MMA fighter's wife: Haunted house caused husband to beat me
A former UFC fighter's wife said her husband hit her in part because their house was haunted.
Kaitlyn Grispi, the wife of former top MMA prospect Josh Grispi, said on "Dr. Phil" this week that the two would get into arguments because she was sure their Massachusetts home was haunted. Kaitlyn said her husband had started acting differently when they moved into the house.
Josh Grispi is in jail on multiple charges after allegedly physically abusing his wife and using his dog to attack her, among other alleged crimes, in August. He's being held on $200,000 bail.
"Josh kept telling me to ignore the house being haunted and I couldn't," Kaitlyn said. "It became an obsession. Josh had a good reason to hit me. I wouldn’t stop talking about the ghosts."
Kaitlyn Grispi said she was sure the place was haunted. They found baby jars filled with hair and papers with names on them in the basement and their son saw a figure in the home who resembles a man who died there, she said. Kaitlyn added that once their son seemed to be picked up from the floor into his crib by an unknown force.
Meanwhile, she said her husband had been acting oddly ever since moving into the house and spent a lot of time in the basement -- much like the man who lived there previously.
"What I thought is maybe whoever died in my house was having an impact on my husband, because he was doing strange things that he normally wouldn't do," Kaitlyn said.
Dr. Phil McGraw, the host of the show, posed a question that maybe Josh Grispi was spending more time in the basement, because that is where police found drugs. According to the police report, there were marijuana plants and 15 grams of cocaine there. Kaitlyn Grispi denied the presence of cocaine and said they had medical marijuana legally.
Josh Grispi called into the show from jail and denied beating his wife. He blamed his mother-in-law, who also appeared on "Dr. Phil." The show aired multiple photos of Kaitlyn Grispi with bruises and large bumps on her face. Josh Grispi said he could not speak about how she got those, because he had an "open case."
"My mother-in-law is the one who called the cops on me," Josh Grispi said. "She is trying to take my children from me, because she has some sort of control issue. My mother-in-law is trying to ruin my reputation, because it makes me look like a violent person, because I'm a professional [fighter]. So it looks like I like to hit and beat up people. My mother-in-law is trying to ruin my life."
Kaitlyn Grispi admits that her husband did hit her. She gave multiple reasons why, including that she's Italian, "mouthy" and doesn't "know when to shut up." Kaitlyn Grispi also said that "tons" of women in their town get beaten by their spouses.
She is determined to keep their marriage together and that his abuse is "not an every-day thing."
"I don’t think anyone deserves to be hit and that's what my husband said, too," Kaitlyn Grispi said. "People make mistakes. Do I judge anyone else's life? No."
At the conclusion of the episode, McGraw offered to pay for the help the Grispis need. Kaitlyn agreed.
"Right now, she has gone through so much abuse that she can't admit the truth," Kaitlyn's mother Karen said. "That's the real reason that we're here today. I'm afraid for her life."
