PAUL Grabham said that he and his future wife were "mutually attracted" when, at the end of 2007, they met at a Bridgend brothel where she worked a prostitute, plying her trade under the name Megan.

He, too, worked in the sex industry as a prostitute and had both male and female clients, the court heard.

In August of 2008, they were returning together from a client's house in Bridgend when an argument erupted as they waited for a train.

This led to Grabham catching a bus home, while his wife travelled by train. But during the journey she self-harmed, injuring her forehead, leg and arm, and had to be brought home by the police.

Grabham said that during their marriage she self-harmed on 15 to 20 occasions, sometimes cutting herself with a glass or knife or punching herself in the face.

Asked by his barrister, how he felt about his wife working as a prostitute, Grabham replied: "It was fine by me. It was just a regular job as I looked at it."

Grabham said that during their marriage his wife usually traded from their flat.

Sometimes she would visit clients — but for this she charged more.

When she was entertaining clients at Rosehill Terrace, Grabham would make himself scarce — and she would send him a text message when the client had gone.

Grabham said he and his wife advertised their services on a website, and clients would get in touch through the internet or by mobile phone.

Sometimes she would get three or four calls a day, he said.

Questioned about their finances, he agreed 80 per cent of the money they made from prostitution was as a result of work done by his wife.

They also made money by selling cannabis grown in their attic.

Grabham emphasised his wife never worked as a prostitute on the streets.

"She had a small number of quite faithful clients who came to her again and again, who liked her a lot and who she felt safe with," he said.

Grabham was adamant that if, last March, his wife had a client who was being "difficult", she would have told him about this.

The court heard that during their relationship the Grabhams had used websites together to meet "like-minded" people for casual sex.

But there came a time when Mrs Grabham got very angry after she found out he had been doing this behind her back.