A bullying and abusive man controlled his partner's life even down to what she ate. Michael Breakspear routinely monitored his girlfriend's phone and social media profiles, had control of her bank cards, and subjected her to repeated physical assaults.

Swansea Crown Court heard that whenever the woman went to the police to report the abuse the 32-year-old defendant would threaten to "ruin her life" as a way of getting her to withdraw the complaints. The court heard that on one occasion when the woman had bled after sex Breakspear boasted that "it wasn't the first cervix he had broken".

Sending Breakspear to prison a judge said he detected little if any remorse on his part and said the defendant had done his best to "destroy" his partner's life. The judge also noted the contents of a pre-sentence report which said that there were many forms of abusive behaviours and offenders usually engage in some of them but "Michael is the exception" in that he uses them all.

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Harry Dickens, prosecuting, said the defendant and the victim – who worked as a nurse – were in a relationship for around two years and soon after the relationship began Breakspear moved into the woman's house and became controlling towards her. He said the defendant would control what the woman ate and make references to her weight, calling her a "fat selfish pig", and would become unhappy if she wore tops which he considered to be "low-cut". Breakspear would also monitor his partner's social media profiles and look through her phone messages and if he found contact with other men he would start an argument. The court heard the defendant would also keep control of the victim's bank cards and would transfer money from accounts without her knowledge and heard that if the woman ever tried to talk about his behaviour Breakspear would become verbally aggressive and blame her lack of self-confidence on her childhood experiences.

The court heard details of one incident when the couple had had "extremely rough" but consensual sex after which Breakspear boasted: "That's not the first cervix I've broken". The court also heard of incidents during the relationship when the defendant had slapped and kicked his partner and pulled her by the hair, including one incident when he had assaulted her after becoming angry because he thought she was wearing the wrong sort of shoes for walking up Pen-y-Fan mountain, and another when he put his hands over her mouth and nose because he felt she was not paying him enough attention. The prosecutor also told the court about an occasion when the defendant woke up his partner "wanting attention" and repeatedly put his hands over nose and mouth to the point she started to feel she was blacking out. Breakspear repeated this action five or six times.

The court heard that during the course of the relationship the woman made a number of reports to the police about the assaults she was experiencing but ultimately withdrew the complaints after Breakspear threatened to "ruin her life". For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here.

The defendant was arrested at his home in Swansea in May this year and was subsequently interviewed in Ammanford police station. During the interview – which at one point had to be stopped after he lost his temper – Breakspear blamed his partner and claimed she was physically and sexually abusive towards him and had bullied him. He told officers he was going to "unravel her lies" and accused his partner of using the police as a "weapon" against him.

Michael Breakspear, of David Issac Close, Landore, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour and to intentional non-fatal suffocation when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 23 previous convictions for 33 offences including multiple public order matters as well as a harassment which had seen him threatening to pour acid over a previous partner.

Ross McQuillan-Johnson, for Breakspear, said the defendant's father had been an "extremely abusive man" who had left him with a "warped sense" of what relationships should be like. He said Breakspear's father had died earlier this year and if there was a "silver lining" to the death it was that other family members were now reaching out to the defendant. He said relatives had offered the defendant "the support he needs" as well as a job in hospitality management.

Recorder Mark Powell KC told the defendant he had subject his partner to coercive and abusive behaviour over a prolonged period by controlling her food, finances, and social media use as well as cutting her off from her friends and subjecting her to physical violence. He said on one occasion the defendant had also telephoned the woman's place of work making false allegations that she had been stealing drugs, adding: "You did you best to destroy her life."

Recorder Powell said he did not detect "much, if any, remorse" on the part of the defendant but did detect "a pattern of bullying behaviour" and he referred to a pre-sentence report which noted that there are many forms of abusive behaviours and offenders usually engage in some of them but "Michael is the exception" in that he uses them all. The judge also said Breakspear had engaged in "classic gaslighting" of his partner and said such behaviour was "extremely harmful".

With a 20% discount for his guilty pleas Breakspear was sentenced to three years in prison comprising three years for coercive control and 18 months for suffocation to run concurrently. He will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was made the subject of an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting his ex-partner.

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