John Bobbitt Says He Still Remembers His First Thought After His Wife Notoriously Cut Off His Penis (Exclusive)

In 1993, John Wayne Bobbitt made headlines aft his wife, Lorena, cut disconnected his penis pinch a room knife.

Thirty years later, successful an exclusive question and reply pinch PEOPLE, Bobbitt says that he “understands” why his then-wife took specified drastic measures, and is revealing what his first thought was aft nan severing.

"Freddy Krueger and Jason were really large backmost then," John, now 58, says, referring to nan Friday nan 13th bid involving nan fictional characters. "So immediately, I thought Freddy Krueger did it. I was conscionable 1 of his victims successful heavy sleep."

The nighttime of June 23, 1993, nan erstwhile Marine and a friend returned to nan Bobbitts' flat aft a agelong evening out. Around 3 a.m., Lorena maintained that John came into their chamber drunk and forcibly raped her, which he denies and was acquitted of astatine trial. As John slept, Lorena went into nan room for a solid of water. She past grabbed a knife, took it into nan chamber and sliced disconnected her husband’s penis. 

"I was highly tired, but instantly I thought, 'Holy s---, it's gone and I'm bleeding,' " he recalls. "You're waking up into a nightmare."

Immediately pursuing nan incident, Lorena fled nan flat pinch John's severed penis successful manus and threw it retired nan car window. The severed appendage was later recovered by nan constabulary and surgically reattached to John's assemblage pursuing a nine-hour operation, per ABC News. 

Lorena, now 55, was charged pinch malicious wounding, a felony offense, but was recovered not blameworthy by logic of impermanent insanity pursuing a two-week proceedings successful early 1994. She spent 45 days successful a intelligence hospital.

The incident occurred arsenic nan couple's four-year matrimony was already connected bladed ice. In that four-year timeline, John had moved retired respective times and moreover impregnated a female erstwhile he and Lorena were separated. Over nan people of their marriage, nan section constabulary responded to half a twelve complaints of home unit astatine nan Bobbitts' home, per ABC News, but charges against some John and Lorena were yet dropped.

During nan trial, Lorena claimed her then-husband sexually assaulted her, hit her and utilized “Marine-type tortures" to unit her into submission. Witnesses besides testified that they had seen bruises connected her assemblage and that John had antecedently made comments astir enjoying forced sex, per nan Los Angeles Times.

John, however, denies ever being abusive toward Lorena.

He claims that, arsenic a couple, they "didn't person clip to [themselves] to activity connected communicating."

"That was a problem,” he tells PEOPLE, insisting that his woman was giving him nan “silent treatment” for 2 months earlier nan attack, calling it "emotional abuse."

All these years later, John says he still has issues pinch nan measurement nan incident was handled.

"I was a unfortunate of [Lorena’s] abuse, particularly that night. She almost killed me," he claims. 

The 2 haven't spoken successful years, but John claims he still "secretly" speaks to her mother connected Facebook Messenger.

Still, John claims that erstwhile it came to his matrimony and him personally, nan nationalist has been fed a “false communicative of nan blasted shifting and gaslighting.” To corroborate his claims, he alleges that Lorena was embezzling money from her employer, which the Los Angeles Times reported successful 1993. In speaking to ABC’s 20/20 successful 1993, Lorena’s attorney, James Lowe, said Lorena had taken nan money to make owe payments successful an effort to prevention their home, according to nan Washington Post.

“I didn't effort difficult enough,” John says now of his marriage. “I wasn't location for her erstwhile she was doing wrong, bad things and I didn't cognize really to grip it.”

Lorena, he alleges, suffered “deep-seated affectional pain” from “rejection, abandonment, infidelity and neglect.”

Asked point-blank if he forgives her, he replies, “I understand why she did it. I collapsed her heart. Her bosom broke, devastated.”

While his sanction was thrust into nan spotlight successful 1993, he again made headlines decades later aft being diagnosed pinch toxic peripheral polyneuropathy, a information linked to his clip astatine Camp Lejeune, a notorious subject guidelines successful North Carolina, wherever nan h2o was severely contaminated successful nan 1980s.

John claims that nan information caused him to create some nervus harm and osteomyelitis, a bony infection that leads to ulcers and requires tegument grafts. In 2023, he had each his toes amputated, which he says near him incapable to activity astatine his occupation arsenic a motortruck driver. He now wears prosthetic shoes and uses stepping aids, specified arsenic a cane and scooter.

He believes nan polluted h2o he drank for six months astatine Camp Lejeune besides affected his marriage.

“I deliberation it interfered pinch cognitive function,” he says. “I mean, we already had a problem pinch communicating because of nan connection barrier. I couldn’t speak Spanish, and she couldn't speak English that well.”

John and Lorena divided successful 1995. He joined and divided 2 much times.

Lorena, who now goes by her maiden sanction of Gallo, resides successful Virginia pinch her girl and partner of complete 20 years and volunteers astatine an statement dedicated to helping survivors of home violence.

Lorena has besides been progressive successful respective of nan projects that show her broadside of nan story, including Amazon Prime Video’s 2019 docuseries, Lorena, which was produced by Jordan Peele.

That aforesaid year, she told TIME that it felt for illustration nan world cared much astir a assemblage portion than nan alleged maltreatment she suffered down closed doors.

"They were much concerned astir his penis alternatively of home violence. They really missed nan full conception of home unit and maltreatment against women," she said. "This is simply a very important rumor that’s going connected and you’re fundamentally much concerned astir nan man who mislaid his penis."

"It’s not for illustration I woke up successful nan greeting and said, 'By nan way, I’m going to trim my husband’s penis off.' There was a history. It was not my volition to do that," she continued.

Lorena did not respond to PEOPLE's galore requests for comment.