As Kyesha Finemore watched the skin peel from her body and blood pour out of her arms, she thought her young life was over.
The 19-year-old was doused in petrol by her boyfriend Brae Lewis when she was just 17 before he left her for dead withsevere burns to 21 per cent of her body.
But that was a horrifying escalation of months of violent fights between the pair which included a previous failed attempt to light Finemore on fire.
The 19-year-old said it wasn't the only time she had fuel poured all over her. Photo / Channel 10
Recounting the terrifying relationship on The Sunday Project, Finemore said each time she forgave her 17-year-old boyfriend and hoped things would get better.
Her mum Melissa Cooke warned her they wouldn't and that "situations like this don't end well".
Then in May 2016 Finemore was set alight after an argument about their mobile phone got out of hand.
"We started arguing, I pushed him, he pushed me, and then he sat down in the car," she said of the moments that led to the final attack outside their home in Marsden, Queensland.
"And I was standing at the end of the door and we were arguing and he threw the petrol at me and as he threw it he came around with the lighter and he lit it."
"My first reaction was to pat it down and I dropped."
Feeling herself immediately catch alight, Finemore "fell into a bin" and tried to put the flames out by patting her burning skin.
"Do you remember pain?" Wilkinson asked.
"The flame just built up in front of my face," she said.
"I kinda froze, and looked down at my skin peeling and blood coming out of my arms. Brae was standing in front of me screaming he was sorry, and I was scared I was going to die.
"I remember just panicking and stopping and screaming the loudest scream I've ever done."
Miss Finemore was left with burns on 21 per cent of her body. Photo / GoFundMe
Making the attack even more traumatic, Lewis quickly fled the scene on a motorbike with a friend.
"Oh it hurt, it really, really hurt, because he couldn't even wait around for the ambulance to get there," Finemore said.
It wasn't the first time Finemore had been covered in fuel.
She said the pair were living in a caravan out the back of Lewis' mother's house where a jerry can sat nearby without the lid secure.
"He threw the jerry can straight at me and the fuel went all over me," she said.
"He did try to light it but I threw myself back."
Finemore said the relationship started out innocently enough, with the pair living around the corner from each other and "hanging out every day".
"The start of it was really good and then as time went by it just got really bad, we were constantly fighting, and then the violence came into it," she said.
"The very first time he actually really, really hit me, he started having a breakdown and called me and said, 'hurry up, get to me' and I ran down there and he just backhanded me.
"I said to her a couple of times, 'it's not going to end well, situations like this don't end well'."
After the incident Finemore was rushed to hospital by a neighbour and placed in an induced coma for 24 hours with burns on her upper body, arms and legs.
Lisa Wilkinson's interview comes after her plea to end violence against women. Photo / Channel 10
During her month-long stay in hospital she underwent three painful skingrafts while Lewis was arrested and charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Earlier this month he was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in jail, with Finemore describing the lengthy sentence as a massive weight lifted off her shoulders.
"At least I'm not going to be scared walking down the shops or scared to just go see a friend or you now it's just a relief really," she said.
"I still have days that it's a struggle for me to get out of bed, to go for a shower."
Finemore said she was speaking out to encourage other young women to do the same.
"Justice was on my side, justice got dealt," she said.
"After all the pain I went through it was like, OK, no one ever deserves this.
"Speak up, talk to someone about it. Don't be ashamed of it because it happens."
If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you. • Run outside and head for where there are other people. • Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you. • Take the children with you. • Don't stop to get anything else. • If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay
Where to go for help or more information:
• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz • Shine, free national helpline 9am- 11pm every day - 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz • It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz • Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and middle eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584 • Ministry of Justice: www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice/domestic-violence • National Network of Stopping Violence: www.nnsvs.org.nz • White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women, focusing this year on sexual violence and the issue of consent. www.whiteribbon.org.nz
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