Denise says there were no signs when she married Charlie that their relationship would take the turn it did. "He was three years sober, and I admired him for [overcoming that] and working so hard on himself and wanting to be a strong person. That was something that attracted me to him," she says.

Eventually, the relationship took a turn for the worse, but Denise says it was still hard to leave. "I loved him, and I felt guilty. When I did file for divorce, I was six months pregnant. Our oldest daughter was 9 months old," she says. "It's so easy to be on the outside and judge and say, 'I would never be that person if anyone treated me [poorly].' But, truly, until you're in those shoes...I loved him. I wanted it to work. He's got a lot of wonderful qualities about him."