Jana Kramer has said that her first husband, Michael Gambino, subjected her to escalating abuse and that a choking attack in 2005 left her fearing for her life. PEOPLE reported that Gambino was later convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to six years in prison. The account below attributes the details to Kramer and the outlets that reported them; it does not present her testimony as an independently witnessed account.
What Jana Kramer said happened during the marriage
PEOPLE reported that Kramer and Gambino married in 2004. In an interview with the magazine, Kramer described the abuse as escalating from pushing and verbal abuse to regular beatings. She said she concealed bruises with makeup and sometimes slept in her car or hid outside until Gambino calmed down.
She also described feeling ashamed and afraid to tell anyone. “I literally walked around on eggshells, terrified to tell anybody, because I was so ashamed of the situation I had put myself in. I was like I put myself in this and now I have to figure out how to get out of it, or stay in it and make it better,” Kramer told PEOPLE.
The reported 2005 attack and case outcome
PEOPLE’s account places the incident that ended the relationship on August 6, 2005. The magazine reported that Gambino choked Kramer unconscious and left her bleeding on gravel outside their Los Angeles home. Kramer told PEOPLE, “I remember praying that night, ‘Please, just take me away, I don’t want to be here anymore,’”
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PEOPLE reported that Gambino was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to six years in prison. The conviction and sentence are reported legal history; the reporting cited here does not include a court docket or other primary court record.
What Kramer said in later interviews
In interviews in 2016, around her appearance on Dancing with the Stars, Kramer spoke publicly about the abuse. Inside Edition quoted her recalling the choking episode: “When we were struggling, he was choking me. I see everything. I see my mom, I see my funeral,”
PEOPLE reported that Gambino was released in 2010. Reports differ on when he died: PEOPLE and TV Insider say 2012, while an Inside Edition report gives 2014. The available coverage does not resolve that discrepancy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Kramer’s connection to a later film about a different survivor
Kramer’s later connection to the 2024 Lifetime docudrama Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story is separate from her own experience. The film tells Morgan Metzer’s story, not Kramer’s. In a March 2026 TV Insider interview about acting in the film, Kramer said, “There’s so many people out there that need their voices to be heard. I wanted to be a conduit of freedom for those voices,”
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TV Insider reported in March 2026 that the film had reached Netflix. Streaming availability can change, so check the service’s current listing for the title.
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