#RealEstateReset: How One Woman Broke The Chains of Domestic Violence And Financial Abuse To Became A Homeowner

Feb 22, 2023

5-minute read

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A black woman working on the wooden structure of a new house.

If you look at Star Hogan’s life today, it’s hard to imagine that the 50-year-old mother of three, grandmother of five, and proud homeowner, was trapped in a cycle of financial abuse by her former partner.

"I met my abuser while in college. I was a freshman and he was a sophomore," says Hogan. "After we became serious, I thought, 'We're going to graduate with our degrees, have 2.5 kids, a house, a dog, and all that good stuff.'

"We dated for a couple years before he started really doing the controlling and manipulating things in our relationship that I really didn't understand," she continues. "But I just thought, 'Oh, it's so wonderful. He loves me so much. He's just possessive of me.'"

Hogan could have never imagined that those early signs of possessiveness were omens of what was about to become a 15-year nightmare that would drain her financially, psychologically and emotionally, and even put her in physical danger.

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