A Gold Coast man was so terrified his ex-wife would kill him he wore a bullet- proof vest around the clock and eventually had a heart attack.

Malcolm Stewart said he would forever fear for his life even after Theresa Dalton was put behind bars for paying $20,000 in her failed plan to have him killed.

Theresa Dalton is seen in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday. Credit:AAP

"She could try another move, she's that sort of person, she never ever let's go," he told reporters outside the Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday.

"I will still have eyes on the back of my head the day that she does come out."