Is Debbi Wood the world's most jealous woman? NOVEMBER 16, 2013 9:57AM
Debbi uses a lie detector on Steve. Picture: Medavia. Source: Supplied
DEBBI Wood makes her partner Steve take a lie-detector test every time he leaves the house to prove he's been faithful.
She's banned Steve from watching women on TV or looking at them in magazines. She trawls through his emails and checks his phone several times a day. Even his bank statements aren't safe.
This is all because Debbi suffers from Othello Syndrome, a mental disorder which causes her to believe Steve has been unfaithful, The Daily Mail reports.
"Even if Steve pops out for 15 minutes to buy a pint of milk, I make him take a lie-detector test as soon as he gets home," Debbi says.
"I get so worried that he's been eyeing up the shop assistant that I just have to know the truth."
Mental health experts believe Debbi's unusual disorder was triggered by emotional trauma from a previous long-term relationship. When that relationship broke down three years ago, she vowed to never get into another one.
Then she was introduced to Steve on Facebook, the Mail says.
"I think he's gorgeous," Debbi says. "But that's not the issue. It's about whether or not I can trust him not to look at other women while he is out on his own.
"I don't want him thinking they're hot. If you're in a relationship and you're happy with your partner, you should only have eyes for that person."
When Debbi and Steve met, they lived in different countries. She travelled south to London from her native Scotland for their first date.
"The only problem was that we lived so far apart. We started to get serious and made plans to move in together but I then discovered that Steve had been seeing another girl around the time we'd first met," Debbi says.
"He claimed he didn't think we were exclusive because of the distance and I forgave him but I started to doubt whether or not he could be faithful."
Debbi has installed childproof filters to stop Steve accessing websites with sexy images of women. Pictures: Medavia. Source: Supplied
As the pair moved in together, Debbi installed childproof filters on Steve's laptop and mobile phone to keep him away from explicit photos of women. But she didn't stop there.
"One night, an advert for a women's razor came on television and I felt panicky thinking that Steve was eyeing the model up," she says. "The only thing that could put my mind at rest was banning him from watching any programs that have women in them.
"I won't even let him watch The Weakest Link in case he fancies (host) Anne Robinson, but I'm scared he'll have a sneaky look when I'm in another room," Debbi says. "That's why I decided to order the lie detector online. It was my only way of knowing for sure if Steve's eyes were wandering."
Debbi says her partner is generally honest, but she has caught him lying about looking at other women a few times.
"Sometimes, I get nervous and the lie detector results come back inconclusive because my heart is hammering, which makes Debbi doubt me," Steve says.
"I'm willing to put up with it, because I know we're soulmates. She's so special to me and a bit of jealousy here and there won't change that."
Debbi has been researching Othello Syndrome, which is named after the famously jealous Shakespearean character, and hopes to start a support group for other victims of the condition. She has been prescribed anti-anxiety medication and is having therapy.
She hopes to marry Steve, who proposed earlier this year, the Mail says.
"I've put Steve through a lot but he's stood by me through it all so I know he's the man for me," Debbi says.
