A bodybuilder who terrorised his ex-girlfriend was seen shamelessly necking a bottle of Champagne outside the courthouse after he was spared jail.
Zack Hurley, 32, left Alivia Carta suicidal after he sent her a torrent of abusive messages, the court heard
Hurley claimed he showed "genuine remorse" and attempted to blame mental health issues for his behaviour.
He said imprisonment would impact his two children and his ill grandmother.
Moments after a judge handed the car salesman a suspended sentence, he was spotted on the steps of Bolton Crown Court, Greater Manchester.
He was then seen with an open bottle of Moet & Chandon.
In a statement to the police, Ms Carta said: "Zack took over my life and I was terrified of him.
"I have been left suffering with poor mental health and I was left feeling suicidal as a result of his actions."
The incidents occurred between November last year and March this year after the makeup artist ended the relationship.
Edmund Potts, prosecuting, said: "She describes the defendant as having been jealous and controlling. Following the demise of the relationship, the defendant physically stalked Ms Carta, turning up uninvited at her home address on several occasions.
"He repeatedly contacted her by various means including phone calls.
"There were sometimes dozens in a single day, all from withheld numbers.
"He also sent aggressive messages and continued sending messages regardless of the lack of response.
"She blocked the phone number messages were coming from but he would simply message from a new number unknown to her previously.
"There were well over 100 messages received between November and January.
"In particular, the defendant informed her that he knew that she was not at home demonstrating that he was at her home address and that he knew her whereabouts.
"He repeatedly accused her of having sex with other men and made threats of violence against Ms Carta's new partner.
"It was persistent offending over a prolonged period designed to maximise fear and distress. With regard to harm, there was very serious distress caused."
Hurley was arrested after handing himself into Wigan Police Station.
Police attended his home to find a 31-plant cannabis factory inside.
His counsel Niamh McGinty said: "The offence was abhorrent but he was acting under a misguided attempt at reconciliation. The tone of the messages is pleading and apologetic at times although he recognises that his behaviour caused alarm, distress, and fear.
"He accepts that he became obsessed and fixated with the relationship and the end of it. He believes there are underlying psychological reasons as to why he behaved this way.
"He has engaged with hypnotherapy to address the underlying cause for his behaviour and he has undergone anger management therapy.
"He had something of a difficult childhood which may have had some impact on him as an adult and may go some way to explain his actions.
"He has regular contact with his two children and sees them every weekend, has opened a bar and has another business in car sales as well, which employs two people.
"He presents as a genuinely remorseful man. This has been a serious wake-up call."
Ms McGinty added: "Should he go to jail, his children and employees would be affected, as would his grandmother.
"He is a huge support for his terminally ill grandmother. Custody would harm her and she would lose her support system."
Hurley who admitted to stalking and production of cannabis was sentenced to 20 months in jail suspended for two years.
He was further ordered to complete the Building Better Relationship Programme, 80 hours of unpaid work, and 20 days of rehabilitative activity and was banned from contacting Ms Carta indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order.
The judge Mr Recorder Simon Hilton told him: "You have done a fair amount to rehabilitate yourself already and have taken steps to reflect on what you did and how you treated Ms Carta. It is said that you are genuinely remorseful and in your case, there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
"I accept all of that and I take into account that you have two young children who stay with you at weekends. They would be affected by an immediate custodial sentence and the people who work for you.
"In my judgment, you do not need to go to prison immediately."
Last year Hurley, from Wigan, sparked international outrage after he and three friends breached police checkpoints to pose for selfies next to a volcano erupting on the island of La Palma in the Canaries.
He had also previously been convicted of animal cruelty after sending his three American Bully breed dogs abroad to have their ears cropped in an illegal £1,200 "cosmetic surgery" procedure.
