A man has told the court that two ex-girlfriends he was seeing at the same time each obtained Protection Orders against him in the courts as they were ‘jealous’ and ‘angry’.
At the Family Law Court, the man stated that he still loves the woman he was with for eight years but “never loved” the other woman he was with for less than one year.
The man said that after he finished with the woman he was in a relationship for less than one year “she was looking to destroy me from every side”. The man said that the woman then made contact with the other woman he was in a relationship with for eight years through Facebook.
Asked why they obtained Protection Orders against him, the man said that the two women were “angry” and jealous”.
He said: “They were never friends. At the start between them, it was ‘you whore’ ‘you bitch’ and now they are best friends.”
The man said that he did text the father of the ex-girlfriend of less than one year “begging to see if he could stop his daughter from texting all my friends” after they had broken up but the father told him that his daughter was old enough to do what she wanted.
During her application for a Safety Order, the woman who was in a relationship with the man for less than one year said that her ex called around to her house in February and said that he would burn her house and car down.
This occurred after the man ended the relationship and the woman said “he turned up at my home because I contacted his ex partner.”
In evidence, the man denied that he turned up at his ex-partner’s home. He said: “I didn’t go to her house on that date”. The man said that he never physically touched his ex-partner in an angry way during their relationship and the woman agreed that this was the case. He said: “I never touched her and I never threatened her.”
The man said that he never wanted to see his ex-partner again. The man said that he was happy with the woman he was with for eight years.
Solicitor for the man, Shiofra Hassett put it to the woman that after she made contact with the other woman, the other woman shared the contents of her Protection Order application with her and they discussed the Protection Order.
The woman agreed that this was the case.
Ms Hassett stated: “Both of ye were upset because he was seeing both of ye at the same time. You were unhappy because he was maintaining a relationship with another woman while in a relationship with you and she was similarly unhappy that you were in a relationship with him while he was in a relationship with her.”
Both women obtained their Protection Orders in court earlier this year based on uncontested evidence when the man was not present.
In the case concerning the application for a Safety Order, Judge John King said that he was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the man did call to his ex-partner’s house but that there had been provocation.
Judge King granted the woman a Safety Order for one month.
