A look into the short-lived and 'anxiety-ridden' relationship of Oscar Pistorius and his murder victim Reeva Steenkamp as South Africa's fallen legend is released from prison after nine years

Just over a decade ago, model and socialite Reeva Steenkamp was murdered by her boyfriend, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, in their home in South Africa.

After serving almost nine years of his thirteen-year prison sentence, Oscar Pistorius is today a free man after being smuggled out of prison by officials.

The Blade Runner was escorted from the Atteridgeville Correctional Center and taken to his new home at his uncle Arnold Pistorius' maximum security estate outside Pretoria.

Pistorius fatally shot Reeva four times through the bathroom door in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, claiming she was an intruder.

The disgraced athlete was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months, with shocking details about the couple's relationship emerging during and after the case.

Here, MailOnline takes a look at the turbulent life the couple shared before Reeva's was tragically cut short.

When did Pistorius and Reeva meet and how long were they together?

Pistorius was first spotted with Miss Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in South Africa. The FHM model said at the time that the pair were “just friends.”

Oscar and Reeva quickly cemented their status as South Africa's 'golden couple' and started dating in November 2012.

However, just three months later, Reeva was shot dead by her Paralympic boyfriend.

From the start, their highly publicized relationship became tabloid fodder, after Pistorius' ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor claimed that the FHM model was the reason for her and the athlete's split.

In 2014, Pistorius' ex-girlfriend also revealed her fear that he would kill her, speaking of his “angry and possessive rage.”

Taylor, who dated the Olympian for 18 months, claims he made her sit on a naughty step while he shouted at her, and once drove his Porsche at 200mph as 'punishment' for an argument.

The then 20-year-old student said she was once so afraid he would shoot her that she hid his gun. It would be the same weapon he later used in the fatal shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Were there any warning signs during Reeva and Pistorius' relationship?

According to evidence shared in court during Pistorius' trial, Reeva had told him, “I'm afraid of you sometimes,” less than three weeks before he shot her dead in his home.

Intimate messages were recovered from the model's phone, revealing the sports celebrity's jealous tantrums and enforcement of a 'double standard' relationship.

As reported by the GuardianReeva wrote in a WhatsApp message to her friend in 2013: “You have bullied me excessively… I do everything to make you happy and you do everything to throw tantrums.”

She added, “Sometimes I'm scared of you and the way you snap at me and how you'll react to me.”

In another conversation, Reeva wrote, “We live in a double standard relationship. Every five seconds I hear about you dating another girl. You've actually dated a lot of people, but you get upset when I tell a funny story about a long-term friend.”

In one incident, Reeva was angry at being forced to leave a friend's engagement party early: “I wasn't flirting with anyone today. “I feel sick that you suggested it… I'm terribly disappointed with how the day ended.”

Pistorius replied: 'I was angry that you just left me after we got food to go talk to a man and I was standing right behind you watching you touch his arm and ignore me.'

In November 2013, he allegedly threatened to “break the legs” of the boyfriend of a man he believed had slept with a previous girlfriend of his before dating Reeva.

According to newspaper reports, the sportsman approached South African footballer Marc Batchelor in the VIP area of ​​a horse racing track and verbally threatened him.

Officers had been dispatched to previous incidents of a 'domestic nature' at his address on the exclusive Silver Woods estate.

In 2009, Pistorius spent a night in police cells after a woman complained to police that he had assaulted her during a party at his home.

The incident is said to have taken place in the same house in Silver Woods where Miss Steenkamp died.

Although Pistorius was charged with assault, he was eventually released with a warning.

An alleged impending break: could this have prompted Pistorius to commit murder?

Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp, ​​claimed that her daughter was in a relationship with Pistorius when she was killed, but that the pair had not yet consummated their relationship.

The mother told it The times in June 2014: 'She confided to me that she had not slept with him. They had shared a bed, but she was afraid to take the relationship to that level.'

She added: 'She wouldn't want to sleep with Oscar if she wasn't sure. I believe their relationship was coming to an end. Deep in her heart, she didn't think it would make either of them happy.”