She was one of the faces of reality TV, founded her association for the fight against domestic violence and shares her story to educate people: aufeminin met Tatiana-Laurence Delarue, editor-in-chief for a day.
When we meet Tatiana-Laurence Delarue, we first notice her calm voice, and the smile that she never takes away from when she tells her story. Because Tatiana-Laurence starts life in a family marked by violence. That of “the other”, the companion of his mother, who beats her. Little Tatiana-Laurence grows up with the idea that this violence is normal: no one in her family questions her, and her mother warns her that she will be leaving soon. Tatiana-Laurence was twelve years old when her mother died as a result of her partner’s violence. She leaves to live between her father and her grandmother. At 17, she lives alone in a student apartment, and welcomes a young man into her home who tells her he needs help. The young man, whom she nicknames “the other bis”, claims to have been the victim of serious family violence, and Tatiana confides in him that she too. Quickly, he moved in with her and the violence began.
Read also : Domestic violence: “5 steps that helped me to rebuild myself”, by Tatiana-Laurence Delarue
From “the other bis” to “guardian angels”
The young woman loses her home, her job, and has to move in with her parents-in-law who condone the violence exercised by their son. At 19, Tatiana-Laurence finds herself in hospital in a state of near death after yet another episode of violence. Faced with the seriousness of his injuries, the forensic pathologist decides to send a report to the prosecutor. The latter contacts the young woman to suggest that he file a complaint, which she refuses. He then decides to convict the young man, using a roundabout means: a suspended sentence for threats against the police, one day that the police intervene following a report from neighbors facing the noise of beatings. to Tatiana-Laurence between the four walls of the apartment. “The other bis” is sent to detention, and the young woman finds herself homeless and pregnant. On the street, she goes to homes in which she is confronted with another form of violence: “homes especially for women victims of violence, and I found there an atmosphere of screams, beatings”. She remembers the “angels” encountered in her distress. A woman lends him empty apartments, a lawyer takes her under his wing. Suspicious at first, he helps her to regain custody of her child, and to recover her belongings and her life. It was the beginning of a new beginning for Tatiana-Laurence, who then met her future husband Xavier Delarue at the age of 20.
Tell your story to educate
Then Tatiana-Laurence rebuilt her life. She congratulates herself on having had the chance to meet Xavier, when her ex resounds at home when she comes out of prison. “Unfortunately, this is common for many women I meet: at the end of their sentence, the ex come back to look for their prey and resettle with their victims”, she denounces. After a career on TV, Tatiana-Laurence reveals the violence she suffered, in order to educate thanks to her story. “I have no hatred against anyone, why live with hatred?”, says the one who founded an association that helps women victims of violence. She welcomes the progress of laws in progress since her time: the possibility for the prosecutor to self-seize, for example, or the case law on the withdrawal of custody from violent fathers. Today she has written two books to help women rebuild. Tatiana-Laurence Delarue works closely with the government to share her experience. She insists that it is always possible to get up, and seems to be an embodiment of it.