Here's Why Lorena Bobbitt Never Remarried After John

Much like Monica, Britney, and so many other women whose stories sold tabloids in the 1990s, Lorena Bobbitt — now known as Lorena Gallo — is reframing her own story. For years, the woman who famously cut off her husband's penis was the butt of late-night monologue jokes and sensationalized headlines.

What we know now, of course, is that before we ever knew her name, Gallo had reportedly been subject to years of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, says the The New York Times, and had allegedly been raped the night of the infamous incident. Bobbitt was tried but never convicted of marital rape, though he has gone on to be arrested for later unrelated domestic violence charges, per CNN.

Gallo, too, was acquitted of malicious wounding charges for her role in the incident (in a rare instance where an insanity defense worked), but she's still spent years trying to come to terms with that night.

Many might be surprised to learn that the meek woman whose trial was all over the news for weeks in 1994 is now a seemingly happy mother living a normal life in Virginia. She lives with her partner of more than 20 years, David Bellinger, according to USA Today, though you may have noted they don't share a last name. That's because Gallo has opted to not remarry.

When asked why in that interview, Gallo gave what the reporter described as a "knowing laugh." Gallo described the pair's relationship with marriage as always thinking, "'Well maybe this year. And this year comes and goes. So it's been over 20 years now. It's great.'" They noted, too, that Gallo sometimes even referred to Bellinger as her husband, though it's understandable she's still a little gun shy about the institution as a whole.

Whatever arrangement the two have, it's clearly working for them, and it's not just Lorena who's made changes following the ordeal. As The New York Times notes, Lorena's story — along with those of others who were '90s tabloid fodder like Nicole Brown Simpson and Anita Hill — helped fuel dialogue around the mistreatment of women and may have contributed in some small way to Congress finally passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. While her ex-husband has since bounced around courtrooms and starred in pornographic films, Gallo appears to have taken the high road and created her own version of happily ever after.