Stacey Gardner lifted the lid for the first time on her rollercoaster five years with the controversial former world champ. She told how their relationship hit the ropes as he struggled to rebuild his career following his release from a Spanish jail. Their love had already been tested when skint Harrison, 34, was caged for attacking her, before losing their home to the taxman. But last night loyal Stacey vowed she would NEVER leave her man. The pretty 29-year-old admitted: “We have had our arguments because the pressure can sometimes get to you. “But I have never thought of leaving him — and I would never think of leaving him. Scott and I just knock our heads together and talk it out and start again.” The former flight attendant hooked up with the ring ace in July 2007. But, less than a year later, he attacked her at their villa in Cambuslang, near Glasgow. Neighbours said Harrison — who’d just learned his uncle Jack McGill, 52, had committed suicide — looked “wild-eyed and out of control” during the terrifying incident. He was later caged for eight months over the bust-up and drink driving charges. Then, in January 2009, their five-bedroom villa was seized by the taxman — and sold for a knockdown price. It came after Harrison was forced to sell another home near Cathkin Braes, in Glasgow, and his prized villa on Spain’s Costa del Sol the previous year. But things got even worse when Harrison landed 2½ years in Spain’s grim Botafuegos prison for beating up a cop. Last night Stacey told how she felt like her world had collapsed around her. She said: “I really thought it would have gone a different way. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach when the verdict came through. It’s as if I was in a dream. “That was one of the hardest moments of our relationship. Jack was only three weeks old and his father had just been handed a 2½-year jail sentence. “I was a first-time mum and still feeling very emotional and getting used to bringing up a wee baby — then my partner was taken away.” Stacey caught a plane to the Costa del Sol once a month to visit Harrison, while leaving little Jack at home with relatives. She revealed: “I was desperate to see Scott and I felt so guilty he was in that prison. “But I did not want to take Jack into that kind of environment. I hated that jail. It had an atmosphere. I just didn’t feel safe. “So, each time I did go to see Scott, I would have to leave Jack for two days. I felt guilty about it.” But she added: “I always held out that hope that he would not actually serve the full sentence. “So, every time, you were thinking ‘maybe this will be the last trip I have to make’. “After two years, I finally accepted that that would never happen. I was thinking I just had to get through the last six months. “Looking back — I honestly don’t know how I came through it.” Stacey faced further heartache when Harrison was allegedly beaten up by guards. He claimed his hands were tied behind his back as he was battered by 12 baton-wielding wardens. Harrison — who was left with heel marks on his thighs and a busted eye — was then slung in solitary. And Stacey is convinced he was targeted through jealousy. She said: “Scott was focused on his boxing and was taking classes for other prisoners. I don’t think the guards liked that. “They knew he was a world champion and that he had a strong mind. I think they wanted to try and break him.” After hearing of his turmoil Stacey flew out with Harrison’s furious parents Peter, 62, and Agnes, 61 — and begged the British Consulate to investigate. Stacey added: “I got great help from Scott’s family and mine which was great. “But the hardest part was always at night. That is the time when no one is there, everything is switched off and you just lie there and think. “You keep busy during the day but night time is time you share with your partner.” To keep her mind active, Stacey enrolled in a course at the City of Glasgow College, landed an HNC and is now a qualified beauty therapist. Harrison was finally released from prison last September — looking fitter than ever after training hard as he served his full stretch behind bars. Stacey said: “I was really nervous to be honest but it was a good nervous. “I wouldn’t believe he was getting released until I saw him actually walking out of the prison gates. “I just kept staring at the doors and then he finally appeared. It felt like the end of the nightmare. I just ran up and threw my arms around him. It was such a huge relief to have him back home.” But things did not go smoothly. After his first hopes of a comeback fight fell apart he was arrested for allegedly nicking food from a supermarket and urinating in the street during a booze bender. And he was pictured hours after his release from police custody heading for an off-licence.
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