An American woman who fled to Canada fearing her former husband — a man widely acclaimed for his vivid transformation away from violent white supremacist groups through his agonizing removal of facial tattoos — has been denied refugee protection after an eight-year battle.

Julie Miller fled to Canada in 2016 and made a refugee claim that accused her former husband, Bryon Widner, of domestic violence, which is a secret, shock upending of the couple’s galvanizing personal story that has been told and retold as an uplifting redemptive tale in articles, TV, and an Oscar-winning film.