Danielle Mason has claimed she was physically attacked by her ex-fiance Lee Dopson after her engagement party in November last year.
Taking to Instagram, the star, 42, whose half-sister is EastEnders‘ Jessie Wallace, shared an image of her face alongside a number of stories detailing her legal woes with Lee, 45, to whom she has served a non-molestation order last week.
Danielle told the Daily Mail the image of her facial injuries came from the night of the couple’s engagement party in November 2024, when they hosted a lavish bash at the DoubleTree By Hilton St Anne’s in Wokingham.
Danielle, who began dating Lee in 2023 after meeting in a supermarket on their respective school runs, told her 46.3k followers that she felt forced to address the issue after Lee posted his own claims on social media.
Lee had posted a video montage of his face with various bruises, which Danielle told the Daily Mail were the result of self-defence amid the attack.
Danielle Mason has claimed she was physically attacked by her ex-fiance Lee Dopson, after sharing an image of her face alongside videos detailing their legal battles
Danielle told Daily Mail the image of her facial injuries came from the night of the couple’s engagement party in November 2024 (pictured)
In her stories, she insisted Lee had breached a court injunction (the couple pictured last year)
The Daily Mail has contacted Lee for comment.
In May, Danielle confirmed she had split from the garden landscaper as she revealed she was ‘entering a new chapter in life’, however she had never spoken out about the intricacies of the split until her comments on Monday evening.
The couple both have children from previous relationships, with Danielle sharing two kids, 12 and ten, with her ex-husband Tony Giles, with whom she starred on Channel 4’s hit show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
Danielle shared an image of her face with a fat lip, scrapes across her chin and a swollen nose with ‘engagement’ written on top.
In her stories, Danielle spoke to the camera saying: ‘Right obviously I don’t want to take to social media about personal things but obviously sometimes in life you have incidents that go on behind closed doors…
‘I’ve had an incident go on where I’ve had to have a non-molestation [order] which was granted to me last week at Slough Court. I’m not sure why the person I’ve done it against has felt the need to then go post about me more but it is becoming a bit of a joke now so I’ve spoken to my solicitor today…
‘I’m not sure but from somebody that has done the things you have done to a woman and then you have the cheek to go and post that you’re some sort of innocent party it doesn’t sit well with me and I’m at a stage where I’m happy to speak out all truths.’
Danielle spoke on her Instagram Stories about the night in question and their legal battle
Lee meanwhile posted a video montage of his face with various bruises, which Danielle told the Daily Mail were the result of self-defence amid the attack
Danielle and Lee posed for romantic pictures at the event prior to the alleged attack
In May, Danielle confirmed she had split from the garden landscaper as she revealed she was ‘entering a new chapter in life’ (pictured: the couple announcing their engagement)
Danielle with her soap star half-sister Jessie Wallace in 2019
In another pair of stories, she again spoke to the camera, saying: ‘I’m not sure why you think it’s ok to demoralise a woman with everything that you’ve done and then take to social media to put her down even more…
‘The reason you didn’t get charged [for] what you did is because I refused to do statements but I was happy to get a non-molestation so I understand you wanted to post on social because you wanted some attention – I don’t want this attention…
‘But however if you’re gonna post about something as serious as that then I’m happy myself to come forward and put the truth out there…
‘Another thing I’m going to say is anyone that’s been through this, you’ll understand how hurtful it is when some people know what you’ve been through and will still stand by that abusive person and people know what’s gone on and still stand by them to keep face for their family…
She spoke candidly in the video about her legal woes
She rounded out her stories by writing a post simply reading: ‘I didn’t want to speak out but I’m getting pushed now’
‘It is so hurtful but once you get past that first couple of months… strength comes out and I can see now why so many women don’t speak out about what they’ve been through.’
She rounded out her stories by writing a post simply reading: ‘I didn’t want to speak out but I’m getting pushed now.’
A non-molestation order is a court injunction under the Family Law Act 1996 in the UK that protects an ‘associated person’ and/or any children from the respondent’s molestation, including from violence, threats, harassment, or pestering.
To apply, you must have been in a qualifying relationship with the respondent and complete Form FL401 on the GOV.UK website with a witness statement detailing your reasons for needing protection.
The provision can ‘prohibit the respondent from using or threatening violence towards you or children, forbid the respondent from contacting, harassing, or pestering you or children directly or indirectly, prevent the respondent from attending specific properties or areas, [or] prohibit the respondent from encouraging a third party to engage in any of the prohibited actions.’