How to watch My Wife My Abuser documentary – is it on Netflix?

The 2024 documentary My Wife My Abuser: Captured On Camera is a tough but compelling watch, so if you’re in the US or anywhere outside of the UK, here’s how you can stream it and if it’s on Netflix. 

There’s been plenty of new true crime to dive into this month, from the catfishing ordeal detailed in Sweet Bobby to Anna Kendrick’s masterful movie, Woman of the Hour. 

But one you may have missed is My Wife My Abuser. Through its examination of one of the UK’s worst domestic abuse cases, it breaks stereotypes about female-on-male violence. 

Richard Spencer recalls his harrowing experience in the documentary, having been beaten down physically and emotionally at the hands of his wife, Sheree Spencer, for two decades. Warning: some may find this content distressing. 

How to watch My Wife My Abuser on Netflix

Although the true crime documentary dropped on Channel 5 earlier this year, it recently became available to watch on Netflix UK. So, if you’re in the US or another country, you can watch My Wife My Abuser on Netflix using a VPN. 

It’s easy to watch international content on the streaming service this way. All you need to do is sign up for a VPN, connect it to the location where the content is available (in this case, the UK), and start watching. 

Alternatively, you can use the same method to create a free account on Channel 5’s on-demand platform and watch the documentary that way. 

What’s it about?

My Wife My Abuser centers on the case of Richard Spencer, who experienced abuse and violence for decades by his wife, Sheree Spencer. 

Alongside fresh interviews with Spencer and the police officers who dealt with the case, the two-part documentary shares footage and audio recordings he secretly captured of the abuse taking place. 

Domestic abuse is often portrayed as a gendered crime, but while the rates aren’t as high, it’s a frequent issue facing men too. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as one in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence in the US. 

The site goes on to state that many incidents go unreported. In the case of Richard, however, he was able to record a wealth of evidence, handing police over 43 images of his injuries inflicted by Sheree, as well as 36 video clips and nine phone recordings.  

As he describes in My Wife My Abuser, Richard and Sheree first met at a club in 2000 and later got married in Thailand. They went on to have three daughters together, living in a three-bedroom home. 

On the outside, their life looked perfect, but behind closed doors, Richard was suffering a torrent of verbal and physical abuse. Richard recalls how it started off with arguments and got progressively worse over time.

In one incident early on in their marriage, Sheree smashed a wine glass on his head. When they went to the hospital, she convinced him to lie about how he sustained the injury. One video from the hidden nanny cam also shows Sheree threatening Richard with a knife.

Police were shocked to discover about a more recent 10-day assault where Sheree beat Richard with a wine bottle, sometimes in front of their kids, causing a disfigurement of his ear and leaving him feeling like he was going to die. 

“Sheree’s abuse towards me evolved and escalated over time, she used repeated acts of physical assault, threats, verbal abuse, and humiliation to punish and exercise control over me,” says Richard. 

“The abuse was hidden from the outside world, including friends and family.” She controlled everything he did in their home, and used to threaten to make up lies about him if he ever went to the police. 

PC Cooke, a Humberside Police patrol officer who was called to the Spencers’ home, states, “It’s shown me that you can go to a leafy suburb with a Jaguar on a six-figure salary and find a monster within it.”

Did Sheree Spencer go to prison?

After a lengthy investigation by Humberside police, Sheree was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison on charges of coercive control and actual bodily harm. She was also given an indefinite restraining order to keep her away from Richard.

Her sentencing took place in February 2023 at Hull Crown Court, and she is currently incarcerated at HM Prison Askham Grange near York. 

The judge presiding over the case described what had happened as “the worst case of coercive and controlling behavior I have seen.”

Meanwhile, PC Adele Jenkinson of Humberside Police, who appears in My Wife My Abuser, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Mr Spencer’s strength, courage and patience throughout the criminal investigation.”

“Sheree Spencer is an abusive and violent woman who subjected her husband to years of abuse. The offenses were committed over a prolonged period of time and were regular, with several being carried out in a single day,” she added. 

“I hope this outcome demonstrates to anyone affected by domestic abuse and violence that, no matter who you are, we will listen, support and take positive action to deliver justice.”

At the end of the documentary, it’s revealed that Richard is now rebuilding his life with his three daughters in Yorkshire.

For more true crime news, read about Chris Brown: A History of Violence, how to watch the Ruby Franke movie, and how Rodney Alcala was caught in real life.