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Reality Star Said All Women Deserve To Be In Healthy Relationships

The world knows her story of an ugly domestic violence incident where her then-husband head-butted her.

And reality star Evelyn Lozada has transformed her personal pain into a crusade to help others stuck in the cycle of intimate partner violence.

The mom of two was the keynote speaker Tuesday in the Bronx at a march and rally to end domestic violence. Lozada marched alongside hundreds of demonstrators – many wearing wedding dresses – for the annual NYC Brides March to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

Photo By Ryan Stewart

Lozada married Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson in 2012, and just three weeks later the football player attacked her. She said she was rushed to the hospital and received six stitches on her forehead. About a month later, she later divorced the athlete.

“When do you stop ignoring a push, followed by a shove?” she asked. “When do you stop normalizing verbal and physical aggression? Six years ago I stopped ignoring all of this and made up my mind that love should never hurt. Not like this.”

The reality show vet said one of the reasons she left her abusive relationship was because she knew that her daughter and niece looked up to her.

Photo By Ryan Stewart

“I would be devastated if anyone treated my daughter the way that I was treated,” an emotional Lozada said. “And trust me, I am raising my son to be the most amazing man in the world, because we would never do that to anyone.”

Reported incidents of domestic violence in the Bronx rose slightly to 81,870 in 2014 from 81,794 the year before, according to the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

After her speech, Lozada spent time chatting with the fellow marchers and sharing words of encouragement with some of the domestic violence survivors.

“I feel empowered, and that’s why I wanted to be here today,” the mom of two told BOSSIP. “This feeds my soul. This is really what I wanna do. I know people know me from ‘Basketball Wives,’ but this is really what life is about.”

Photo By Ryan Stewart

Lozada also announced that she’s launching the Evelyn Lozada Foundation, a Bronx-based charity to support domestic violence survivors, and plans to donate her $25,000 wedding dress to charity.

“I am a domestic violence survivor, and this is my community,” Lozada said. “I always say, ‘yeah, I do reality TV, but me being a domestic violence survivor was my reality at the time.”

And Lozada said she had a special message for men and women who are still trapped in domestic violence.

“There’s help out there,” she said. “Nobody is going to love you more than you. So love yourself. Honor yourself. You are going to come out even better…Nobody deserves to be treated that way.”

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