Janay Palmer-Rice, wife of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, released an official statement via her Instagram account, after TMZ released a shocking video of the latter hitting his then fiancée while inside the elevator.
"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific," she wrote.
"THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel along, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!" she added.
In a recent interview with ESPN's Josina Anderson, Rice said that at the moment he's trying his best to be strong for his wife.
"I have to be strong for my wife. She is so strong. We are in good spirits. We have a lot of people praying for us, and we'll continue to support each other. I have to be there for Janay and my family and right now work through this," he said.
Palmer also spoke briefly to Anderson and said, "I love my husband. I support him. I want people to respect our privacy in this matter."
Meanwhile, the hashtags #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft went viral on Twitter following Rice's arrest. Both hashtags were used by Twitter users who were victims of domestic violence, assault and other types of abuses, the Huffington Post reported.
Twitter user @omgcornflakes for instance wrote, "#whyistayed because when he said he was sorry, I trusted that meant it would never happen again. Again. Again. Again. Again."