Mike Caussin Offers Apology, As Jana Kramer Opens Up About Abusive Relationship

Jana Kramer has made headlines for her singing talents, earning her a place among some of the greatest contemporary country music stars, and for her ability to dance, which she shared in a recent Dancing with the Stars stint. What Jana’s fans and followers may not know is that she has a dark history, suffering at the hands of a violent ex-husband, long before she ever fell for Mike Caussin. Kramer now opens up about that experience, and just as Jana speaks about surviving domestic violence, Caussin steps up to offer a public apology for the ways in which he wronged Kramer in his relationship with her.

Mike Caussin Offers An Apology To Jana Kramer

Jana has had a hard time recently, and while her recent circumstances may not compare with her past experiences as a domestic violence survivor, New York Daily News reveals that there’s no shortage of hardships for the country music singer. After separating from her third husband, former Buffalo Bills tight end Mike Caussin, Kramer checked herself into a rehabilitation facility for treatment, though specific details remain undisclosed.

Though not cited as an instigation for whatever drug usage problems Jana may have experienced, she has opened up about Caussin’s infidelity. Jana says Caussin’s cheating came to her as one of the most devastating betrayals of her life, particularly because she had liked the person she had become while in the relationship with Mike.

Now, as Kramer opens up about her suffering and about a past abusive relationship, Caussin offers a public apology.

“I acknowledge that certain actions and behaviors have caused issues in my marriage and I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused Jana,” said Mike Caussin. “I have and will continue to take the steps needed to change who I am as a person in order to be a better husband and father.”

Jana Kramer Reveals The Details Of Her Abusive First Marriage

Before Michael Gambino was sentenced to prison in 2005, Jana Kramer reveals to Self that she was stuck in an abusive relationship with him. Almost as soon as they were married in 2004, Gambino began abusing Jana, and the country music singer reveals that his dominance over her included pushing her around, choking her, and verbally abusing her. Jana cites a recognizable cycle of abuse and forgiveness in describing the situation.

“He’d come home at 3 o’clock in the morning and pick me up out of bed, throw me onto the ground and start yelling and hitting,” says Ms. Kramer.

Jana was so frightened that she would sometimes sleep in her car or hide from him in the bushes.

“Then the next morning he’d be like, ‘Hey, baby,’ as if nothing had happened.”

Things came to a head one night when Gambino choked Ms. Kramer until she fell unconscious in the gravel driveway. Michael left her laying in the driveway all through the night, unconscious and beaten. Later, Gambino was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to six years in prison.

Jana shared the news that, following his release in 2010, Gambino lived free for two years before committing suicide in 2012.

“I literally walked around on eggshells, terrified to tell anybody, because I was so ashamed of the situation I had put myself in,” Ms. Kramer said in explaining why she tolerated the abuse for so long.

“I was like ‘I put myself in this and now I have to figure out how to get out of it, or stay in it and make it better.'”

Today, Kramer is speaking up about her experience because she hopes to encourage other women to leave abusive relationships before it’s too late. Jana recognizes that, while her past is painful, the experience puts her in a unique position to help other women escape bad situations.

Anyone finding themselves or a loved one in an abusive relationship should call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

[Featured Image by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]