A husband who went viral with his wife after a dress bought for their wedding ‘broke the internet’ by sparking hot debate over its true colour is now accused of trying to kill her. 

Keir Johnston, 38, appeared at Glasgow’s High Court charged with attempting to murder Grace Johnston at their home on the Isle of Colonsay, in the Inner Hebrides, in March last year. 

He is said to have subjected her to a campaign of domestic violence and coercive control lasting more than a decade before trying to kill her by pinning her down and throttling her. 

The couple gained worldwide fame following their 2015 nuptials after the mother of the bride wore a dress that sparked global debate over its true colours – black and blue or white and gold. 

Nicknamed ‘The Dress That Broke the Internet’, it became a social media hit when it was first shared on Tumblr by guest Caitlin McNeill, who appealed for help in solving the dilemma. 

Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift all chimed in with their takes, while the photo was tweeted up to 11,000 times a minute. 

The couple went on to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where they were handed $10,000 and a trip to Grenada after revealing the dress was indeed black and blue. 

Charges against Johnston include pushing his wife against a wall, shouting at her and throttling her, before threatening to kill her and brandishing a knife towards her. 

He is also alleged to have attempted to enter a vehicle that his wife was in, striking her through an open window in the vehicle. 

Johnston also allegedly placed his wife in a headlock and dragged her from a pub after she refused to leave with him. 

Further charges claim he isolated his wife from her friends and monitored her movements and her finances, controlling the amount of money that she had access to. 

Following its initial popularity, the dress then featured in a domestic abuse campaign by the Salvation Army, who created an advert showing a bruised and beaten woman clad in a white and gold dress. 

The poster features a tagline reading: ‘Why is it so hard to see black and blue? The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in six women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.’ 

Johnston denies all charges against him, with the case due back in court for a further preliminary hearing ahead of a trial in 2024. 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article