Lorena Bobbitt, who cut of ex-husband’s penis in 1993, returns to the spotlight

SHE made headlines in 1993 for cutting off her then-husband’s penis.

Now Lorena Bobbitt has resurfaced, revealing her ex John Wayne Bobbitt has tried to contact her several times over the last two decades.

“He tried. But I always deleted his number,” the 46-year-old said. “I have a new life now. I surround myself with positive people.”

Ecuador-born Bobbitt appeared on the Steve Harvey Show in the US to talk about her life since the infamous mutilation, with the audience giving her a standing ovation.

Lorena Bobbitt talks about her new life

Bobbitt was 18 when she moved to the US from Venezuela, where she was raised, to start a new life. She married John, who she described as charming, in 1989.

However she said he became physically and sexually abusive, slept around and took up drugs and alcohol. She said she soon suffered from battered woman’s syndrome.

Then, on June 23, 1993, she “snapped.” Bobbitt hacked off half of John’s penis with a kitchen knife as he slept at their Virginia home, before tossing it out of her car window into a field.

“I found myself in the street with a penis in one hand and the knife in the other,” Bobbitt said. “So yeah, that happens ... I’m here to tell you and to tell everyone what happens when a woman gets abused by a man.”

When asked why she didn’t leave her ex, she said: “I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know there were shelters for me to go to. And remember, I was isolated. I didn’t have my family. I felt embarrassed to talk about domestic abuse … I felt ashamed. I felt scared.”

Bobbitt was acquitted of malicious wounding in 1994 by reason of temporary insanity. Her ex denied, and was acquitted of, the abuse charges.

Since his penis was reattached, he has starred in several adult films (including John Wayne Bobbitt: Uncut and John Wayne Bobbitt’s Frankenpenis) and claims he has slept with more than 70 women.

“Being the most famous man to have his penis chopped off does have its advantages. It definitely has not hurt my love life — in fact it improved it,” he told The Sun two years ago. “I guess some women got a kick out of saying they slept with John Wayne Bobbitt.”

Bobbitt says her life has changed for the better. She lives in Virginia with her second husband, Dave Bellinger, who “never brings (the 1993 incident) up” and their daughter, Olivia.

“My husband is a gentleman,” she said. “He treats me like he’s supposed to.”

She has also used her experience to help other battered women. She founded Lorena’s Red Wagon in 2008, a not-for-profit organisation that aims “to prevent domestic violence through family oriented activities.”

“I wanted to bring hope to these children and to these women of domestic abuse and that’s the thing I do,” she said. “We understand that my story actually has humour, but also we shine the light on domestic violence as well. Something good has come out of my, you know, negative.”

The Bobbitts reunited about seven years ago on US TV show, The Insider, to talk about what went wrong in their marriage. They divorced in 1995.

“I never thought that anyone could be that evil,” John said. “I wanted to kill myself.”

He did, however, admit he failed as a husband: “Sorry about the way I was back then. I was an a***hole ... I failed to love you the way I should have.”

Bobbitt let her ex have it: “You drove me to that, John. You drove me crazy.