1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: As a little girl. You don't say, oh my gosh, 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: I can't wait to grow up and marry a guy 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: who cheats on me and makes me feel like the 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: only way I can leave is if I'm going to 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 1: be homeless in a ditch. 6 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 2: I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about 7 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: the people we trust the most and the deceptions that 8 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 2: change everything. Lorena is a Midwestern mom who's never met 9 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,919 Speaker 2: a stranger. When she meets someone, she wants to really connect. 10 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: If you want to sit there and talk about the 11 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: blue sky and the green grass, please go find somebody else, 12 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: because I don't have time for that. You want to 13 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: tell me who you are and what you want to 14 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: be all over that. 15 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 2: She came to the interview with an extra large iced 16 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 2: coffee in hand and the energy level to match. 17 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: Cafeine. Caffeine, let's a caffeine? Doestall make it? I have 18 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: eleven children and I have four grandkids. I'm busy eleven children. 19 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: She was eighteen when she had her first and forty 20 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: when she. 21 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 2: Had her last. In that time, she didn't go two 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 2: years without being pregnant. How did she get here with 23 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 2: eleven kids? Well, she belonged to a conservative Baptist church. 24 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: In her community, big families were the norm, and she 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 2: loved motherhood. But today she sees that she was a 26 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 2: frog in boiling water. She didn't realize the temperature was 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: being turned up until it was too late. Lorena was 28 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 2: raised by a single mother, and their family moved nearly 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 2: every year. She always envied her friends who had this 30 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 2: stability she didn't seem to have. 31 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: I really really wanted the nuclear family. I really wanted. Well, look, 32 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 1: it's the mom, and it's the dad, and it's some kids. 33 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 2: Her mom worked in a hospital and would bring Lorena 34 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 2: along with her sometimes to sit in the waiting room. 35 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 2: While she was there. She fantasized about a career in medicine, 36 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 2: working with premature babies. 37 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: I wanted to be a doctor. I actually wanted to 38 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: be a neonatologist. 39 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 2: But as she got older and became a teenager, she 40 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 2: and her mom started butting heads. She felt like her 41 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: mom didn't have time for her, so Lorena started to 42 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 2: do exactly what she wanted. When she was sixteen, she 43 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 2: ran away from home. She says it wasn't as dramatic 44 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 2: as it sounds. She just went to a friend's house 45 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 2: when her mom found her, she'd been smoking weed, and 46 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 2: her mom did something drastic. 47 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: My mother figured out that she could put me in 48 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: direct treatment centers. It was almost like a little mini prison. 49 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 2: She went to three. The first wooding keeper because they 50 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 2: found out that she wasn't struggling with any drug addiction. 51 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 2: The second was a psychiatric hospital. They assessed her and 52 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,519 Speaker 2: kept her there for a few weeks before they determined 53 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 2: that she didn't need to be hospitalized, and so she 54 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 2: found another place. And the third place she found. 55 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: They put everyone there on eight hundred milligrams of lithium 56 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: twice a day, whether you needed it or not. 57 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: As soon as she turned eighteen, she got out of 58 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 2: there and moved out of the state with her boyfriend. 59 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 2: Within a few months, she found out that she was pregnant. 60 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: From the very moment I took that pregnancy test and 61 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: saw that positive line, I was so excited. I just 62 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: was so incredibly amazed that I could be a mall. 63 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 2: But she experienced deception early on in that relationship. 64 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: I was twenty He told me he was twenty five. 65 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: I find out that he lied to me, he's thirty five. 66 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: I found his driver's license, thirty five. That's a lot 67 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: of age difference. You're not on equal grounds. There's not 68 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: equal footing. 69 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 2: So she did what she'd always done growing up, figure 70 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 2: life out by herself. She left him, took the baby, 71 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 2: and moved back to her home state, which we're not 72 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 2: naming here to protect her privacy. And back home, she 73 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 2: got herself into college. While she was in school, she 74 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 2: had another baby. She was excited to have a second, 75 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 2: but she didn't want a long term relationship with the father. 76 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: I'm in college. I'm mostly making a's couple of bees 77 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 1: there except twenty four. I had my second child in 78 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: a glass that I really shouldn't have been in, and. 79 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 2: I made a c Now that she had two young 80 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 2: children that she was raising alone, going to medical school 81 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 2: seemed unreal life stick, so she changed her plans and 82 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 2: decided to get her business degree. She began studying to 83 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: become an accountant. 84 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: I'm in a business class and I see the sky 85 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: across the room and I'm like, oh my gosh. 86 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 2: He was strikingly handsome, well dressed, and the smartest one 87 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 2: in the class. 88 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: He asks me if I want to study, and I'm like, 89 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: he is setting the standard on all the tests, and 90 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:40,039 Speaker 1: he's wanting to study with me, and I'm like, yeah, 91 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: I love that. And so we make plans and when 92 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: he comes over, we don't study. 93 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 2: We're going to call him Peter. So she and Peter 94 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: stayed up all night talking. 95 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: Anyway, we're talking and and he's just listening to me. 96 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 1: He left somewhere between four and six am. He kissed me, 97 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: and then. 98 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 2: He left the next day, he called her. 99 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: He called me right after he got out for four. Hey, 100 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: I was just wanting to come by and see you. Wow. 101 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 2: He made her feel important. They started planning playdates with 102 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 2: her two young kids and movie nights at her apartment. 103 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: And I loved the way he made me feel. He 104 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: made me feel seen and heard. He made me feel 105 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: like I was the smart one. And I don't think 106 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: that I had felt like some man had ever been 107 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: that interested in me before. 108 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 2: Things were moving quickly. After just a few dates, they 109 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 2: became inseparable. 110 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: With most of my past relationships, they were like easing 111 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: into relationships, you know, you talk a little bit. But 112 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: with him, we never stopped seeing one another. 113 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 2: She was into him, but Lorena had two small children 114 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: to protect. She didn't want them to get attached to Peter. 115 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,679 Speaker 2: So three months into their relationship, she said she couldn't 116 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 2: continue unless he was serious. 117 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: And at that point in time, he told me he 118 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: loved me and he wanted to pursue the relationship with 119 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: the possibility of marriage, which I was like what. 120 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 2: A few months after that, Lorena went to the doctor 121 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 2: for a routine physical. 122 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: I get a phone call and they tell me I'm pregnant. 123 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: So Peter came over that night and I told him, 124 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: and I was so scared. I remember we were standing 125 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: in the kitchen and he picked me up, put me 126 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: on the counter, and looked in my eyes and. 127 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 2: Said, please, please. 128 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: Will you marry me. I don't want our child to 129 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: not have a father. And I was like, yeah, yes 130 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: I will. 131 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 2: Peter adopted her two younger children, and now, as a 132 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 2: mom of three and a wife, getting her college degree 133 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 2: became even more difficult. 134 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: I had basically taken that semester off in the fall. 135 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: I think I took one class and passed it, and 136 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: then in the spring he said, well, how about you 137 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: just stay home with the kids. And I'm like, well, 138 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: that's really thoughtful. So I decided, hey, let's try that. 139 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,439 Speaker 1: I'm so happy to be at home with my kids 140 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: because I haven't ever had this opportunity to just be 141 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 1: a full time mom. 142 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 2: All of a sudden, she had the nuclear family she'd 143 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 2: always wanted, and Peter promised he would be their provider 144 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 2: while she paused her education. He excelled in his. 145 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: His professor had told him, you were very smart. If 146 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: you ever decided to go back and get your master's degree, 147 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: don't sell yourself short. Go to an Ivy League school 148 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: you can get in. 149 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,079 Speaker 2: So Peter started applying to NBA programs, and it turned 150 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 2: out his professor was right. He was accepted into one 151 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 2: of the top three business schools in the country, and 152 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 2: the family moved to the Northeast for his education. Alone 153 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 2: in a new city with her kids, Peter encouraged the 154 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 2: family to start going to church. 155 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: His mother was very religious. She was Pedecostal, and he 156 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: wanted me to go to church. So I went, and 157 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: you know what I found, God, I Jesus right there. 158 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 2: She hadn't grown up religious, but the church became a 159 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 2: home away from home. When Peter graduated from his MBA, 160 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 2: Lorena was there at his graduation with their family and 161 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 2: now five children. He even graduated with a high paying 162 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 2: job offer to make it even better. The job was 163 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 2: close to their home state. 164 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: And this is like the biggest energy company. It's huge, 165 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: and he's got a good job there. 166 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:33,959 Speaker 2: Back in the Heartland with her five kids and her 167 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 2: ivy league husband, Lorena had a dream life. She and 168 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 2: Peter started looking for a new church. That's when they 169 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 2: found this. 170 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: Really cool organization IBLP, Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles. Oh, 171 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: come here and learn about our program, and it will 172 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 1: inspire you and grow you as a parent, give you 173 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: kind of an idea of how to live a better life, 174 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: how to be a better mother, how to be a 175 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: better father, a better husband, a better wife. 176 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 2: They gave the family workbooks for homeschooling their kids and 177 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 2: guides to parenting. They provided free meals and childcare. It 178 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 2: all came with a conservative, fundamentalist ideology. 179 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:36,319 Speaker 1: I bought into that. Peter bought into that. We bought 180 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: into that. 181 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 2: If you've heard of the Dougger family and their reality 182 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 2: TV show Nineteen Kids Incounting, you've probably heard of IBLP. 183 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,319 Speaker 2: The church and the Doggers were featured in the documentary 184 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: Shiny Happy People that came out in twenty twenty three. 185 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,439 Speaker 2: The Dougger's religion promotes having as many children as physically possible, 186 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 2: and Peter certainly believed in that. At first, IBLP was 187 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 2: a culture shock for Lorena, especially what they expected women to. 188 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: Wear, Like the Duggers like what they have. The women 189 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: they are wearing, every single one was in what they 190 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: call a jumper or a long dress that looked like 191 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: it came out of the eighteen hundreds. 192 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 2: But Peter thought it was a good example for their daughters. 193 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 2: He liked the modesty. 194 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: He's like, well, I really like for you guys to 195 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: be dressed like this. It's more modest, and we're setting 196 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,319 Speaker 1: in a standard here in our house. And it did 197 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: not take long before I conformed and wore what everyone 198 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: else wore. 199 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 2: The church had strong beliefs about gender roles in the household. 200 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: Women cannot be over men. Men are the umbrella of protection. 201 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: The women were there to make the food and to 202 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: keep the kids quiet. 203 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 2: And the most important principle. 204 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: Allow God to dictate the amount of children you have. 205 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 2: So she and Peter had another and another. 206 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: Sex was every day, and sometimes it would be twice 207 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:18,439 Speaker 1: a day unless he was traveling clearly, or we had 208 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: just had a baby, and then it was We'd wait 209 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: two weeks. 210 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,439 Speaker 2: All the while Lorena was doing the childcare on her own. 211 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: Peter would never change diapers. I think with number three 212 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: he might have changed ten diapers, But then after that, 213 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: with babies four through eleven, I would say that he 214 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: probably changed each one of them, maybe twice, and there 215 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: may have been a couple that he never changed at all. 216 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 2: She understood that their religion had conservative beliefs about gender roles, 217 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 2: but deep down she hoped that he would do more, 218 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 2: especially when it came to the kids. 219 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: I thought that the church was going to help him 220 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: to be a better husband and a better father. Instead, 221 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: it helped him hide things better. 222 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 2: One night, as Lorena and Peter were going to. 223 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 1: Bed, he was kind of dozing and I was stroking 224 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: his head and I was like, Peter, I love you 225 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: so much, and he said I love you too, Crystal. 226 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: I was like, what what did you just call me? 227 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 2: Lorena quickly fell into a religious community that promised to 228 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 2: help her with childcare, marriage, and parenting, and the church 229 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 2: wanted families to have as many children as possible. By now, 230 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 2: Lorena had seven children with her husband and Peter. One night, 231 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 2: she was taken aback when her husband called her by 232 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 2: the wrong name Crystal. 233 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: I was like, what did you just call me? Who's Crystal? 234 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: And he shot out of it, shot up. He's like, 235 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: I didn't say that. I don't know who Crystal. I 236 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: don't know what Christal, I don't even know what Crystal. 237 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 2: What are you talking about? He blamed the mistake on 238 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 2: sleep deprivation, and it made sense. After all, he was 239 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 2: constantly working. 240 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: His schedule was six am to eight pm, So what's 241 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: that fourteen hours a day. That's Monday through Friday and 242 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: then Saturday and Sunday. He'd get called in frequently. We'd 243 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 1: get out of church and he'd be like, oh, the 244 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: office called, I gotta go. 245 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 2: Even though he was working NonStop and made a great salary, 246 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 2: their money got tighter and tighter every year. 247 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: Christmas came and I remember asking him, can I please 248 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: just spend seven dollars on each kid? Just seven dollars 249 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: a piece, And he was like, we don't have any 250 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: money at all left. I'm like, where did all the 251 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: money go? 252 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 2: Lorena assumed it was the financial strain of being a 253 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 2: family of nine. 254 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: So I made everyone homemade gifts that year. I never 255 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: could he got one gift. 256 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 2: Despite money being tight, she relied on Peter to be 257 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 2: the financial expert in the family. After all, he had 258 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 2: an MBA from a top three business school. He printed 259 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 2: out spreadsheets with their budgets and gave Lorena a weekly 260 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 2: allowance for her and the kids. 261 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: I keep telling myself, it's going to get better. It's 262 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: going to get better, because as sure as heck couldn't 263 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: have gotten worse. 264 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 2: Right, she was wrong about that. At one point, Lorena 265 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 2: tried to investigate what was going on financially. She checked 266 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 2: on the bank accounts, wanting to understand their expenses and 267 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 2: find opportunities to save. But Peter drew a firm boundary. 268 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: And he said, if you look at this bank account again, 269 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: I will cut you off and you will not be 270 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: able to see any finances. 271 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 2: After her eighth baby, she had serious health complications. While 272 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,360 Speaker 2: they were in the hospital, the doctor pulled them both aside. 273 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 1: The doctor says, listen, I know you have eight kids, 274 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: and I know that you kind of have your beliefs 275 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: on that and whatever, but in the best interest of 276 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: your health, you need to put off having any more kids. 277 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: Peter looked at him and said, we're not going to 278 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,479 Speaker 1: do that. We believe in letting the Lord give us 279 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 1: as many kids as we want. That's what we're gonna do. 280 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: After my eighth child was born, I was in an 281 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: immense amount of pain. I could not even hold my baby, 282 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:52,199 Speaker 1: let alone feed him. While I'm healing from all of this, 283 00:17:52,359 --> 00:18:00,160 Speaker 1: I'm not healthy, and I get pregnant with baby number nine. 284 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 2: As their family continued to grow, so did their financial problems. 285 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: So at this point in time, he had a bankruptcy 286 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: on his record, and he owed back Texas to the 287 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: state we lived in. I know that he makes a 288 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: good six figure salary, but I'm getting an eighth maybe 289 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: not even that much, a tenth of it to feed 290 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: and clothe the kids. 291 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 2: Lorena couldn't understand it. Peter explained that it was the 292 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 2: expenses of the kids and the family that were bankrupting them. 293 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 2: In an attempt to salvage their finances, they decided to 294 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 2: downsize to a smaller house, and Peter found a new job, 295 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 2: and at some point in time they started requiring him 296 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 2: to travel. 297 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,920 Speaker 1: So here are the kids and I in this dumpy 298 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 1: house that he's never put much into. It was very old, 299 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: falling apart, dilapidated, two bedroom, one bath for eleven people. 300 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: It does have running water, but the septic system is 301 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: a barrel. Lorena rose to the challenge. I can squeeze 302 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: blood from a turnip. Okay, I can show you how. 303 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 1: My oldest son at one point in time came to 304 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: me and said, Mom, that makes a good six figure salary. 305 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: Why are you living the way you're living? And I 306 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:36,920 Speaker 1: was like, we spend it all. 307 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 2: They relied on the church as much as they could. 308 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 2: One summer in twenty fifteen, they took the whole family 309 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 2: to an IBLP conference. 310 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: And the speakers that year were the Duggers. This was 311 00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: ry after their oldest son had gotten in trouble with 312 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: Ashley Madison. 313 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,159 Speaker 2: Ashley Madison is an online dating platform specifically for married people. 314 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 2: Their slogan is life is Short, Have an Affair, and 315 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 2: back in twenty fifteen, their user database had just been hacked. 316 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,679 Speaker 2: All their users' emails were now public and available online 317 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 2: for anyone to see. 318 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: Missus Dugger was talking about how you could go on 319 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: to some website and look up people's email addresses, and 320 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 1: something just clicked in me. So right then and there 321 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 1: we're in the middle of this conference, and I was like, oh, 322 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: I need to go feed the baby. I go outside 323 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: and I'm looking on my phone and I look up 324 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: one of his email addresses and it shows that he 325 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: has an Ashley Madison account, and I nearly threw up. 326 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:04,959 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe it. 327 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 2: She decided to confront him that night. 328 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: I said, this is what I found, and he was like, 329 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: that's not me. That email must have been hacked. Oh look, 330 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: I'm going to delete this whole email. Just get rid 331 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: of the email completely so that you believe me. Blah 332 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: blah blah, blah blah blah. And so it was enough 333 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: to go Okay, Well maybe he did because at this 334 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: point in time I believed him because I really had 335 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:38,479 Speaker 1: no other options. I had no other place to go. 336 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: My mantra is setting it. It's going to get better, 337 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: It's going to get better. 338 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,359 Speaker 2: She had nine kids. Lorena was independent, but raising a 339 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 2: family in a household of this size going in alone 340 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,479 Speaker 2: was far too scary to think about. But the truth 341 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 2: was she had been alone for a while. 342 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: He was gone, having to travel for quote unquote work 343 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 1: at least one week out of the month, sometimes it 344 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: would be two. So I was becoming more and more 345 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:24,400 Speaker 1: accustomed to him not being there. September twenty first, twenty one, 346 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: Peter was on another trip because that's what he did. 347 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: I had decided to take my kids to our state fair. 348 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: On the way out to the car, I passed by 349 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: this box. 350 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 2: It was just a shoe box of old papers that 351 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 2: had been floating around Peter's car for the past few months. 352 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,359 Speaker 2: She assumed it was just some of Peter's work documents. 353 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: Nobody looked in it because it's work stuff. Why would you, 354 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm not interested in this work stuff. Okay, 355 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: so nobody looked in it. I must have walked past 356 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,880 Speaker 1: that box twenty times, but. 357 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 2: On this day, she was curious. 358 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna look through it. I'm just gonna look through. 359 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,479 Speaker 1: I'm looking through, and I'm seeing all these folders, and 360 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: I see one envelope full of birthday cards, and so 361 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: I'm going through and I see this one and on 362 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: the outside of it it's labeled Poppy like Pa p 363 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: I I'm like, okay. I open up the envelope and 364 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: in it is a card and it says, Dear Poppy Dot, 365 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: I hope you like the travel book I made you. 366 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: I have enjoyed our travels together, and I hope to 367 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:57,439 Speaker 1: have many more with you, Love, Princess Buttercup. At this point, 368 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: my blood head ran cold. My hands are trembling, and 369 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: I am shocked. I don't know what this is. I 370 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: don't know what it means. I don't know if it's 371 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: a joke. I don't know if it's real. I don't know. 372 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,640 Speaker 2: While her husband was on a work trip, Lorena found 373 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,399 Speaker 2: a shoe box of his old work papers, or at 374 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 2: least that's what she thought it was until she opened it. 375 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: And I'm looking through and I can't believe I'm finding 376 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 1: these weird things. 377 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 2: At first, she didn't know what she was seeing. This 378 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 2: is really weird. 379 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,959 Speaker 1: It's just a paper target population progress chart and then 380 00:24:55,359 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: self assessment scores calendar. That's what it says. Right here, 381 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: what age regression? Only one domb question mark and then 382 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 1: there's a VENMO routing number. 383 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 2: She kept reading and this is what she came across. Next. 384 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,119 Speaker 1: I came across this one sheet and it said rewards. 385 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, that's interesting. Nanny Petty from Daddy, 386 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: a point system, remote playtime, SERTs, dress up trips, books, 387 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: watching movie snacks. And then it said little gets backward 388 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: and then on another page, make a schedule fourteen points, 389 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:48,640 Speaker 1: workout ten points, nutrition, fourteen points. 390 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 2: It was like a report card or a list of 391 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:56,919 Speaker 2: activities to do with a kid. But then there was 392 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 2: another column. 393 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: There was a little part that said punish things that 394 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: I'd never really heard of, edging without release, and I'm 395 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:16,680 Speaker 1: like yardwork, huh, little did I know? Time out corner. 396 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 2: It was a reward system of some kind and it 397 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 2: appeared sexual in nature. But that wasn't all. There were 398 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 2: credit card statements from cards she didn't know about, and 399 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 2: receipts for strange purchases. 400 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: Like, oh my word, what is this? Adult baby bottles, 401 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: adult bibs, adult one sees like these are receipts for 402 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: these things that Peter had purchased. There were things of 403 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,680 Speaker 1: him paying baby Bear. That was the name of one 404 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: particular person he was paying. It was somewhere around twenty 405 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: thousand and thirty thousand dollars I'd spent on all of this. 406 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:06,639 Speaker 2: He'd spent thirty thousand dollars on sex toys and kink 407 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 2: and who was baby bear? Something was very wrong. She 408 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 2: and Peter's sex life had always been tame. It was 409 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,439 Speaker 2: all just very vanilla. I remember one time we trying 410 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,439 Speaker 2: to bring up, Oh, maybe we should try handcuffs. How 411 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 2: would you feel if I had handcuff shoot to the 412 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,919 Speaker 2: bed and he freaked out on me? Oh my gosh, 413 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,119 Speaker 2: we can't do that. What if one of us dies 414 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 2: during it? Princess Buttercup and Baby Bear were clearly indications 415 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 2: of another side of Peter, one that she never knew existed. 416 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 2: The Peter she knew was devoted to a conservative fundamentalist church, 417 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 2: but this man clearly wasn't who he claimed to be. 418 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,479 Speaker 2: Lorena was afraid to confront him on her own, so 419 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 2: she called her eldest son, who was twenty four. He 420 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,639 Speaker 2: said he would be there in a few days, and 421 00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 2: he gave her some advice. 422 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: And until then, you're gonna have to hold down the fort. 423 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: You're gonna have to pretend like everything is fine. You're 424 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: going to have to play the part of everything is 425 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: fine when he calls tonight, Act like it's no big deal. 426 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: When he comes home, Treat it like it's any other night. 427 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 2: Peter came home two days before her son made it there, 428 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,920 Speaker 2: so Lorena did pretend. Finally, her son arrived and they 429 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 2: got to work. 430 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 1: My son is very technologically advanced, and we were able 431 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: to go through the computers at home and find things 432 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:41,480 Speaker 1: that I never could have found on my own. 433 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,800 Speaker 2: And what they found there painted a full picture of 434 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 2: Peter's deception. 435 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: We found the real Ashley Madison account that he had. 436 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: We found pictures of so many women in various states 437 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: of undress. We found of women with property of dom 438 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: written in sharpie, property of Peter on one woman. 439 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 2: These pictures had time stamps dating back to twenty seventeen, 440 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 2: four years prior. So how much money had he actually 441 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 2: spent on affairs and why had he spent so much 442 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 2: on adult diapers, onesies and baby bottles today? This is 443 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 2: her understanding of what her husband was doing with these women. 444 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: He wanted to be the dom daddy, and he wanted 445 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:41,480 Speaker 1: a little girl to play along with him. 446 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 2: As far as she knows, all the women were adults. 447 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 2: They were just sometimes pretending to be children or babies 448 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 2: as part of a kink. Lorena pulled up his social 449 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 2: media accounts where she found the messages he'd written to 450 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 2: these women, even messages where he referenced Lorena. 451 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,719 Speaker 1: The other thing that I found on there that he 452 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: said was every night that I'm with you or with her. 453 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 2: I will call my. 454 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: Wife and I will talk to her for as little 455 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: time as possible. That hurt. 456 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 2: Before she confronted Peter, Lorena made an appointment with a 457 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 2: lawyer to talk divorce. 458 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: She had told me, the state that we live in 459 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 1: is an ofault state, and there's not much that we 460 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 1: can do unless you have a picture of him having sex. Basically, 461 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: she said, you've got to have a picture of his 462 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:49,520 Speaker 1: genitalia going into someone else's genitalia. Well, I've found about 463 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: two hundred of pictures and I think three or four videos. 464 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 2: Her eldest son was helping her collect this information for 465 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,960 Speaker 2: the divorce attorneys. They pulled documents together at night, sitting 466 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 2: in their parked car in the garage while Peter slept 467 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:06,239 Speaker 2: in the house, and that's when they found proof of 468 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 2: even more financial deception. 469 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: He was working at several different universities as an adjunct professor, 470 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: so he's making money there and he's hiding it. We 471 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: found this man has been spending clearly hand over fist 472 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: tons of money and my children were like almost at 473 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: poverty level. We had no money. He was hemorrhaging money 474 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:43,239 Speaker 1: on this lifestyle. After they gathered all the information they 475 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,280 Speaker 1: could find. There was one last thing they needed to do. 476 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: My son says, Mom, I know we have guns in 477 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: the house. 478 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:54,479 Speaker 2: He took them and brought them to a friend's place, 479 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 2: and once the guns were gone, he made sure his 480 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,720 Speaker 2: mom and siblings were out of the house, and then 481 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 2: he confronted his dad. 482 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: My oldest son went inside to our bedroom and said 483 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: to Peter, hey, dad, mom knows everything and she wants 484 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: you to leave. And Peter sat up slowly, yawned and 485 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 1: stretched big and said okay. And my son said please leave, 486 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: and he said okay, and he left. 487 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 2: After that, Loreno only talked to Peter one more time 488 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 2: on the phone to let him know that she was 489 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 2: filing for divorce. 490 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: I don't remember all the nonsense he tried to say, 491 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 1: but what he did tell me was what you are 492 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: doing is far worse than anything I ever did. What 493 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,959 Speaker 1: I did, what I was doing was divorcing him. I 494 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: just laughed. I was like it, okay, and we're done. 495 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 1: And I have not had a conversation with him since. 496 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 2: That was in twenty twenty one. From then on, her 497 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 2: son took over all communication with Peter. That allowed Lorena 498 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 2: to focus on her emotional and financial recovery. She also 499 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 2: had to explain to her eleving kids why their father 500 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 2: had left. Her youngest child was five. 501 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: Those early days are just such pipler. I do remember 502 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: telling the children that we were divorcing because of Peter 503 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: making some very bad decisions. I think that the words 504 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 1: I consistently used were poor choices. 505 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 2: But when friends and adult family asked, she told them 506 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 2: the truth how she really felt about her husband. 507 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 1: Peter was a black hole. 508 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 2: She couldn't believe how strange it all was. He was 509 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,799 Speaker 2: spending tens of thousands of dollars on sexual fetishes, fetishes 510 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 2: that included things like baby play, but all the while 511 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 2: he was never interested in childcare. 512 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: One thing that kept coming back to me was how 513 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:29,319 Speaker 1: weird he was about changing diapers. And here he is, 514 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: He's spent, you know, thousands of dollars on diapers. After 515 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: he left and I had filed for divorce, I was 516 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: still trying to go to church, taking the kids and 517 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:44,399 Speaker 1: all that. 518 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 2: But after what Peter did, church wasn't the same. 519 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:55,439 Speaker 1: There's this cognitive dissonance. I'm now going, what else have 520 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:57,360 Speaker 1: I been told? 521 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,399 Speaker 2: That's not right? 522 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:06,399 Speaker 1: This whole patriarchy thing how is any of this at 523 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:11,880 Speaker 1: all biblical? What's real and what's not real? I still 524 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: have a difficult time going to church. 525 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:20,239 Speaker 2: She stopped going to church and is taking time to 526 00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:24,760 Speaker 2: reevaluate her spirituality and values. She started going to therapy, 527 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:30,240 Speaker 2: where she began understanding that what she experienced was spiritual abuse. 528 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 1: I'm not going to say all churches, because I believe 529 00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:35,799 Speaker 1: that there are some really awesome churches out there. I've 530 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 1: been to some, okay, But the ones that are perpetuating 531 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: patriarchal abuse are the ones that are saying wives submit 532 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 1: to your husbands. That allows for men to treat women 533 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:58,800 Speaker 1: however they desire, with no repercussion. 534 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:04,640 Speaker 2: She was spiritually abused by the church, but also by Peter. Today, 535 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,160 Speaker 2: she doesn't know if he ever believed any of the 536 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 2: fundamentalist ideology or if he just used it as a 537 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:12,920 Speaker 2: way to control her. 538 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: I look back and I can see Peter used that 539 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 1: to keep me under control, to keep me where he 540 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,960 Speaker 1: wanted me, and to keep me behaving in the way 541 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,600 Speaker 1: he wanted. And three years ago, I couldn't have told 542 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: you that this is three years of heavy duty therapy. 543 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,839 Speaker 2: And then there was his devotion to having as many 544 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,719 Speaker 2: kids as God would allow. Was that also just a 545 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 2: weapon of control? 546 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,560 Speaker 1: Looking back, I see why he did that. It kept 547 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: me busy. His goal was to always keep me busy 548 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: and to keep me from looking at what he was doing, 549 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: because if I wasn't busy with the kids, then my 550 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,040 Speaker 1: focus was on him. 551 00:36:55,400 --> 00:37:00,080 Speaker 2: After all, Peter was smart. Unlike a lot of deception story, 552 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 2: he really did get that fancy MBA from an Ivy 553 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 2: League school, and after that he parked his wife in 554 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:11,640 Speaker 2: a fundamentalist church and began an insidious process. 555 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:18,080 Speaker 1: Somewhere along the way, he had started chipping away at 556 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,400 Speaker 1: my identity of who I was and what I could become, 557 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:27,320 Speaker 1: and I believed him. 558 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,800 Speaker 2: It hurts to look back and think about the life 559 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:31,480 Speaker 2: she had before Peter. 560 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 1: When I met Peter, I was a strong, independent woman. 561 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,360 Speaker 1: I was only twenty two, but I had two children 562 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: and I was taking care of them like a boss. 563 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:52,760 Speaker 1: I had plans, I had goals. 564 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:56,760 Speaker 2: Still, she adores each of her children, and she says 565 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 2: they're the reason she's made it through. She's rebuilding her 566 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:07,600 Speaker 2: life and finally finishing her degree. It's important for her 567 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,160 Speaker 2: to explain that not only can betrayal happen to anyone, 568 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 2: But so can indoctrination. 569 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: People do ask how does a capable, intelligent person go 570 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,120 Speaker 1: from Hey, I'm a single mom and I'm killing it. 571 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:28,720 Speaker 1: I'm full time mom, I'm full time student, I'm full 572 00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:35,359 Speaker 1: time employee. How does someone go from that to I'm 573 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,320 Speaker 1: not allowed to look at the financial statements of the house. 574 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: You're comfortable in the beginning, Hey, you know you're not 575 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,080 Speaker 1: really that great at keeping track of things. You might 576 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 1: forget You've got so much on your plate. Let me 577 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,680 Speaker 1: just do all the finances. I'll take care of it 578 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,359 Speaker 1: all the way to if you look at this bank 579 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:00,439 Speaker 1: account again, I will cut you off and you will 580 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 1: not be able to see any finances. You're a boiled frog. 581 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:12,080 Speaker 2: We end all of our episodes with the same question, 582 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:16,279 Speaker 2: why do you want to tell your story? And Lorena 583 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,360 Speaker 2: came prepared to answer this one. 584 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,879 Speaker 1: The reason I wanted to tell my story is so 585 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,040 Speaker 1: that others who are out there in a similar situation 586 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:32,560 Speaker 1: might have their eyes opened and go, Wow, if she 587 00:39:32,719 --> 00:39:37,200 Speaker 1: can do it with eleven kids, seven still at home, 588 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:43,440 Speaker 1: and with all the odds stacked against her, so can I. 589 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:49,080 Speaker 1: If my story can just help one person to see 590 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:53,160 Speaker 1: a little clearer, to feel a little bit of comfort 591 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:59,680 Speaker 1: to think that their life is not over. You're not 592 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 1: too old to get out. It's never too late to 593 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:19,680 Speaker 1: start over and find who you are. That's my hope on. 594 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:24,960 Speaker 2: The next episode of Betrayal. Who is this person? 595 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:30,400 Speaker 1: Have I been with? An ex murderer, a serial rapist? 596 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:38,239 Speaker 2: I've got to find out this person's real name. If 597 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,160 Speaker 2: you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team 598 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:43,000 Speaker 2: or want to tell us your Betrayal story, email us 599 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:47,719 Speaker 2: at betrayalpod at gmail dot com. That's Betrayal Pod at 600 00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:51,839 Speaker 2: gmail dot com. We're grateful for your support. One way 601 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 2: to show a support is by subscribing to our show 602 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,160 Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts and don't forget to rate and review Betrayal. 603 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,719 Speaker 2: Five star reviews go a long way. Big thank you 604 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,160 Speaker 2: to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production of 605 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:07,480 Speaker 2: Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership 606 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 2: with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy 607 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:15,280 Speaker 2: Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me Andrea Gunning, 608 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,000 Speaker 2: written and produced by Monique Leboard, also produced by Ben Fetterman. 609 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:24,840 Speaker 2: Associate producers are Kristin Mercury and Caitlin Golden Our. iHeart 610 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:28,319 Speaker 2: team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krinchech. Audio editing and 611 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:32,080 Speaker 2: mixing by Matt del Vecchio, additional editing support from Nico 612 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:36,840 Speaker 2: Aruka and Tanner Robbins. Betrayal's theme composed by Oliver Bains. 613 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:41,640 Speaker 2: Music library provided by myb Music and For more podcasts 614 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,640 Speaker 2: from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 615 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,359 Speaker 2: you get your podcasts