\u201cOne day when you think this is all over and you have a family of your own and I\u2019m all alone I\u2019m going to kill your child in front of you or your husband,\u201d read another message.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the messages became more graphic in nature, frequently detailing scenes of rape and torture, Gibson\u2019s self-image plummeted. \u201cMy body dysmorphia became debilitating,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cI couldn\u2019t take my clothes off without thinking about Greg promising to stab, slice and decapitate me.\u201d She found it increasingly hard to leave the house and withdrew socially. \u201cI started ignoring phone calls, cancelling plans and failing to reply to texts, and in person I\u2019d be bad company, distracted each time my phone lit up with another reminder of Greg.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Greg\u2019s thousands of messages sent over a near-decade.<\/p>\n
Gibson first reported Greg to the police in April 2022 after enduring weeks of particularly graphic harassment and he was soon served with a criminal harassment letter that prohibited him from contacting her. The communication stopped for months, until a flurry of notifications around that Christmas indicated that someone had been attempting to log in to her social media, while her inbox became inundated with hundreds of newsletter sign-ups under threatening user names. These included \u201cHi Cutyourthroat\u201d and \u201cKia ora I need to slice your smile off your face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning from her summer holiday in January 2023, Gibson took a dossier of this new communication from Greg to the police. She would continue to forward them dozens of distressing screenshots for months to no avail: \u201caside from an acknowledgement of my emails and one update from an officer in April, I heard nothing from the police during this time.\u201d Even when the harassment moved offline, with human faeces and expletive-ridden letters left in her mum\u2019s letterbox, Gibson was told to contact 105 and speak with a new police officer every time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis meant that each time I reported something new that had shown up in my mum\u2019s letterbox, I had to explain the whole story, again and again,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cI\u2019d often get the impression officers weren\u2019t taking my fear seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greg was arrested in August 2023 after submitting a threat against Gibson\u2019s old workplace using her name and contact details. He was charged with two counts of causing harm by posting digital communication and one count of criminal harassment, and sentenced to supervision for 12 months and community detention for six months. But just hours after leaving the courtroom, Gibson received another newsletter sign-up under a threatening name. One month later, Gibson\u2019s mum received another aggressive handwritten letter at her address.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the end of the article, originally published in November 2024, Gibson was continuing to report these communications to the police as they arrived, and Greg was continuing to harass her and her family. \u201cFor my entire adult life and much of my adolescence, he tormented me,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cEverything I set out to achieve (finishing high school, completing bachelor\u2019s and honours degrees, embarking on my career) and every ordinary event I experienced (heartbreak, loss, illness, insecurity, family struggle) I did under the weight of Greg stalking me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeni Gibson in new Sky documentary Stalked. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
Speaking more than 18 months after first telling her story,\u00a0 Gibson says the response from readers was \u201cunbelievable\u201d. In fact, she\u2019s still coming to terms with the way strangers and acquaintances reached out to share their own stories. \u201cIt became this mirror of other people\u2019s experiences,\u201d she says. It made speaking up feel the right thing to do. \u201cI really wanted to show that there\u2019s no shame in it,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt shame for so long that I knew I needed to go in head first and show other people that it\u2019s okay to do it too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the publication of the article, Gibson also had a video call with senior representatives from police and corrections. \u201cThey said sorry and they offered me a single point of contact moving forward,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t lost on me that the only reason that they were offering me this kind of good service was because of the bad press they\u2019d got.\u201d She didn\u2019t accept the apology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gibson says she has continued to feel disheartened by a lack of communication and updates, and hasn\u2019t been in touch with NZ Police since March 2025. \u201cIf the worst happens to me or my family, the police already have everything there to stop it,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like I get nothing more out of saying the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inspector Jason McCarthy, Wellington area prevention manager for NZ Police told The Spinoff last week that he acknowledges Gibson had to deal with several different officers, and accepts the difficulty she faced as a result. \u201cPolice have made changes to the way we assess and respond to these sorts of incidents,\u201d he says. As for the time it took for any action to be taken, McCarthy says it is crucial that police are able to put a robust case before the court. \u201cFor a number of reasons, this can take time, including the time it takes to gather sufficient evidence and to ensure we are meeting the Solicitor General\u2019s guidelines for prosecutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictims deserve Police to be at their best, and it is a priority for us to ensure we deliver on this. We accept that in Ms Gibson\u2019s case we did not always achieve this, and we have since made a private apology to Ms Gibson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gibson isn\u2019t done speaking up. She is now telling her staggering story in the new Sky three-part documentary Stalked. While she initially had reservations, advice from her dad encouraged her to do it. \u201cHe said \u2018you have now told your story, so the element of releasing shame and regaining your power has already been done. Now it\u2019s about what you can do with more exposure\u2019.\u201d It was a pivotal piece of advice. \u201cI realised it\u2019s now about using my experience and the platform that I\u2019ve now gained to help other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I\u2019d had something like my article or Stalked when I was in the thick of it, and how much it would have meant to me to be able to see what I was going through from someone else,\u201d she adds. \u201cI can\u2019t overstate this: it would have been life changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That also meant connecting with other stalking survivors Jazz Thornton and Nortessa Montgomerie, who also share their stories in the documentary. Mental health advocate Thornton experienced a chilling chapter in which one of her followers flew from the other side of the world and visited her home address, and Montgomerie became trapped in a coercive relationship that descended into domestic violence and kidnapping. The trio now share a group chat, and still talk regularly. \u201cIt was so beautiful, how instant the connection was between us,\u201d says Gibson. \u201cThe more we spoke, the more we saw that we were all holding a mirror up to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the documentary delves back into the darkest parts of Gibson\u2019s story, it also charts her instrumental role in bringing about legislative change. After sharing her story publicly, Gibson was contacted by Green MP Tamatha Paul, who would go on to propose an amendment to the Crimes Act to make stalking a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Gibson visited parliament to deliver an oral submission in early 2025 and in November 2025, a year after her article was published, the bill to criminalise stalking was passed into law<\/a>. \u201cI was elated,\u201d says Gibson. \u201cThat was a moment where I was like, \u2018holy shit, we have done something big\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n With the law set to come into effect later this month, Gibson hopes that the public discussion around combatting stalking will only continue to gain momentum in Aotearoa. \u201cI think that there\u2019s a tendency for the conversation to slow down once legislation is passed and once something becomes a law,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it will help police response, but it does get my back up a bit to hear the conversation around \u2018well now we can help\u2019 because a lot of stalking does fall into other acts that were already there to protect people.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspector Jason McCarthy says when the new stalking and harassment offence comes into effect on May 26 it will bring improvements. \u201cThis will provide greater clarity and new tools for Police and victims, ensuring we continue to have a clear focus on putting victims first.\u201d Gibson remains cautious about how it will be implemented by police. \u201cI\u2019m interested to see how it plays out, to be honest, because there\u2019s a lot of work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n Gibson says Greg continued to contact her and her family following the publication of her story. Over 10 years now since he first made contact, she says there\u2019s been no resolution. \u201cHe was sentenced for the two emails but then it [the harassment] continued after that \u2013 I\u2019m always just waiting for it to come back.\u201d While he\u2019s gone quiet, she says the silence can be just as scary. \u201cThe thing with stalking is that there\u2019s no neat way to package up the traumatic event. It\u2019s not something that just happens and then stops. It\u2019s something that stops and starts and you never know what\u2019s around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Gibson is rebuilding her life in the UK, where she feels as if \u201cevery single day I\u2019m grateful to be slowly returning to myself.\u201d She describes the effects of stalking as \u201caftershocks\u201d which still come and go, but is embracing small wins, like starting to run in public again. \u201cThe more I\u2019m coming to terms with the gravity of what has happened to me, the more I realise that I escaped something really scary. I am so lucky and grateful to be alive.\u201d Her focus now is on qualifying to be a lawyer, where she plans to work in advocacy and policy change. \u201cIt feels like the start of a new chapter in this very long story,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really hoping that it\u2019s a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n Stalked begins 8.30pm May 4 on Sky Open, with all three episodes available to stream on NEON from today.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you or someone you know is in need of support, get in touch:<\/p>\n TAUTOKO Suicide Crisis Helpline<\/a> \u2013 0508 828 865<\/p>\n 1737<\/a> \u2013 Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor<\/p>\n Lifeline<\/a> \u2013 0800 543 354 \u2013 Free text 4357 (HELP)<\/p>\n Samaritans<\/a> \u2013 0800 726 666<\/p>\nJazz Thornton, Nortessa Montgomerie, and Zeni Gibson. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n