Wife denies 'lashing out' at ex-athlete husband accused of abuse

A GP has told a jury she had never "lashed out" in anger at her ex-Olympic athlete husband.

Curtis Robb, 54, is accused of subjecting his former wife Dr Sarah Robb, 47, to controlling and coercive behaviour during their marriage.

Robb, who competed for Great Britain in the 800 metres track race at the 1992 and 1996 Games, is also alleged to have suffocated her with a pillow following a row on holiday.

The prosecution at Chester Crown Court alleges the orthopaedic surgeon assaulted and threatened his wife between December 2015 and August 2023, and also repeatedly called her names and criticised her.

Cross-examining Dr Robb, Martine Snowdon asked her: "Were there times in the relationship when you were angry with him and you would lose your temper?"

Robb said: "He would always tell me to stop shouting and stop being hysterical, and I knew I was not. I was calm.

"I don't I think it would have been safe to lose my temper with him."

Snowdon said: "Would you ever lash out at him in frustration?"

Robb replied: "No."

She also denied ever being "physically provocative" in arguments, or doing "mean things" to the defendant.

Snowdon asked: "Ever poured water over him when he was in bed?"

Robb said: "No."

Snowdon told Robb the defendant denies he had ever abused or assaulted her, and claims it was her that "brought the physicality" to arguments.

She said the only physical activity from the defendant was when he would push her away.

Robb told the court: "That's not true."

Snowdon said: "Did you criticise Curtis throughout the relationship for not pulling his weight domestically? Was it a bone of contention?"

Robb said: "No, I accepted it. The only thing he would do was the weekly shopping.

"I lived under a dictatorship."

The court has heard Robb reported the surgeon to the police in October 2023, six months after she said he held a pillow over her face, and said she feared for her life.

Asked why she did not leave her husband in April 2023, she replied: "This person knew no bounds. It was the hold he had over me. It was so strong.

"I was desperate to leave but I had no plan. I still didn't have enough belief to do it.

"He told me for years that no-one is going to believe me."

Snowdon said: "He never said that to you, did he?"

Robb said: "He said that constantly.

"He said 'this is not domestic abuse. You have no fractures, and laughed'. It was hideous.

"I said 'I would have to be half-dead on a hospital corridor before you realise what you had done and what you are'."

Robb, of Northwich, Cheshire, denies the allegations.

The trial continues.

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