Lorena Bobbitt Changed Her Name to Lorena Gallo

Lorena Bobbitt, who cut off her husband’s penis in 1993, changed her name back to her maiden name, Lorena Gallo. She is the subject of the Lifetime movie I Was Lorena Bobbitt.

The film was narrated and executive produced by Bobbitt, and it stars Dani Montalvo as the lead. She was previously seen on Jason Segel’s Dispatches From Elsewhere and NBC’s Manifest. 

On June 23, 1993, Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s penis while he slept with an eight-inch carving knife, then drove and threw it out of her car window. She said she threw it out the window because it was too hard to drive with it in her hand.

She was found not guilty when charged with the crime, as the jury concluded that she was temporarily insane when it occurred.

Bobbitt Changed Her Name Back to Her Maiden Name

Bobbitt changed her last name back to her maiden name, Gallo, following the trial. She has since had a daughter and is in a long relationship with her partner David Bellinger. She told USA Today that they are not married, though she does sometimes refer to him as her husband.

“I believe in marriage as an institution, of course, and I respect that,” she said. “It was my choice. He even says, ‘If you’re ready to marry, I’ll just show up!”

Following her crime in 1993, there was a media circus around Gallo and her then-husband. The case was reported on all over the United States with many outlets focusing on what Gallo did to her spouse.

Gallo Did Not Move Away After The Trial

After the trial, many people may have moved away from their previous town in order to get away from the publicity. Gallo did not do that, instead deciding to stay at home.

She told the New York Times that it doesn’t take long for people to make the connection between her and the case when she introduces herself to people in Manassas.

“I live here. This is my home. Why should he have the last laugh?” she said when asked about why she didn’t move away.

She continued, saying, “I know I am still Lorena Bobbitt. That name you know, it’s very important here.”

After she served a brief stint in a mental hospital, Gallo went back to her work as a manicurist and later did hair and sold real estate, which was a big improvement over what life was like for her right after the trial.

“When I finished with the trial, in the beginning, geez, I couldn’t even go to the grocery store because people would say, ‘Oh my god, You know what, I know you.’ I just wanted to put my groceries down and go home,” she said. “I just wanted to take care of myself and my family. You know, just to integrate myself into normalcy and a normal life.”

She waited until she was approached by filmmakers and documentarians who would take the abuse she experienced and use it as the focus of the story, rather than what she had done to John, before giving any rights away to her story.

I Was Lorena Bobbitt premieres at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 25, 2020 on Lifetime.

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