Two months after returning to Ireland, Tori Towey (28), who was banned from leaving Dubai after being charged with attempted suicide after allegedly suffering domestic abuse, has said she started to "slowly get back to the person she used to be".

Ms Towey, a former Emirates flight attendant, has spoken about her life and recovery since returning home.

The Roscommon native had been living in Dubai for a year and returned to Ireland in July following help from the Irish Government.

While speaking to Georgie Crawford's The Good Glow podcast, she said she's "in a good place" now.

"I'm really good, I feel positive. I think my friends and my family have definitely been instrumental in making me feel like the old me again," she said.

However, she said it was "very difficult" for her in the beginning and she was "very anxious" when she first came back home.

"I'm in a good place right now. In the first few days of coming home, I was surrounded by a lot of people,” she said.

"But then, as the days went on, I started to feel anxious, overthinking everything. But now that time has passed, I feel like I'm slowly getting back to the person I used to be," she added.

Domestic Abuse in Dubai

She spoke of the alleged domestic abuse she suffered while living with her husband in Dubai. He denies all the allegations.

Ms Towey said the relationship between her and her ex-husband went "downhill" after they moved in together.

"He was very controlling, aggressive and just physically abusive,” she said.

"I just kind of isolated myself from everyone. I felt a lot of shame around it. I felt like I had brought this person into my life. I just felt like I'll handle this on my own, I'll fix this or things will get better.

"I kept telling myself: 'Just give it time. Things will work out'. But in hindsight, I wasn't able to handle the situation at all. It was more than me."

They got married in March and just one month later Ms Towey noticed the "big shift" in her ex-husband's behaviour as he allegedly started becoming controlling and abusive.

Ms Towey was the subject of a travel ban in Dubai after she tried to take her own life, which is a crime in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Escaping Dubai

She added she "doesn't think she would be here today" if her mother didn't come over to Dubai.

Her case was raised in the Dáil by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who said the Roscommon woman had been “the victim of the most gross domestic violence”.

The Irish government and diplomatic intervention saw the Emirates flight attendant return to Ireland two days later.

"I was talking on the phone to Simon Harris and he said to me: 'We'll get you home no matter what it takes'. It gave me just a sense of relief,” she said.

"To have someone so high up give you that reassurance was just the best feeling ever, it meant the world to me.

"It just gives you a new appreciation and you see your own country in a very different way, you come home and even seeing how green everything is, how beautiful the nature is here, things that I wouldn't have noticed before. Those little things like the friendliness of people here."

A Long Road to Recovery

Ms Towey said she feels like “she’s back to herself” now.

"I remember thinking at the time I'll never be happy again. I'll never laugh again. I was afraid of meeting up with people because it was always in the back of my mind and now I'm meeting up with friends, I just feel like I'm back to myself,” she said.

"When I came back, I was kind of frustrated at myself, why can't I get up and go for a run like I used to?

"I was just putting so much pressure on myself, and then I just said: 'Okay, let's get one thing done every single day, one thing at a time'.

"I just took it literally day by day. And I think that's the only way. You have to be kind to yourself and just think: 'It won't last forever. I won't feel this way every day'. So every day is a small win."

Ms Towey appeals to those who might have had similar experience to "reach out to people" and remember that there's "always a way".

"Never, ever put someone's happiness above your own because you only get one life and don't waste it. And if somebody loved you, they would never put you through that."

Back to Her Roots

Tori Towey returned to Ireland in July following diplomatic intervention. She has said that she is slowly getting back to the person she used to be, and that she feels like she is in a good place now. Towey's experience highlights the importance of reaching out for help and support when you are in a difficult situation. It also reminds us that there is always a way out of a bad situation, and that we should never put someone else's happiness above our own.