Crime John Wayne Bobbitt, Whose Wife Famously Chopped Off His Penis, Has Toes Amputated Due to Contaminated Water In a new interview with 'The Sun,' John said he has been left unable to work as a result of multiple operations By Bailey Richards Bailey Richards Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in digital publications like Paper Magazine and TV Insider. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 14, 2024 02:12PM EDT Close John Wayne Bobbitt in 2011. Photo: Heidi Gutman/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty John Wayne Bobbitt has had his toes amputated over 30 years since he made headlines when then-wife Lorena Bobbitt sliced off penis. The former Marine, 57, has been diagnosed with toxic peripheral polyneuropathy, he revealed in a new interview with The Sun, due to his time at infamous military base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina in the '80s, when the base’s water was severely contaminated. The condition involves damage to the peripheral nervous system, which sends signals between the central nervous system and other body parts, per the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. According to John, who now lives in Florida, it has caused him both nerve damage and osteomyelitis, a bone infection that leads to ulcers and requires skin grafts. As a result, he has had multiple operations, he told The Sun. During the latest surgery in 2023, he had his remaining toes amputated, which he said left him unable to work. John Wayne Bobbitt in 1994. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty The Moment Right After His Wife Mutilated His Genitals with a Kitchen Knife While He Was in Bed John wears prosthetic shoes and now walks with a limp, per the outlet. And, due to nerve damage, he does not feel any sensations in his feet. He also told The Sun that he believes the mental and physical scars he suffered due to the contamination at Lejeune — which led President Joe Biden to sign the Camp Lejeune Justice Act into law in 2022 — contributed to the downfall of his relationship with ex-wife Lorena. “I wasn't behaving the way I should have," he told the outlet, adding, “Maybe I would have made better decisions if my cognitive functioning wasn't distorted by the chemicals.” Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. John and Lorena were thrust into fame after the 1993 incident that left John without a penis — at least until the severed appendage was retrieved by police and successfully reattached via surgery. On June 23, 1993, Lorena used a kitchen knife to cut off John's penis while he slept. She then drove around with the organ before throwing it out of her car window. The incident marked the end of Lorena and John’s marriage, and the trial that followed turned the couple into household names. Lorena was tried for the attack, but was ultimately acquitted by reason of temporary insanity. John Wayne Bobbitt, Lorena Bobbitt. Jeffrey Markowitz/Sygma via Getty; Jeffrey Markowitz/Sygma via Getty In 2016, over two decades after the incident, John said on docuseries Scandal Made Me Famous that he holds no ill will against Lorena, saying, “We both hurt each other. I wish her the best.” At the time, which was years before his toes were amputated, John was working as a driver. He also made several high-profile TV appearances and had a brief career as an adult film star after his penis was successfully reattached. Lorena kept a lower profile, reverting to her maiden name, Gallo, and working in a beauty salon, as of 2016. She also remarried and founded Lorena's Red Wagon, which later became Lorena Gallo Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to help victims of domestic violence.