ITV weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth has said she could only access cash to buy things, including food, after her abusive ex-husband gave her permission to do soDaniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor14:53, 20 May 2026Updated 14:53, 20 May 2026ITV Weather star Ruth Dodsworth could only buy her lunch if her abusive ex gave her permission. The broadcaster, who has been a staple on ITV Wales for several years, leading the nation's weather coverage, had been in an abusive relationship with her ex-husband, silently dealing with coercive and controlling behaviour.‌Her ex, Jonathan Wignall, would take Ruth's salary and then only give her back the exact amount she needed to buy lunch. This was just one of the ways he would ensure that Ruth was financially dependent on him, in order to "maintain control" and isolate her.‌As well as this, Wignall would often bombard Ruth with calls and also turn up at the TV studios while she was working. As she slept, he would also use Ruth's fingerprint to access her phone and check her messages.‌In 2021, Wignall was jailed for three years for coercive and controlling behaviour and stalking. He was sentenced after a nine-year campaign of harassment and stalking during their relationship.But after their relationship ended, Ruth revealed she was left "absolutely penniless" and with debts that she "knew nothing about". Speaking to Emma Barnett for the BBC, Ruth said that Wignall was "charismatic" and had "money" when they first met, when Ruth was in her 20s.‌However, things changed when his nightclub business started to decline. Ruth said he went from being larger than life to "almost the other end of the scale". "That shift in our relationship probably also marked a shift in his behaviour towards me," she told the BBC.Speaking of how Wignall controlled her financially, Ruth explained it happened "slowly". She told the corporation: "My salary would go into my bank account but then he would take it out, so I would say in the last few years I had absolutely no access to my own money.‌"I had to ask him for money if I wanted to buy a sandwich at lunchtime. I would get the exact amount so he knew I could go and get a meal deal from a local supermarket and it didn't give me the means to go elsewhere, to sort of socialise with work colleagues, who may perhaps have been male."Wignall gave Ruth cash after her bank card "disappeared" and was never replaced. Ruth went on to say that he would turn up at her workplace, due to the crews being predominantly male. She added: "Part of my job is that I'm away filming, I'm on location."A lot of our crews are male, so I'd have to effectively prove who I was with, show that I was where I said I was, and FaceTime him. He would turn up at work just to check."‌Ruth became terrified of her ex-husband, and the extent of the abuse took a toll on her physically, with her hair falling out. Ruth would cry on her way into work before locking herself in a dressing room and putting on make-up to cover up the fact she had been crying.On the night before Wignall was arrested, Ruth was warned by her children not to return home from work. She said Wignall screamed and shouted at her over the phone, threatening to drive to the studios to collect her. It was then that her teenage children phoned her, warning her to stay away from the house.Ruth spent ten hours in the police station in October 2019, giving statements about the "most intimate, degrading" moments of her life. At this point, she said she didn't know about controlling behaviour until she was offered a booklet from the police.Article continues belowWignall pleaded guilty to one count of coercive and controlling behaviour and stalking. He was also hit with a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ruth. In one incident, she was pushed by her ex-husband and suffered a fractured rib.If you or anyone you know has been affected by this story, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247 or click here.Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.