. It was the final straw in what she alleged was years of abuse.
During their marriage, Kim Chinn—a retired sergeant with the Prince William County Police Department—told ABC News there had been “about half a dozen” domestic violence calls to the home. Charges were only brought once when John was charged with assault and battery. He later got a cross-warrant against Lorena, who was also charged with assault and battery, but both charges were ultimately dropped.
That night in June, Lorena told police that she went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and cut off his penis.
“I went back to the bedroom. I took the sheets off and I cut him,” she told ABC News in 1993. “Everything went just fast.”
Then comma she fled the apartment and threw the severed member out the window of her car.
“I’m not a vindictive person,” she told The New York Times in 2019, “because I told them where it was.”
John, however, has consistently denied any claims of abuse and told ABC News that he came home and went to sleep. In his account, Lorena had been trying to initiate sexual contact but he was “exhausted” and couldn’t respond.
He insisted he “never raped anybody in my life” and said everything happened while he was in a “deep sleep.”
“She was never abused,” he added in his own 2019 interview with The New York Times. “She was always the abuser and she cut off my penis because I was going to leave her.”
What Happened After John Bobbitt’s Penis Was Cut Off?
After the attack, John told ABC News that he immediately sprung out of bed.
“I was bleeding, I was applying pressure, then immediately I thought it was something out of a horror movie,” he recalled. “A nightmare… turned into reality.”
John was driven to the emergency room by a friend, who had been staying at the apartment that night, the outlet reported.
“There was no hysteria,” Bobbitt’s plastic surgeon, Dr. David Berman later recalled to Oxygen. “He just kind of walked up [to the desk].”
After John’s penis was discovered in a field next to a 7-11, police were able to get it on ice and rush it to the hospital, where it was reattached.
“Obviously had a little squirrel, or bird, or something like that taken it,” Berman explained, “it would have been a very different story.”
According to Berman, John remained calm throughout the ordeal.
“Every guy is going to feel anxiety with his weenie cut off, but he never really had much pain that I am aware of or can remember,” Berman told Oxygen. “He never really said, ‘Why me.’”
What Happened at Lorena Bobbitt’s trial?
After the surgery, John was arrested and charged with marital sexual assault due to Lorena’s allegation that he’d raped her that night, per ABC News. He was acquitted in November 1993.
Lorena was the next to go on trial for malicious wounding in a highly-publicized two-week event. She was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, according to NBC News.
What Did John Bobbitt Do After His Trial?
John infamously went on to star in pornographic movies and made a series of talk show appearances, becoming a regular guest on The Howard Stern Show. He also briefly worked as a host-chauffer-bartender at Nevada’s Moonlight Bunny Ranch, The Las Vegas Sun reported.
John was later charged with domestic battery in connection with incidents involving two other women, according to ABC News, and served time in jail.
He denied the abuse to the news outlet, claiming he got involved with the women “too fast” and didn’t know “their motives.”
“After the case, I would attract all the wrong people,” he said. “And I didn’t have that just—discernment of picking and choosing wisely.”
What Happened to Lorena Bobbitt After She Was Acquitted?
After her verdict, the court demanded Lorena spend five weeks at a mental hospital for treatment and evaluation, per ABC News.
Today, she believes today the sensational nature of her case overshadowed the domestic violence allegations she made against her husband.
“They were more concerned about his penis instead of domestic violence,” she told TIME in 2018. “They really missed the whole concept of domestic violence and abuse against women.”
What is Lorena Bobbitt Doing Today?
The manicurist went on to find love with David Bellinger after the pair met in college, according to USA Today. They later welcomed a daughter together.
Though they’ve been together more than 20 years, Lorena told the news outlet in 2019 that they weren’t married.
“I believe in marriage as an institution, of course, and I respect that,” she said at the time. “It was my choice. He even says, ‘If you’re ready to marry, I’ll just show up!’”
Today, Lorena is focused on her work as an advocate against domestic violence. To aid in her efforts, she created the Lorena Gallo Foundation, which, according to its mission, strives to “expand domestic violence and sexual assault prevention education, emergency response resources and community engagement activities that will improve outcomes for survivors and their children.”
“Since her own escape from domestic violence, Lorena has dedicated her life to inspiring survivors to discover their own resilience and shining a light on the actions we can all take to help end the trauma of abuse,” the foundation’s website noted. “With her message that silence is not an option, Lorena has refused to be defined by the abuse she experienced.”
She’s also started sharing her own story, first in the documentary Lorena and later in the 2020 Lifetime docudrama I Was Lorena Bobbitt.
“People used to judge me before, saying that they don’t believe my story,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2020. “To tell the story again is more than a blessing, to me it is an opportunity to tell it right.”