JK Rowling says ex husband kept first Harry Potter manuscript 'hostage'
JK Rowling has claimed her husband 'hid' the manuscript for her first Harry Potter book and held it 'hostage' to stop her from leaving.
The 57-year-old author has discussed her marriage to her first husband Jorge Arantes in a new podcast.
Harry Potter author Rowling was married to Arantes in 1992 after meeting him in a bar in Portugal – where she had moved to work as a teacher following her mother's death.
The pair welcomed daughter Jessica, now 29, together. But, Rowling left in 1993 after the marriage allegedly 'turned violent'.
Speaking in a new podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, where she sat down with US writer Megan Phelps-Roper, about the writer's life and career.
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Rowling has previously discussed the abuse she endured in the relationship – with Arantes previously admitting he 'slapped' Rowling but reportedly said he 'wasn't sorry'.
JK Rowling has discussed leaving her first husband (Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
The Harry Potter author claimed her ex Jorge Arantes 'hid' the manuscript to her first book (Getty Images)When asked in 2020 about claims of domestic abuse, he told The Sun: "I slapped Joanne — but there was not sustained abuse. I’m not sorry for slapping her.
"If she says that [in reference to domestic abuse], that’s up to her. It’s not true I hit her."
Now, the Harry Potter writer has claimed she "left him twice before I left for good" and was planning to leave for the final time while pregnant with their daughter.
Recalling her marriage, she said: "The marriage had turned very violent and very controlling. He was searching my handbag every time I came home and I didn’t have a key to my own front door.
JK Rowling says she 'suspected' Jorge knew she was leaving (ExpressStar)"It was a horrible state of tension to live in because I had to act as though I wasn’t going and I don’t think I’m a very good actor."
Rowling claimed how she felt Arantes "suspected" she was going to leave.
She said: "He’s not a stupid person.
"I think he knew, or suspected, that I was going to bolt again. It was a horrible state of tension to live in."
Throughout the period of her preparing to leave, Rowling continued to write the book and "the manuscript kept growing".
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She said: "He knew what that manuscript meant to me, because at a point, he took the manuscript and hid it, and that was his hostage.
Rowling continued to write the manuscript and it 'kept growing' (Hansons / SWNS)
The Harry Potter author claimed the book was her ex-husband's 'hostage' (WireImage)"When I realised that I was going to go – this was it, I was definitely going – I would take a few pages of the manuscript into work every day.
"Just a few pages, so he wouldn’t realise anything was missing, and I would photocopy it. And gradually, in a cupboard in the staff room, bit by bit, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew and grew."
Author JK Rowling alleged she suspected Arantes would "burn" the manuscript or "hold it hostage".
She said: "I suspected that if I wasn’t able to get out with everything, he would burn it or take it or hold it hostage.
"That manuscript still meant so much to me, [it] was the only thing I still prioritised saving."
The book became a huge worldwide success (Warner Bros. Pictures.)She added: "The only thing I prioritised beyond that was my daughter but at that point she was still inside me so she is as safe as she can be in that situation."
Rowling recalled the night she 'cracked' and left the relationship. She said: "There came a night where he became very angry with me and I cracked and I said ‘I want to leave’.
"He became very violent and he said ‘You can leave but you’re not getting Jessica, I’m keeping her, I will hide her’.
"So I put up a fight and I paid the price. There was a violent scene which terminated with me lying in the street.
"I went to the police and filed a complaint and the next day went back to the house with the police and got Jessica."
* If you need help, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 - it's run by charity Refuge and the free number is in operation 24 hours a day
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