When Debbi met Steve in 2011, she thought she had finally found the love of her life. He was kind, caring, and made her feel safe. But as their relationship grew, so did something else—Debbi’s overwhelming jealousy. Her extreme measures to keep Steve faithful have left many people shocked.
Jealousy is a normal part of relationships, but for some, it turns into an obsession. For Debbi, it became something she couldn’t control. She was so afraid of losing Steve that she started making him take lie detector tests every time he came home. It was her way of making sure he was being faithful.
Debbi and Steve’s story began when they met through a mutual friend on Facebook. At the time, Debbi was living in Scotland, and Steve was in London. After weeks of messaging back and forth, Debbi took a leap of faith and traveled to London to meet him in person.
“I knew we were meant to be together when we shared our first kiss under London Bridge,” Debbi recalled. “I didn’t plan on falling in love again after my last relationship, but Steve stole my heart.”
Their connection was instant and powerful. They started making plans for the future, moving in together, and eventually getting married.
Debbi admitted that she and Steve didn’t always see eye to eye, but she knew deep down that he was the one. “When you’ve got a good man, you don’t let him go, do you?” she said in an interview on ITV’s This Morning.
But soon, Debbi’s jealousy began to take over their lives. She was diagnosed with Othello Syndrome, a rare psychiatric disorder that makes a person believe their partner is cheating, even when there is no evidence. Her past experiences made her paranoia even worse.
“At first, I was just an average jealous woman,” Debbi admitted. “But after being cheated on in a previous abusive relationship, my jealousy got worse and worse.”
As a result, she started forcing Steve to take lie detector tests whenever she doubted him.
Steve explained on This Morning that the tests weren’t as frequent as they used to be. “At one point, I was taking them multiple times a week. Now, it’s more like once in a blue moon.”
Still, Steve’s life was under Debbi’s strict control. He loved watching football and Formula 1, but even that wasn’t safe. Debbi monitored what he watched, worried that he might be secretly looking at women in the audience. Sometimes, she even banned him from watching television altogether.
“All women have an inner beauty,” she said, “but for a man, it goes beyond that. It’s not just about admiring beauty—it’s about mentally lusting after them. And I can’t allow that.”
To make sure Steve wasn’t straying, Debbi took even more drastic steps. She installed child-proof filters on his phone and laptop, blocking any explicit content. She even admitted that if Steve went out for just 15 minutes to buy milk, she would make him take a lie detector test when he got back.
“I get so anxious that he might have been flirting with the shop assistant. I have to know the truth,” she confessed.
Debbi’s obsession was highlighted in a documentary by Only Human in 2019. In one scene, after a rare outing to a local shop, Debbi immediately made Steve take a lie detector test using an app on her phone.
“Did you notice any women in the shop?” she asked him.
Steve shook his head. “Can’t say as I did. No.”
Relieved, Debbi smiled. “I’m impressed. You’re telling the truth.”
But then, she decided to push further. “Do you find Mel B attractive?”
Steve’s response was a firm “No.” But when the app showed his answer as a lie, Debbi wasn’t convinced. She made him take the test again and again, each time accusing him of lying.
“The app is at least 60% accurate,” she argued. “It’s basically a polygraph.”
Debbi’s struggles didn’t end with her jealousy. In addition to Othello Syndrome, she also suffered from bipolar disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, which made her insecurities even worse.
Her jealousy reached its peak when they moved in together. She kept a close watch on Steve’s online activity, blocking him from watching any content that featured women.
“One night, an advert for a women’s razor came on TV, and I panicked,” she admitted. “I thought Steve was staring at the model.”
The fear consumed her so much that she ordered a lie detector machine online, just to make sure Steve wasn’t looking at other women.
In 2015, Debbi appeared in a Channel 5 documentary, 87 Stone: Fat Chance of Work. But instead of portraying her struggles fairly, she said the documentary focused too much on her weight.
“They made it look like I was just bossing Steve around,” she complained. “But in reality, he was helping me through a tough time.”
The backlash was brutal. People on social media sent her cruel messages and even threats. The online abuse became so intense that Debbi didn’t want to leave the house anymore.
Despite everything, Debbi and Steve found ways to cope. They spent a lot of time gaming together, which Debbi said helped her control her jealousy.
“Playing Xbox keeps my mind busy,” she explained. “It stops me from obsessing over what Steve is doing all the time.”
Research shows that about 15% of people with Othello Syndrome have been violent toward their partners. Debbi admitted she had moments where her jealousy got the best of her.
“There were times when I threw things across the room in frustration,” she said. “I’ve put Steve through a lot, but he’s stuck by me. That’s how I know he’s the one.”
She believed other women might be suffering from the same condition without realizing it. “Society puts so much pressure on women to look a certain way,” she said. “I think that’s why so many of us struggle with jealousy. I’m lucky Steve understands me—not everyone has that.”
Steve, despite everything, insisted Debbi was worth it.
“Sometimes I get nervous during the lie detector tests, and my heart races, which makes the results come back inconclusive. That just makes Debbi doubt me even more,” he admitted. “But I just tell her I haven’t cheated and hope she believes me. I love her, and a little jealousy isn’t going to change that.”
To build her confidence, Debbi is now hoping to get gastric band surgery. She believes it will not only improve her physical health but also help her feel better about herself.
“I wasn’t always overweight,” she said. “My small frame is carrying an extra ten or eleven stone, and it’s too much for my body.”
She hopes the surgery will help her regain a sense of normalcy and enjoy life more with Steve.
Through all their challenges, Debbi and Steve’s relationship has remained intact. Despite the ups and downs, they continue to fight for their love, proving that even the most complicated relationships can endure.
