"But it was just that little thing that made me realise - actually I can't go on like this."
Now the man responsible for abusing her is finally facing justice.
The sentence for Stephen Barry Wilson in Tauranga yesterday comes more than three years after she made the life-changing decision to leave the man she thought she loved and seek help from police, family and friends to lay charges against him.
That day, she quickly made up an excuse about needing to get something out of her car, before she drove away and never went back.
She had no idea how she found the confidence to leave him after years of abuse which made her feel worthless.
When the relationship first started in 2004, Ms Coyle thought she had found the man of her dreams. He was fun to spend time with, shared her love of the outdoors and was a successful businessman. The relationship was bliss.
But when she confessed her love for him, she says his attitude towards her changed dramatically.
After she left him, she found she was estranged from her family and had lost touch with her friends and had to work to build relationships again.
To this day, she struggles to trust men.
By speaking out she hopes she can encourage others to do the same and to seek help, whether that's from friends, family, police or community agencies.
"Speak up. If this can help save one person's life, by getting them out of an abusive relationship, then it's worth sharing my story. Living in fear is an awful way to live."
How many people are affected by domestic violence?
One of the many sad facts about Ms Coyle's story is that she's not alone.
One in three women across the country experience psychological or physical abuse from their partners during their lifetime.
Women's Refuge figures show on average 14 women, six men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year.
According to a Human Rights Commission report, for New Zealand women domestic violence is the fifth most common cause of death from injury - a fact that might be hard for some people to believe.
The issue sees police called to about 200 domestic violence situations a day nationwide - that's an average of one every seven minutes.
Locally, domestic violence is also a huge issue, with Rotorua police working collaboratively with partner agencies and the wider community to address this difficult problem.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said on average, police attend about 54 family violence incidents a week. A high number of those involved people police had dealt with previously, but not all, he said.
What can be done to help combat the issue?
Mr Horne said family violence was one of the biggest social problems facing our community.
"One of the challenges with family violence is the problem is often inter-generational and deeply embedded in a family dynamic," he said.
"Getting people to change their behaviour is not something that can be done overnight."
Te Waiariki Purea Trust's Tuu Mai Raa mentoring co-ordinator Waereti Violet Paraki agrees, saying it can take a long time for victims to recover.
"I think many people believe that domestic violence is purely physical, but it's also verbal, emotional, spiritual abuse. These women are being constantly put down, they lose their confidence, they lose their spirit," she said.
"Many of them are convinced they're at fault, so it takes time for them to realise they're not, that they shouldn't have to live like this."
Ms Paraki said while domestic violence can never be completely solved, a collaborative effort was needed to help the issue.
A change in peoples' attitudes was key.
"There's still a lot of stigma attached to it, people feel judged, which stops them speaking out about it, whether that's the victims themselves or people witnessing the violence."
The issue was something that needed to be talked about, with the stigma removed, in order to help the issue, she said.
