Poonam Pandey has revealed that she lost her sense of smell after domestic violence by her ex-husband Sam Bombay. The model-actor, who has previously also spoken about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex-husband, said that the loss of sense of smell was also connected to the brain haemorrhage that she sustained during the violence. In a conversation with ETimes after leaving the show, Poonam said, "I can’t smell things, I ask people around me about the smell. That’s how I smell things. When the domestic violence happened with me, I lost the sense of smell completely. With brain haemorrhage, it is connected." She added, "But honestly, I am mentally and physically much stronger right now."
Poonam had filed a case of domestic violence against Sam just weeks after marrying him in September 2020. She opened up about the abuse on Lock Upp, revealing that he once beat her so much that it caused her brain haemorrhage. She said, "If I love my dog and sleep with them, he would say I love my dogs more than him. What kind of statement is that? Why should I get f**** beaten up for loving my dogs? Is that a reason to get a brain haemorrhage? Because I have one. "She added that her brain injury could not even heal properly because Sam kept beating her on the same spot again and again. She recalled, "I would apply makeup, gloss and laugh in front of everyone, to hide it. I would act very cool in front of everyone. I used to get hit on the same spot again and again. "Poonam Pandey, recently got evicted from reality show, Lock Upp. Poonam was facing a lot of health issues and she expressed leaving the show as she couldn't bear thing anymore. The Nasha actress broke down on several occasions after being betrayed by her own friends, but she continued to play her game and received huge votes from fans.