Ronnie married
Phil Spector in 1968 and took his name professionally.
[29] In 1969, they adopted a son, Donté Phillip Spector. Two years later, Phil surprised her with adopted twins, Louis and Gary, for Christmas.
[30] "The more kids I got, the further I was in that mansion and I never got out until I ran out and escaped," she said.
[30]Ronnie detailed in her 1990 memoir,
Be My Baby, that she escaped barefoot with the help of her mother in 1972.
[31] "I knew that if I didn't leave I was going to die there," she said.
[32]
According to Ronnie, Phil subjected her to years of psychological torment and sabotaged her career by forbidding her to perform. He surrounded the house with barbed wire and guard dogs, and he confiscated her shoes to prevent her from leaving.
[33] On the rare occasions he allowed her out alone, she had to drive with a life-size dummy of Phil.
[32] She began drinking and attending
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to escape the house. She recalled that Phil installed a gold coffin with a glass top in the basement, promising that he would kill her and display her corpse if she ever left him.
[34] In 1998, Ronnie testified that Phil had frequently pulled a gun on her during their marriage and threatened to kill her unless she surrendered custody of their children.
[33] In their 1974 divorce settlement Ronnie forfeited all future record earnings because Phil threatened to have a
hit man kill her.
[33] She received $25,000, a used car, and monthly alimony of $2,500 for five years.
[33]
- and he didn't kill anyone
