Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter explains what she would say to her mom now after revealing they no longer speak
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing
Gisèle Pelicot's daughter has revealed the four words she would say to her mom following the breakdown of their relationship.
The 72-year-old gained worldwide fame last year as she boldly waived her right to anonymity to bring her monstrous husband to justice.
Dominique Pelicot stood trial after he was found to have spent years secretly drugging his wife before raping her and allowing dozens of men to violate her - all while filming the horrific acts.
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Pelicot, who is also 72, allowed strangers to come into his house and rape Gisèle between 2011 and 2020. Fifty men were convited of rape, the majority of which came within a 30-mile radius of Mazan - a commune in the southeast of France.
"Shame must change sides," Gisèle said during the trial of her disgraced husband of 50 years, as she stressed that the shame associated with sexual violence should be borne by the perpetrator, not the victim.
Pelicot was found guilty of the crimes against his wife, as well as the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused, and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Darian, as well as his daughters-in-law.
He was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Now, Caroline has revealed that she no longer speaks to her mom following the trial - which concluded in December, 2024.
Speaking with The Telegraph, the 46-year-old revealed that she would only have four words for her mom if she saw her in a public setting.
They are: "'Hello mum’ and ‘goodbye mum'."
Explaining why, she continued: "Because she’s made her choices. She’s got her new companion [an ex-Air France steward known only as Jean-Loup, whom she met through friends in 2023] and he was there during the trial.
"She’s started a new life, and I respect that. What I don’t respect is that she didn’t fulfil her contract with me. You stay a mother until you die, whatever the trials and tribulations - but she didn’t."
Caroline claims that Gisèle never believed her when she insisted that her disgraced father went beyond drugging her by also taking indecent photos of her, as she stresses that he raped her - something Pelicot has denied and has not been found guilty of.
She claims that her mom insisted that 'your father is incapable of such a thing' - something she discussed further in her new book, I'll Never Call Him Dad Again.
Deleted pictures of Caroline were recovered from Pelicot's hard drive, which depicted her unconscious wearing underwear that wasn't her own - with them kept under the file 'My Daughter Naked'.
During sentencing, Caroline told the judge how she felt as if she was the 'forgotten victim in this case'.
Speaking of her relationship breakdown with her mom, Caroline added: "But in that courtroom, she was supposed to help me. And that, I can never forgive her for. Never."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: France, World News, Crime
Joe Yates