TAPPING play on a news video on her phone, Laura Nash watched a recording of Bianca Censori, the wife of rapper Kanye West, at the Grammys.
The model sports a black fur jacket, which she is directed by Kanye to whip off to display a see-through dress revealing her naked body underneath.
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Mum-of-two Laura’s heart aches – as she reads the headlines attached to the video- suggesting Kanye might be behind the bold outfit choice, not Bianca.
Feeling sick Laura knows how this would leave Bianca feeling – as she was a victim of coercive control herself, a pattern of behaviour by an abuser that is used to harm, punish or frighten – which started with Laura’s ex Jordan Crewe, 27, choosing what she wore.
After the event last month, rapper Kanye, 47, posted on X: “I have dominion over my wife,” and this week the hit maker confirmed he was dumped by Bianca.
After months of Laura being told what to wear by Crewe – the coercive control culminating in an attack on her that led to his two-year imprisonment for charges including assault by beating.
Laura, 32, from Cardiff, South Wales says: “A man dictating and changing the way you look is a huge red flag, it was the start of my ex controlling my entire life.
“When we started dating in May 2020, he showed he cared all the time.
“But weeks into the relationship, he started to get mad if he didn’t like what I was wearing.”
After two months of dating, Laura was delighted to discover she was pregnant – but the relationship began to unravel.
She remembers: “Upon finding out about the baby, he accused me of cheating. If I looked at another man, he went berserk.”
Crewe then started dictating what she wore.
Laura recalls: “If a dress was too tight, Jordan would fly into a rage, labelling me a ‘slag.’
“He’d order me to change into clothes that hid my curvy size 14 figure, I went along with this to avoid any arguments.
“I used to sport plunging crop tops, but lost my identity during the relationship as he even banned me from wearing make-up.
“Not wanting an argument, I’d wear loose-fitting jogging bottoms and T-shirts.”
Crewe’s control continued after their daughter, Scarlett, was born in April 2021.
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Laura remembers: “On the night I celebrated the birth of our daughter Scarlett, when she was two weeks old, he attacked me for wearing a red, low-cut dress and heels.
“He poured vodka over my head in my lounge, before swinging me by the hair in front of horrified friends.
“He told me that wasn’t the way a mother should dress.
“I didn’t report him for this behaviour, I blindly put it down to him being exhausted as a new dad.
Domestic abuse – how to get help
DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone – including men – and does not always involve physical violence.
Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
- Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to
- Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you
- Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten.
- Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent.
If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers:
Remember, you are not alone.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.
“After that, I lived in baggy clothes and pyjamas but things got worse, and when I put Scarlett to bed a couple of weeks later, he hit me in the face.
“I was too scared to press charges, but attempted to end the relationship.
“I agreed to return his things, but this ended with him jumping on my car bonnet clutching a nine-inch knife, throwing it at my windscreen and slashing my tyres before he was arrested.”
Crewe admitted charges including possession of a knife in a public place, he was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court for 16 months.
He had complete control of me, mentally and physically. I was helpless to escape.
Laura Nash
Laura says: “Nine months later he was released and promised he was a ‘better man,’ he managed to convince me he’d changed. But three months later during an argument, he choked me until I passed out- I couldn’t take anymore.”
That day Laura called the police, giving a statement.
She says: “He was convicted of breaking his licence conditions and sent back to prison for nine months.
“A year on, in January 2024, upon Jordan’s release, I let him see his daughter, he practically moved himself in as I was vulnerable.”
Weeks later, when Laura received a message from a friend, warning her off Crewe because of his behaviour, he read the message and flipped, pinning her to the bed and biting her face.
Laura says: “He fled and just as I was about to call the police, he sent me a video where he was hanging by a dog lead, from a tree, spluttering for breath. Suddenly the video cut out.
“I was beside myself. I couldn’t bear to think, very wrongly, that I might have caused someone to take their own life.
“I searched woodland until his sister rang hours later to say he was unharmed.
“He had complete control of me, mentally and physically. I was helpless to escape.”
But on boxing Day 2024, Scarlett, now three, was diagnosed with sepsis and meningitis.
Laura says: “After five terrifying days she was discharged from hospital on New Year’s Eve.
Final Brutal Act
“That night, after putting Scarlett to bed, Jordan suggested we have sex.
“I refused and rang a friend to watch my kids while I drove him back to the hostel he was staying at.
“In the car, he yanked my hoodie up hard, until it tightened around my neck and as I spluttered to breath, I nearly lost control of the car.”
Crewe finally let go, punched Laura to the head, before threatening to ‘rip off’ the head of her son from a previous relationship.
She says shakily: “Eventually he got out of the car, and I drove off and called the police.
In my experience it’s a dangerous stepping stone to other worrying behaviour, I certainly won’t ever let anyone dictate how I look or what I wear again.
Laura Nash
“Jordan was arrested and pleaded guilty to four charges including intentional strangulation and ABH.”
At Cardiff Crown Court he was sent to prison for two years.
Laura says: “Since he’s out of my life I wear what I want and always have my make-up and hair done.
“It’s troubling to know that someone as powerful in the music industry as Kanye controlled his wife’s style so hearing the news that Bianca’s now dumped him is a relief.
“In my experience it’s a dangerous stepping stone to other worrying behaviour, I certainly won’t ever let anyone dictate how I look or what I wear again.
“Bianca’s so brave, as it takes a lot of courage to walk away. There’s a long road ahead for her healing now. But she’s done the hardest part. She’ll look back and realise breaking free was the best thing she’s done.
“Slowly, like me, she’ll get her identity back.”
