Meredith Baxter claims abuse by ex-husband David Birney

(CBS) - In a new memoir, actress Meredith Baxter claims her "Bridget Loves Bernie" co-star and real-life husband David Birney abused her and struck her more than once.

"It was so sudden and unexpected, I couldn't tell which hand hit me, or even how hard," she says in "Untied," People magazine reports. "I do recall thinking, 'I'd better not get up because he's going to hit me again.'"

Birney denied the allegation, according to the magazine.

Baxter, 63, who came out as a lesbian in 2009, had three children with Birney. She says she drank heavily to cope with the abuse, but has been sober since 1990, according to People.

Baxter and Birney were married for 15 years. Why didn't she get out of a marriage she calls abusive?