A man accused of hiding with a gun in his ex-girlfriend's Canberra home and detaining her after their relationship soured was brought before the ACT Supreme Court for a trial on Monday.
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Drew Francis Thompson allegedly waited in the woman's Lyneham apartment, detaining her with a gun over a three-hour ordeal ended by tactical response police in November 2013.
The pair had met in March 2013 on the dating website eHarmony, but the relationship quickly deteriorated, leading to a public spat in October 2013, where the defence contended the woman had "humiliated" and yelled at Mr Thompson.
That argument allegedly led to Mr Thompson entering her home in November 2013, waiting for her with a gun, putting a gloved hand to her mouth and telling her not to scream, before detaining the woman for at least two hours.
The woman, who appeared by videolink from Queensland, broke down several times and at one stage left the room recording her testimony as she tried recalling events that led to the end of the relationship and the night the alleged attack occurred.
The court heard the woman did not agree with Mr Thompson's personal dress sense, the fact he had not left the family home at 27 years old and that he had portrayed himself as a qualified accountant online, rather than a student.
But defence barrister Stephen Odgers, SC, contended the tension went further and that the woman believed she was "better than him", a claim she rejected.
Mr Odgers also argued Mr Thompson had never had a gun or any gloves during the ordeal, and the woman had given that information to police because she knew his family had guns and he used surgical gloves at home.
The woman said repeatedly that he had brought a gun, but three years after the event, she had trouble remembering details including where specifically he had placed it during the ordeal.
She said her most distinct memory of the ordeal was the smell of the surgical gloves he had been wearing.
She also said some details she had verbally told police officers during interviews to take her statement may have been missed in the official typed record, but she was told it would be corrected in a final detailed statement.
Mr Odgers also questioned her illustration for police of the gun, asking why she drawn something similar to a handgun with a silencer that she may have seen on television.
The woman said she was unfamiliar with guns but that such a firearm was "analogous" to the weapon Mr Thompson allegedly brought to her home.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
