Dryden also pleaded guilty to breaching apprehended violence orders four times in Newcastle Local Court, he will be sentenced in March.
It's a case where social media has remained at the center of the ordeal after Dryden posted the assault to online site Snapchat.
After going public, Hillery received constant abuse from commentators also on social media, who called her "witch", "stupid" and a number of other unsavory terms.
Victims of Crime Assistance League Robyn Coterell-Jones social media can be positive in domestic violence cases, but "there's a lot of negativity".
"It's so much easier to blame the victim and we actually live in a society where blame the victim is very, very common."
One woman dies from domestic violence every week in Australia, yet it goes undocumented, with only 50% of cases going unreported.
"There are children at preschool who live in a who which is controlling and violent and frightening." says Coterell-Jones.
"We need all our experts, our teachers ... our doctors, our lawyers, all sorts of people to learn about this insidious thing called domestic violence."
