My fianceé put shrimp in my food to cure my allergy. I almost died. So, I’ve had a severe shellfish allergy since I was a kid. We’re talking full-on anaphilaxis. Throat closes up, can’t breathe, the whole 9 yards. I’ve been hospitalized three times in my life because of it. And I always carry an EpiPen.

 This isn’t some mild, oh, my tongue tingles situation. This is a I could literally die situation. I’m a software engineer in Denver. Work remote for a fintech company. Pretty standard life. Been with my fiance Brooke for about 2 years, engaged for 5 months. She’s a wellness coach. Does the whole Instagram thing with meal plans, natural healing, anti- big pharma messaging, all that.

 When we first started dating, she seemed really understanding about my allergy. She’d always ask restaurants about ingredients, seemed genuinely concerned about keeping me safe. But over the past year or so, things started changing. Little comments here and there. We’d be at a restaurant and I’d ask the waiter to doublech checkck if the sauce had any shrimp paste or fish sauce, and she’d sigh and say, “You’re being so paranoid, babe. Just relax.

” When we went to her parents’ house and her mom made gumbo, I asked if there was any seafood stock in it. Brooke actually laughed and told her mom, “He’s a little paranoid about food. Don’t worry about it.” I had to correct her right there at the table. I’m not paranoid. I have a documented medical condition that’s put me in the hospital.

 She got mad at me on the drive home, said I embarrassed her, and made it sound like she was lying about something. The comments got worse. She started sending me articles about how many allergies are actually trauma responses and how gradual exposure can heal the body’s fear response. I tried explaining to her multiple times that this isn’t a fear response.

 This is my immune system literally attacking itself. This isn’t something you can meditate away or heal with positive thinking. She just get this look on her face like I was being difficult. The big fight happened about a month ago when she wanted to plan our honeymoon to New Orleans. She was so excited about eating like locals and trying all the authentic Creole food.

 I said that sounded great, but we’d need to be really careful about restaurant choices since so much of that cuisine involves shellfish. She completely lost it. She accused me of trying to control her experiences. said I was letting fear run my life and that she didn’t want to marry someone who was going to let a supposed allergy dictate everything we do. That one really stung.

Supposed allergy? Like I was making it up or exaggerating. I asked her point blank. If you can’t believe that this could literally kill me, how can I trust you to protect me when I need it? She got quiet and the next day she apologized. said she was just stressed about wedding planning and she’d be more supportive.

 I wanted to believe her. Here’s where everything went to hell. Two nights ago, I was working late finishing up some code. Brooke texted me around 700 p.m. saying she’d made homemade ramen for dinner. She makes it pretty regularly with chicken broth, vegetables, some pork, noodles. It’s always been safe for me. I sat down to eat and something tasted off immediately.

 There was this salty oceany flavor that wasn’t normally there. After about three or four spoonfuls, my lips started tingling. Then my tongue. Then this burning sensation in my throat that I recognized instantly. I was having a reaction. I stopped eating and asked her, “Did you put something new in the broth?” She was on her phone and didn’t even look up. Same as always.

 You’re fine. Just relax. But I wasn’t fine. My throat was starting to tighten. I could feel my airway getting smaller. I asked again and my voice was already getting horsearo. Brooke, is there anything with shellfish in this? She finally looked up at me and smiled. Actually smiled. I just added a little shrimp paste to boost the umami flavor.

 I wanted to prove you’re not actually allergic, just overreacting. I swear to God time stopped. She was still smiling like she’d done something clever. See, you’re still sitting there. You’re fine. You’re not going to die. My hands were shaking as I grabbed my EpiPen from my bag and jabbed it into my thigh.

 She rolled her eyes. Are you seriously wasting an expensive shot just to prove a point? I couldn’t respond because I couldn’t breathe properly. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. While I was waiting for them to answer, I grabbed a Tupperware container, scooped some of the ramen into it, and wrote evidence on a piece of tape.

 That’s when she started panicking. What are you doing? Stop that. This was just a social experiment. If you tell anyone, I’ll lose all my clients. The 911 operator answered, and I managed to weeze out that I was having anaphilaxis, that someone had deliberately put shellfish in my food. The operator stayed on the line until the EMTs arrived.

 When the paramedics got there, I was having trouble breathing, even with the EpiPen. They gave me oxygen and more medication. I pointed at the container of ramen and the shrimp paste jar and told them evidence. She knew. One of the EMTs said they’d bring it with them and notify the police. I specifically asked them to report this as possible intentional poisoning.

 Brooke kept trying to talk to the EMTs, saying things like, “He’s always dramatic about food. This is just his anxiety.” One of them cut her off and said, “Ma’am, we can see he’s having a severe allergic reaction. This isn’t anxiety. I’m writing this from my brother’s house. I got released from the hospital this morning.

 The police took my statement at the ER. They arrested Brooke right there in the emergency room waiting area. I don’t know what happens next. We’re supposed to get married in 3 months. I’ve already paid for most of it.” Both our families are involved in planning, and I genuinely don’t know if she was trying to kill me or if she’s just so deep into her wellness that she convinced herself modern medicine is all lies.

 Either way, I can’t marry someone who tried to cure my allergy by poisoning me. What do I do now? Update one. A lot has happened since my original post, and I need to get this out because it’s been an absolutely insane few days. So, at the hospital that night, after the EMT stabilized me and got me into the ER, the attending physician asked me what happened.

 I explained everything, the history of my allergy, how Brooke had been dismissing it for months, the comments about it being in my head, and what she’d done that night. His face went completely serious. He said, and I’m quoting, “This is assault with a deadly weapon. What she did could have killed you.” He said they were required to report it and he personally called the police to come take a statement while I was still under observation.

 Two officers showed up around 11 p.m. I walked them through everything. They asked if I wanted to press charges. I said absolutely yes. They told me the EMTs had brought the food sample with them and it was already at the lab for testing. They said they were going to speak with Brooke, who apparently had shown up at the hospital demanding to see me.

 The nurses had already blocked her from my room. I was moved to a hallway where I could see the waiting area, and I watched the whole thing go down. The officers went out to talk to Brooke. At first, she was denying it, saying she’d only put a tiny bit of fish sauce in the broth and didn’t know I was that sensitive.

 When they mentioned the video and the food sample, she changed her story. She started yelling loud enough that I could hear her from where I was. I was trying to free him from his psychosmatic fears. He’s not actually allergic. He’s just convinced himself he is. I was helping him. One of the officers read her her rights right there in the ER waiting room.

 They arrested her for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In Colorado, deliberately exposing someone to a known allergen that could kill them falls under that statute. Watching her get handcuffed in front of all those people in the waiting room was surreal. She was screaming that I was controlling and that I was faking my allergy to manipulate her.

 The officers walked her out in cuffs. The doctor wanted me to stay overnight for observation because sometimes you can have a secondary reaction hours later. I agreed. That night, I called my older brother and told him everything. He was furious. He said I could stay with him as long as I needed and that I absolutely should not drop the charges.

The next morning, things got even crazier. I started getting phone calls. First was Brooke’s mom screaming at me about how I was destroying her daughter’s life over a mistake. How Brooke was just trying to help and that real men don’t call the cops over kitchen accidents. Then Brooke’s older sister called saying basically the same thing, that I was overreacting, that I was being vindictive, that Brooke had told her I’d been abusing her by weaponizing my allergy to control what she could eat. I got added to a group

chat with some of Brook’s friends from her wellness coaching circle. They were all piling on, saying I was using the legal system to abuse a woman and that I was destroying her business over a mistake. Some of them were threatening to expose what I’d done on social media. I blocked every single number. I screenshot every message first, though, because my brother said I might need them for a restraining order.

 When I got released from the hospital the next morning, I went straight to the police station and filed a formal complaint. I also filed for an emergency protective order to keep Brooke away from me. The judge granted it within a few hours. Then I had to start dealing with the practical stuff. I called our wedding venue and explained what happened.

 When I told them my fiance had been arrested for trying to poison me, they immediately refunded our deposit. Same with the caterer and the photographer. Once they heard what happened, they either refunded us or said they’d only keep a small processing fee. Our apartment lease is in my name only. Thank God.

 I called the landlord, sent him a copy of the police report, and he agreed to let me break the lease early with no penalty given the circumstances. I spent the next two days packing up my stuff and moving it to my brother’s place in a storage unit. I also contacted my company’s HR department to let them know what was going on since I was going to need some time off.

 They were incredibly supportive. My manager told me to take whatever paid leave I needed and several of my co-workers reached out privately to offer support. The prosecutor’s office contacted me yesterday. They said the lab results came back. The food sample tested positive for shrimp protein. Obviously, combined with my medical history, the evidence, and Brook’s statements to the EMTs and police, they said they have a very strong case.

 The charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In Colorado, that can carry four to 16 years in prison, depending on circumstances. The prosecutor said they might be willing to consider a plea deal, but they wanted to know how I felt about that. I told them I’m not interested in being lenient. The prosecutor said that Brook’s defense attorney has already been trying to paint this as a misunderstanding or negligence at worst.

 My prosecutor shut that down hard. Said we have her admitting she did it intentionally. Brooke made bail after 3 days. Her parents paid it, but the protective order means she can’t contact me at all. She’s already violated it indirectly. I keep getting messages from her friends and family. I’m documenting everything and forwarding it to my attorney.

 Some of you asked about her wellness coaching business. From what I’ve heard through mutual friends, she’s losing clients rapidly. Word has gotten out about what happened and apparently several of her clients dropped her immediately. Her Instagram has been flooded with comments calling her dangerous and reckless.

Honestly, good. She was actively telling people to ignore medical advice, to treat serious conditions with herbs and positive thinking. If this situation has shown anything, it’s how dangerous that mindset can be. I’m staying with my brother for now. I’ll update again when there’s more news about the case.

 For now, I’m just trying to put my life back together. Update two. It’s been about 4 months since my last update, and a lot has happened. The trial is finally moving forward and I wanted to share where things stand because this whole process has been way more complicated than I expected. First, the legal stuff.

 After I made it clear I wasn’t interested in any plea deal that would let Brooke off easy, her defense attorney tried a different approach. They reached out through the prosecutor asking if I would write a letter in support of a reduced sentence. They tried to frame it as helping her get the treatment she needs rather than harsh punishment. I said no.

 My attorney advised that Brook’s lawyer was trying to paint her as mentally unwell rather than malicious, which might actually work in getting her a lighter sentence. But here’s the thing, she’s not mentally unwell. She’s arrogant. She genuinely believed she knew better than doctors, better than decades of medical evidence, better than my lived experience.

 That’s not a mental illness. That’s dangerous narcissism. The prosecutor agreed with me. They’re pushing forward with the full charges. Meanwhile, Brooke and her family have been running a full PR campaign. since she can’t contact me directly because of the restraining order. Her mom, sister, and friends have been all over social media.

 They’ve created this narrative where I’m the villain, controlling, manipulative, using the legal system to abuse a woman who made one mistake. Her mom posted on Facebook about how I destroyed her daughter’s life over a kitchen accident and how the justice system always sides with men. Some of her wellness coaching friends have been posting things like, “When did trying to help someone heal become a crime?” I’ve gotten dozens of messages from people I barely know, people from Brook’s life, telling me I’m going too far, that I’m being vindictive, that I

should be the bigger person. A few mutual friends tried to stay neutral at first, but eventually asked me if I was really going to send her to prison over this. My response has been consistent. Yes, because if I don’t, what’s stopping her from doing this to the next person who doesn’t fit her worldview? This isn’t about revenge.

 It’s about consequences. The crazy thing is, the more her family talks, the more people start asking questions. Her sister gave an interview to a local news outlet trying to paint Brooke as a victim, but the reporter dug into the story and ended up focusing on how dangerous the wellness coaching industry can be when coaches have no medical training.

 That backfired spectacularly. Brook’s business is basically dead at this point. Her Instagram, which used to have like 15,000 followers, lost thousands after the news broke. The brand she partnered with for clean living products dropped her immediately. Her website is still up, but the testimonial section is now flooded with comments from people saying she’s dangerous.

 On my end, I’ve been rebuilding. I moved out of my brother’s place into my own apartment about 2 months ago. It’s smaller than what Brooke and I had together, but it’s mine, and I feel safe here. I changed all my passwords, updated my emergency contacts, and made sure my medical information is with people I trust. I’ve been way more anxious about food in general now.

 Even at restaurants where I’ve eaten safely before, I find myself questioning everything. Did they really check the ingredients? Did they use the same pan they used for shrimp? It’s frustrating. Brook’s actions didn’t just almost kill me. They made me doubt my own judgment about who and what is safe. But here’s a more positive development.

 I started dating again. Nothing serious yet, but I met someone named Olivia at a friend’s barbecue about 6 weeks ago. She’s an elementary school teacher, and when I told her about my allergy on our first date because I’m going to be upfront about this from now on, her response was perfect.

 She just said, “Okay, so we’ll be careful with restaurants. I used to teach a kid with a severe dairy allergy. So I know how serious this stuff is. What do I need to know? No judgment, no eye rolling, no suggestions that I should try to overcome it. Just acceptance and practical questions about how to keep me safe. When she invited me over for dinner the first time, she sent me photos of every ingredient she was planning to use before I came over.

 She asked me to check that everything was safe. And when I got there, she’d made a simple pasta dish with marinara sauce. All ingredients carefully chosen, nothing even remotely risky. I actually got a little emotional about it, which probably seemed weird to her. But it was the first time since Brooke that someone had just believed me, believed that my allergy was real, believed that it was serious, and took basic steps to protect me without making it into a big dramatic thing. We’ve been on about six dates now

and it’s nice. She’s not brooke. She’s practical, straightforward, and when I tell her something about my health, she just accepts it as fact. What a concept. The trial is scheduled for next month. The prosecutor is confident given the evidence. Her defense is apparently going to argue that she didn’t understand how severe my allergy was, but that’s going to be hard to prove given that I told her multiple times, including about my previous hospitalizations.

I’ll update after the trial. Final update. It’s been about 18 months since my original post, and I wanted to give everyone a final update on how everything turned out. This will probably be my last post about this situation because I’m genuinely ready to move on with my life now. The trial happened last June.

 It took almost 8 months from the arrest to actually getting into a courtroom because of delays, procedural stuff, and Brook’s defense attorney trying various motions to get evidence thrown out. None of that worked. When we finally went to trial, the prosecution presented their case. They had the lab results confirming shrimp protein in the food sample.

 They had my complete medical history going back to childhood showing a documented pattern of severe anaphylactic reactions. They had testimony from the EMTs and the ER doctor. They had the statements Brooke made to police. Brook’s defense tried to argue that she didn’t fully understand the severity of my allergy and thought she was helping me overcome a fear response.

 Brooke herself testified, and honestly, it was painful to watch. She kept insisting she’d been trying to help me, that she’d done research showing that gradual exposure could cure allergies, that she never intended to hurt me. The prosecutor destroyed her on cross-examination, pointing out that she’d admitted that she deliberately added shrimp paste to my food and that she’d smiled when telling me about it.

 The jury deliberated for less than 4 hours. guilty on all counts. The sentencing hearing was two weeks later. The judge did not go easy on her. He said something I’ll never forget. Deliberately exposing someone to a known, potentially fatal allergen is not healthcare. It’s not helping. It’s assault with a deadly weapon.

 And the fact that you were in a relationship with the victim makes it worse, not better. He trusted you with his life and you gambled with it to satisfy your own ego. Brooke was sentenced to two years in prison. With good behavior, she’d likely serve about 14 to 16 months. After that, she has three years of probation and is required to complete courses on domestic violence and food allergies.

 She also has a permanent restraining order prohibiting her from contacting me. Her family lost it in the courtroom. Her mom was screaming about how I’d ruined her daughter’s life and how the justice system was corrupt. They got escorted out by baiffs. I just sat there feeling numb. Honestly, not happy, not sad, just done.

 The aftermath has been interesting. Brook’s wellness coaching business obviously doesn’t exist anymore. Her Instagram account eventually got deleted after it was flooded with comments. A few brands she’d worked with got in trouble, too, for promoting unlicensed health advice. There was actually a whole investigation into wellness influencers in Colorado after my case, which led to some new regulations about who can call themselves a health coach.

 I didn’t expect that, but I’m glad something positive came out of it. Brooks served about 15 months and was released a few months ago. She’s on probation now. The restraining order means I don’t see her or hear from her. And honestly, I have no interest in knowing what she’s doing with her life. I’ve heard through the grapevine that she moved back in with her parents and is working some kind of retail job.

 Her social media presence is gone. I hope she learned something, but that’s not my problem anymore. As for me, life has gotten a lot better. That woman I mentioned in my last update, Olivia, we’re still together. We actually just moved in together a few months ago. She’s been amazing through all of this. Patient, understanding, and completely respectful of my allergy.

 She does this thing where if she’s planning to cook something new, she’ll send me pictures of all the ingredients beforehand. Not because I ask her to, but because she wants me to feel safe. She makes it seem so easy. And that’s when I realized it is easy. It’s only hard when someone decides their beliefs are more important than your safety.

 I still carry my EpiPen everywhere. I’m still careful about food, maybe even more careful than before, but I don’t feel paranoid about it anymore. The hospital, the police, the prosecutor, the jury, the judge, they all confirmed that I was right to take my allergy seriously, that I wasn’t overreacting, that my caution was justified and necessary.

I’m not going to lie and say I’m completely over it, but I’m working through it and it gets a little easier each time nothing bad happens. I’m going to end this here.