In 1993, Lorena sliced off John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis as he slept and threw it into a field, in order to stop him assaulting her.
He was acquitted of spousal rape, while Loretta was - after 45 years under psychiatric evaluation - found not guilty of malicious wounding by reason of temporary insanity.
“I cut off his penis because he abused me that much"
Now, speaking out on The Steve Harvey Show, she explained what really happened that night.
John Wayne Bobbitt was a charming husband, she said - until he took up drugs and alcohol.
He began abusing Lorena physically and sexually, she said, and she soon suffered from battered woman's syndrome.
Then, on June 23, 1993, in Manassas, Virginia, she "snapped."
“My body couldn't take it. My mind couldn't take it. I was very scared, so obviously I snapped,” she said.
“I cut off his penis because he abused me that much. That's what happens when a man pushes a woman so far and so low.”
She continued: "I'm here to tell you and to tell everyone what happens when a woman gets abused by a man.
"I didn't know where to go.
"I didn't know there were shelters for me to go to. And remember, I was isolated. I didn't have my family.
“I felt embarrassed to talk about domestic abuse... I felt ashamed. I felt scared."
Lorena has since rebuilt her life, and now lives with her second husband, David Bellinger and her ten-year-old daughter, Olivia.
She has thrown herself into charity work, founding Lorena’s Red Wagon in a bid to help other domestic abuse survivors.
“It basically helps women and children through family-oriented activities...I can provide for them. When a victim leaves the house they don’t have time to pack. They just have the first opportunity to leave,” she said.
“If any child in the shelter has a birthday we bring cakes... I want to bring hope to women and children of domestic abuse, and that’s what we do.”