John Wayne Bobbitt (born 1967) and Lorena Bobbitt (née Gallo; born 15 May 1969)[1][2] were an American former couple, married on June 18, 1989,[2][3] whose relationship received international press coverage in 1993 when Lorena severed John's penis with a steak knife while he was asleep in bed; the penis was successfully surgically reattached. Lorena, an Ecuadorian immigrant, claimed that her husband John, a bar bouncer and former U.S. Marine,[4] had raped and abused her for years. John was charged with rape later that year but was acquitted and subsequently starred in two pornographic films. The next year, Lorena was acquitted of assault by reason of insanity and went on to start a foundation for domestic abuse victims and their children.[5] The couple divorced in 1995.