Anger is a strong emotion that can very difficult to control, so it's not uncommon for a scorned person to take extreme measures to express their wrath.
But never in a million years did John Wayne Bobbitt ever expect that anger would drive his then-wife Lorena Bobbitt to dismember his penis in the wee hours of June 23, 1993.
The former Marine woke up to "blood everywhere" after Lorena used a kitchen knife to cut off the organ.
"It was a nightmare," he told ABC News' 20/20 in a new interview. "I cleared my thoughts, applied pressure. I went to wake my friend up to tell him to get me to the hospital."
At that point, Lorena had already fled the scene and driven away with both Bobbitt's penis and the weapon.
Thankfully, Bobbitt had a friend staying with them that night, so he was able to get to Prince William Hospital in Manassas, Virginia "within 10 minutes."
Upon arriving to the Emergency Room, the staff and doctors initially assumed he sustained injuries on his wrist. Nothing could've prepared them for the gruesome and bloody that Bobbitt was about to show them.
As expected in this type of situation, their "jaws dropped" when they saw the injury. However, the medical team, including urologist Dr. James Sehn and plastic surgeon Dr. David Berman, wasted no time in wheeling Bobbitt into the surgery room.
It took nine hours, but the doctors were able to successfully reattach the penis after local authorities found it following a lengthy search.
The case shocked the nation, and left many scratching their heads, wondering why Lorena went to such a great length to hurt a man she once loved.
It wasn't until she was arrested and charged with malicious wounding that she revealed the reasons behind her drastic behavior. Lorena claimed that Bobbitt was abusive, sexually and physically, and the last straw was when he came home drunk earlier that night and raped her.
"I picked up the knife," Lorena Bobbitt told ABC News in '93. "I went back to the bedroom. I took the sheets off, I cut him. Everything was just fast."
Lorena was facing 20 years in jail if convicted, but she would later be found not guilty on the grounds of temporary insanity. She spent five weeks at a mental hospital for treatment, and expressed her remorse after being released.
"I never meant to hurt anybody," she said at the time. "I never hurt anybody before. It just happened."
As for Bobbitt, he has his own legal hurdles to overcome after getting charged with marital sexual assault. He was later acquitted and all charges were dropped.
Decades have since passed, but Bobbitt still can't believe his ex-wife, whom he finally divorced in 1995, managed to get away without punishment.
Lucky for him, he was able to regain full function of his penis after recovery, but it took quite a toll on his mental health. At one point he even contemplated suicide.
"It's normal now," Bobbitt revealed. "I don't want to mess with it... it's been through the wringer."
If you're interested in Bobbitt's story, a two-hour ABC News 20/20 special titled The Bobbitts: Love Hurts, is set to air on Friday, January 4 at 9 p.m. ET.
[H/T: ABC News/Inside Edition]
