Suzie Fletcher, star of , has opened up about the 'cruel lie' her abusive once told her, claiming that her brother Steve was terminally ill. Her late husband James, referred to by his alias Rob in her book, passed away over a decade ago after battling

has since spoken out about the abuse she endured during their 15-year marriage, which included attempts to alienate her from her family. After a trip to the UK to visit relatives, her husband falsely informed her upon their return to the US that her brother, with whom she is very close, was 'seriously ill, probably terminally'.

Speaking on the What I Wish I'd Known podcast, Suzie said: "He tried (to turn me against my family). He did try and that was not going to happen. He also was very cruel. On one visit we came back to the UK and I'm incredibly close to my brother Steve.

"And he and Steve were spending a lot of time together. We'd got back to the US and he said: 'I'm going to tell you now, your brother is seriously ill, probably terminal. He's told me this in confidence so you can't tell anybody.'

"So that's my brother, who is terminally ill. It wasn't (true). He was frightening me, he was testing me, so for a long time, every time I talked to Steve I'd say: 'Alright. How's your health?'

"I do remember saying to him: 'Well Steve's fine.' And he'd say: 'Well that's good. What a relief.' So you begin to lose your remind sadly and it gets reflected back on you."

Suzie's husband James passed away in 2013 from pancreatic cancer, leaving the family in shock as they were unaware of his illness. Following his death, Suzie joined the The Repair Shop in 2018 for its second series, reports

Reflecting on a poignant conversation with her husband before his passing, she recalled him hoping their marriage 'wasn't all bad'. Looking back, Suzie admitted that signs of abuse are more apparent now than they were then.

Speaking to the podcast, she revealed: "He had made me very dependent on him. It's one of those things I do question, whether it was intentional or just the way he operated."

She added: "We know so much more about gaslighting and these terms of grooming, and codependency, and coercive behaviour. These are terms I now know. I didn't know then. I couldn't rationalise this behaviour before. This is a man who loved me so I must have deserved that. Obviously I didn't deserve that, no way."

Fans can catch The Repair Shop on BBC One tonight (Wednesday, January 15) at 8pm.