Katie went on a couple’s weekend with fiancé Jamie Short and had to be rescued by police
06:30, 07 Feb 2026Updated 09:46, 07 Feb 2026
This photo of Katie and her ex-partner Jamie Short was taken less than 24 hours before he beat her up(Image: Katie Fay)
It was meant to be a romantic weekend away. Excited to spend time with her husband-to-be, Katie Fay had checked into a hotel room in Blackpool with her partner Jamie Short.
Just hours later, in that very room, the mum-of-three was beaten to a pulp at the hands of a man who was supposed to love her. She managed to dial 999 and scream for the help of Lancashire Police, while her fiancé pushed her to the floor and kicked her in the face.
Their relationship began with the promise of “I would never hurt you” when they met through Facebook in March 2022, Katie never imagined it would end with her fearing for her life.
Just four months after they met, in July 2022, Katie, 31, got pregnant with Short’s son and that’s when their “happy” relationship “completely changed.” She said: “As soon as I was trapped with his baby, he turned into a monster. Jamie pretty much wanted to move in straight away with me, he love bombed me, promising to give me everything that I’ve never had.”
Katie, from Wirral, says Short’s “monstrous ways” started by cutting her off from her family. She told the ECHO how he slowly stopped her contact with everyone and if she dared to contact her friends on online gaming sites, he would scream at her.
She said: “The first time he ever laid his hands on me he’d accused me of cheating and had me by my throat on the landing. My 11-year-old daughter came up the stairs and that’s when he let go. He was really nasty.
Mum Katie Fay feared for her life(Image: Katie Fay)
“He’d tell me to get surgery to change my body and tell me I was lucky that he was with me. He’d call me a s***, the name calling was unbelievable. I’d cry and he’d get his phone out and record me. He was evil.
“I’d tried to leave him but he would hurt himself if I tried. He once smashed a cookie jar over his face when I tried to leave and told me he would kill himself – it’s not a risk I was willing to take.”
As their relationship progressed, the “more of a monster” he turned out to be, says Katie, but she was too in love with Short to see his “manipulative” ways. And, when Short, who moved from Manchester to Wirral to live with Katie, got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife, she said yes.
Two weeks later, in August 2024, the newly engaged parents went on a couple’s weekend to Blackpool. They had been out drinking before things “turned nasty.”
Katie said: “We got back to the hotel room and he was being rowdy and abusive. I tried to leave the room to get some fresh air but he refused to let me. He pushed me to the floor and kicked me in the face, head, back. I reached for my phone, which was at the bottom of the bed and dialled 999.
“I screamed for 999 to get to me. He tried to leave but police arrested him and I was taken to hospital. I looked horrendous.”
Katie after she was discharged from hospital(Image: Katie Fay)
Katie still has flashbacks to this day. She said: “I struggle every day. More and more memories of that day come back to me. I feel like I’m back in that hotel room. Being kicked in the face has got to be one of the worst pains I’ve ever experienced.”
On June 5 2025 Short was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to 27 months in prison for causing actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker. Fearing for her life, Katie spent the next six months living in a women’s refuge with her three children to escape the threats which she says were being aimed at her. She said: “I was so scared. I was in a bad way, blaming myself for his behaviour.
“He broke me down to the point I cut my family off, I had nobody to reach out to.” Upon his nearing release from prison, Katie wanted to share her story to warn other women.
She says: “I’m in a new relationship but I’m still fearful of him. He keeps trying to contact me about our son, he sent me a love note last week. I’m scared of his release from prison.”
This photo of Jamie and her ex-partner Jamie Short was taken less than 24 hours before he beat her to a pulp(Image: Katie Fay)
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