Emilie Olsson fell in love with a psychopath – was saved by her grandmother

The podcaster and journalist Emilie Olsson traveled to New York as a 25-year-old with luggage filled with dreams of the United States and the future. She met a man who caught her interest and they kept in touch after Emilie Olsson returned home to Sweden.

– He gave me a lot of attention and confirmation. Then there was also the dream of this city. And he looked good. He was very sure that he saw potential in this, that it could be really good. He was intense, but he wasn’t unpleasant. Not at first, she says.

“It comes stealthily”

The long-distance contact became increasingly intense and the man visited Emilie in Sweden. She traveled back to New York after some time and the couple moved in together.
But the grand love story did not turn out as expected, but a rollercoaster of conflicting emotions.

– He could say that he had no attraction for me or that he did not feel the chemistry he had wanted. But somehow this smooths over. It comes so stealthily and so little, says Emilie Olsson.

The man could watch Emilie while she brushed her teeth and comment on her gums. According to the boyfriend, she also drank too little water and the girls about her weight were many.

– The difficult thing about this was that he also said that I was the best thing that happened to him. And that I wouldn’t believe everything he says because he was “like two books – one thing is what I say, another what I do. And it’s your job to read between the lines,” says Emilie Olsson.

An event that lingers with the podcaster is when the couple went on a love cruise together.

– To suddenly take a strangle hold when you wake up in the morning. Not hard at all, I’d say. But still. It goes so fast and you panic. And then he says “I was just joking”, says Emilie.

Grandma booked a plane ticket

It became more and more difficult for Emelie to break away from the relationship. In the end, help came from an unexpected source: Grandma.

– She was very negative right from the start. I thought she was exaggerating and that grandma worries too much, says Emilie Olsson.

But grandmother, who is good at computers, sent articles about destructive relationships to the granddaughter and booked a plane ticket for Emilie and demanded that she come home to Sweden.

– She is strict. She spoke for real, says Emilie Olsson.

Trust your gut

Today, Emilie Olsson wants to give the advice to trust your gut if you meet a person who makes your alarm bells ring.

– I had the feeling from the beginning that I wouldn’t meet him. But I did it anyway, she says.