The former Idol reveals to CLARE RIGDEN how her mother stepped in to put a stop to her partner’s abuse.
After the first series of Australian Idol, she was one of Australia’s brightest stars, but Paulini Curuenavuli’s home life wasn’t so glamorous. A victim of domestic abuse, she endured beatings that left her emotionally and physically scarred.
“There was a point where I said to myself, if I don’t leave now, I won’t make it,” she reveals. “Things were getting so bad that I was fearing for my life in those last few weeks.”
Paulini reveals how it was her mum, Miliana, who finally broke the cycle and rescued her.
“One afternoon things had got so bad that [Mum] saw the aftermath of what had happened, and that was it,” Paulini recalls. “She said, ‘OK, if you don’t want to do anything about this, I’m going to.’ And she took steps to inform the CEO of the company that was looking after my ex-partner. They were helpful and tried to get help for him.”
Paulini has made the brave decision to speak out about the abuse – widely believed to have taken place when she was dating NRL player Wes Naiqama – as a way of raising awareness.
She says she was one of the lucky ones because she had the support that made it possible for her to walk away.
“My mum and dad and my friends were so supportive all the way,” she says. “Even when they saw all of this happening, and I didn’t see it, still they were standing by me.
“I want to encourage women out there to talk to people – talk to family, talk to friends, talk about what is happening.”
And that’s exactly what Paulini is doing now.
