Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex wife claims the elite soldier told her to lie about their marriage or she would lose her children even after his “affair” plunged the family into “chaos”.
Emma Roberts has also claimed her former husband became “paranoid” after confessing to writing threatening letters to his former SAS squadmates – claims Mr Roberts-Smith denies.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers and journalists over a series of articles he claims falsely portrayed him as a war criminal killer and a domestic violence abuser.
Nine stands by the articles and has called SAS witnesses to testify Mr Roberts-Smith committed or was involved in six unlawful killings in Afghanistan.
He denies each and every allegation.
Nine, on Monday, changed tack and put the SAS veteran’s former wife, and mother to his children, on the stand to testify about the dying days of their relationship.
Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith sent threats in the post to former SAS squadmates saying they would be exposed as being killers and liars if they spoke against him at a military inquiry into war crime allegations.
“You and others have worked together to spread lies and rumours to the media and (Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force) inquiry,” the letter in June 2018 reads.
“You must approach the inquiry and admit that you have colluded with others to spread lies.”
The Victoria Cross recipient denies sending the letters.
Ms Roberts, in the witness box on Monday, claimed her husband had come home carrying a bag of paper, envelopes and gloves.
Some weeks later, in June 2018, Nine published an article saying members of the SAS had received threats.
The article did not allege Mr Roberts-Smith had sent the letters – but Nine now claims he was the author.
“What the f*** have you done?” Ms Roberts said she asked her husband when the news emerged.
“He told me he had written the letters, had saved them on a USB and printed them at the Seven office, had sealed them in envelopes and given them to John McLeod to post.”
Ms Roberts said Mr Roberts-Smith had asked about the SAS regiment’s post office box and had asked how Australia Post had worked – whether they used security cameras.
He became “quite paranoid about the stamps” used on letters, Ms Roberts claimed.
Mr McLeod has previously worked as a “fixer” for Australians in trouble overseas – his clients have included Schapelle Corby and a 60 Minutes crew member locked up in Beirut.
He worked for the Roberts-Smiths and will give evidence about his role in the letters, Nine claims.
The articles were part of a devastating year, Ms Roberts told the Federal Court on Monday.
Ms Roberts had suspected her husband had been having an affair late in 2017 when she heard a mysterious phone buzzing in the marital bedroom.
She told the court she had noticed Mr Roberts-Smith switching off his phone while he travelled and taking lots of selfies – that were not meant for his wife.
Then, on their wedding anniversary in December 2017, Ms Roberts claims she found a letter in the family letter box.
“Where is this affair taking you?” the letter read, claiming Mr Roberts-Smith had been spotted with an unknown woman at a luxury hotel in Sydney.
“Save your marriage and your family please.”
The letter was signed off “a friend at 7”, the media network where Mr Roberts-Smith worked in Queensland.
Mr Roberts-Smith denied he was having an affair, she told the court, and pointed the finger at a former SAS squadmate who is known to dislike the Victoria Cross recipient.
“We had dinner as a normal married couple (that night),” Ms Roberts told the court.
“In the back of my mind I knew Ben was lying to me – and I was terrified of what it now looked like.”
Ms Roberts became emotional, breaking down in tears while telling the court how the relationship began to unravel even further in the months that followed.
Ms Roberts was out shopping when she was called by a woman known to the court as Person 17.
Person 17 was “Ben’s girlfriend”, Ms Roberts told the court, and was waiting at the family home to meet her.
Ms Roberts drove home, the court heard, anxjmtzywd saw Person 17 wearing large sunglasses in the garden.
Person 17 removed her sunglasses, Ms Roberts said, revealing a black eye.
“What happened to your face?” Ms Roberts said she asked.
“I fell down drunk a set of stairs at Parliament House,” Person 17 responded, the court heard.
When asked whether Mr Robert-Smith “did that to her” Person 17 did not reply.
Mr Roberts-Smith has long denied he ever laid a hand on the woman, saying abuse of women is an act of “cowardice”.
The SAS veteran’s lawyers say there is CCTV showing Person 17 tumbling down the stairs in Canberra and Mr Roberts-Smith stayed up all night making sure she was okay.
Person 17 showed Ms Roberts text messages with her husband revealing they had been keeping a secretive relationship.
Ms Roberts said she ordered Person 17 to leave the home and never come back.
“It was complete chaos,” Ms Roberts said.
“(Person 17) said she’d fallen pregnant in the relationship. She said it was definitely Ben’s. I asked if she’d lost it or had an abortion and she didn‘t answer me.”
“My life had just imploded,” Ms Roberts said.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, grilled Ms Roberts about when she learned about the affair.
Ms Roberts, in a sworn statement in September 2020, said she had actually found out about Person 17 months before the “mistress” showed up at the marital home.
Ms Roberts maintained she only learned about Person 17 when she arrived at her home in April 2018.
In 2018 Nine published articles claiming Mr Roberts-Smith was a killer and had physically assaulted his mistress.
Ms Roberts cried into her hands, in the witness box on Monday, explaining how the articles “devastated” Mr Roberts-Smith.
“Why doesn’t dad smile anymore?” one of Ms Roberts’ young daughters asked, the court heard.
The court had to adjourn so Ms Roberts could compose herself.
Earlier she had claimed Mr Roberts-Smith told her they needed to do a story saying they had been separated throughout his relationship with Person 17.
Ms Roberts claims her husband ordered her to “lie” in the media and a journalist from The Australian was coming to their home to do a front-page story.
“He pointed to our children in the loungeroom and said ‘if you don‘t lie you will lose them’,” Ms Roberts said, becoming emotional.
Ms Roberts said a public relations manager from Seven called and asked what she’d wear for the photograph in the newspaper, advising her to “look sad”.
Mr Roberts-Smith has denied his relationship with Person 17 was an affair and maintains he was separated from his wife.
The trial continues.
