KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It looked like a love story coming out of a fairy tale.
Tara Hayes got married to who she thought was the love of her life.
"I was very excited about marrying a minister because I grew up in a pastor's home," Hayes said. "The selfless person that when he saw someone in need, he stopped and helped them on the side of the road and changed their tire."
She was 19 years old when she got married.
She said it was kind of early but in the Christian faith that was very common. The most important part was that she knew him well, or at least that's what she thought.
"I really thought he was my prince charming," she said.
The abuse began on their wedding day. They got into the truck to leave the reception and she was suddenly facing a side of him she had never witnessed before.
"With a very, almost sadistic and very scary voice [he] said, 'Give me all your money woman,'" Hayes said.
Over the following months, things got worse with verbal, emotional and physical abuse. Hayes said one of the worst fights was when she was pregnant with her oldest child and he got angry because she had told a friend that she was pregnant.
They got into Haye's truck and he started going down a gravel driveway at about 90 miles an hour.
"When we got home, he dragged me out of the truck and he started to beat me and then raped me and I just like crumbled on the floor," she said. "I tried to fight back, but the more you fight back and try to get away, the higher his escalation got."
Nat McCormack from YWCA Knoxville said escaping domestic violence can be hard.
"Oftentimes, they're forced to make the decision to either stay in their abusive household or face potential homelessness, face going without food or other basic resources that their person is providing for them," McCormack said.
The Knoxville Family Justice Center is a one-stop shop. They have eight on-site agencies that can help and they partner with many other agencies off-site.
Kathryn Ellis, the executive director, said over the past year they saw about 2,500 people walk through those doors -- that number was 600 more than in 2022.
She said it may mean more people are reaching out for help or violence is increasing. In any case, they're here to help.
"The goal is that when somebody is fleeing their abuser or trying to get out of a bad relationship, that they can come here, walk through one door and get all of the assistance that they need," Ellis said. "Domestic violence is one of those issues that touches literally every portion of our society, every part of our community here in Knoxville, it does not discriminate on race, gender, income, education, anything."
The Family Justice Center helped Hayes defy many odds.
Now, many years later, she reflects on the life she's built after fleeing violence. Hayes has a happy family, does work that she loves and has loving friends. She said she got her happy ever after.
"It was because I chose to escape," Hayes said. " I wish that I would have realized in the beginning that my worth and my value was worth escaping for."
Hayes said if she can do it, so can you.
"They just have to have the will and the desire and look in the mirror and say, 'I'm worth it,'" she said.
You can find more domestic violence resources here.