WEBVTT - The Girlfriends S5/E1: Shark Bait

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<v Speaker 1>Novel.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey Girlfriends, Anna here, I just wanted to give you

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<v Speaker 2>a quick heads up about what you're here in this

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<v Speaker 2>season of The Girlfriends. The series touches on themes of

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<v Speaker 2>coercive control, and they'll obviously be a little bit of

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<v Speaker 2>swearing here and there too. But the women at the

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<v Speaker 2>heart of this series are so funny and powerful and vivacious,

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<v Speaker 2>and there's a great payoff at the end. For the

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<v Speaker 2>full story, listen all the way through. If any of

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<v Speaker 2>the themes feel difficult, you'll find links to mental health

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<v Speaker 2>and support organizations. In the episode description, Wendy is sitting

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<v Speaker 2>Paul's side in a luxury hotel resort, listening to the

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<v Speaker 2>sounds of waves crashing against the nearby beach. It's twenty thirteen,

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<v Speaker 2>around the end of August, and Wendy the Lucky Devil

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<v Speaker 2>is in Hawaii. Wendy's in her early forties, a single

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<v Speaker 2>mom with a busy job. By the time she arrives,

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<v Speaker 2>the sun has set over the Pacific and it's dark

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<v Speaker 2>except for the glow of the tiki torches. Wendy's expectations

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<v Speaker 2>for the evening had been pretty low. She's wearing yoga

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<v Speaker 2>pants and it was too warm to bother with makeup.

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<v Speaker 2>But now the balmy night air is alive with the

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<v Speaker 2>buzz of possibility because Wendy is on a date and

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<v Speaker 2>it's going well. Sitting across from Wendy is a successful businessman, Derek.

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<v Speaker 1>There was something about him. He was very charming, very attentive,

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<v Speaker 1>very very smart, and very engaging.

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<v Speaker 2>He's explaining that he's on Maui for a little while

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<v Speaker 2>to look at investment properties. He comes over regularly from

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<v Speaker 2>San Francisco, hence the dating.

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<v Speaker 1>He's in finance and he's a scuba diver and he

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<v Speaker 1>loves to travel. He sounds like the perfect match for me.

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy hasn't got the total hots for Derek. Looks wise,

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<v Speaker 2>he kind of blends into the washer faces that appear

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<v Speaker 2>on dating apps. Short brown hair, slightly balding. Through absolutely

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<v Speaker 2>no fault of Derek's. He is an entirely average, middle

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<v Speaker 2>aged white guy. But the conversation is flowing.

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<v Speaker 1>He was talking about going scuba diving and he saw

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<v Speaker 1>a weal shark.

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<v Speaker 2>A whale shark sighting is rare on Maui. Derek is

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<v Speaker 2>a lucky man. Taking his cue from Wendy's absorbed expression,

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<v Speaker 2>he continues his story. There he is just off the coast,

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<v Speaker 2>flapping his flippers on yet another unremarkable dive, when suddenly

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<v Speaker 2>this gentle speckled, flat headed sea giant glides past him.

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<v Speaker 2>It was amazing, amazing. As the tiki torches flicker around them,

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy is gripped.

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<v Speaker 3>I would die to see a wheel show.

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<v Speaker 2>That is, until Derek ruins it. He tells Wendy that

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<v Speaker 2>he was scuba diving that day with a particular whale

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<v Speaker 2>conservation group, a local not.

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<v Speaker 1>For profit Pacific Will Foundation. He didn't know this, but

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<v Speaker 1>my daughter's best friend parents owned Pacific Will Foundation. And

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<v Speaker 1>I said, I'm sure you didn't go on Pacific Will

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<v Speaker 1>Foundation because they only do well watching and snarkling.

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<v Speaker 3>They don't have scuba diving boats.

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<v Speaker 2>It's such a small detail.

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<v Speaker 1>And had he said, oh, you know what, I must

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<v Speaker 1>be confused. It must have just had Pacific in the name.

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<v Speaker 1>I would not have thought a second thing about it.

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<v Speaker 2>But he would not let it go.

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<v Speaker 1>No, it was Pacific Whale Foundation. He was adamant. So

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<v Speaker 1>then he said he kept swimming down to try to

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<v Speaker 1>spend more time with the whale shark and didn't do

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<v Speaker 1>a safety stop.

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<v Speaker 2>A safety stop to release all the nitrogen his body

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<v Speaker 2>had stored up while diving. Derek, our experienced diver, forgot.

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<v Speaker 1>He ended up getting the bins and he had to

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<v Speaker 1>go to a decompression chamber. The only decompression chamber in

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<v Speaker 1>Hawaii at the time was on o Wahu. They don't

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<v Speaker 1>have one on Maui, or they didn't at the time.

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<v Speaker 1>I have not known a single person that ever got

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<v Speaker 1>the bins or that ever had to go to a

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<v Speaker 1>decompression chamber. I didn't call him out on that, but

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, this is kind of weird, and I've been

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<v Speaker 1>scuba diving all over the world. Not to say it

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't happen, but it really sounded a bit fantastical.

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<v Speaker 2>Ever, get that feeling in your gut, like you're being

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<v Speaker 2>lied to. Wendy has that feeling right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm one of those people. I just can't let it go.

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<v Speaker 2>Whale sharks, the bens, there's such inconsequential things.

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<v Speaker 3>Why would you lie about that?

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<v Speaker 2>It'll be five years, many more first dates, a federal

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<v Speaker 2>investigation spanning states and decades, and a determined group of

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<v Speaker 2>pissed off girlfriends raising hell before Wendy gets a satisfying

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<v Speaker 2>answer to that question.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Wendy and I dated a carn artist

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<v Speaker 1>named Derek and it completely changed my life.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Annisonfield and from the teams at Novel and iHeart podcasts.

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<v Speaker 2>You're listening to the girlfriends Trust Me Babe, Episode one,

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<v Speaker 2>Shark Bait. When Wendy was young, her mum Sherry, would

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<v Speaker 2>share stories with her, tales from her youth about her

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<v Speaker 2>own dating experiences. Is a Friday night in nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 2>four on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Sherry and her

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<v Speaker 2>two housemates are at home in their first floor apartment.

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<v Speaker 2>The smell of citrus blossom from the surrounding groves floats

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<v Speaker 2>in the air. They're no older than twenty two recent

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<v Speaker 2>college grads, and tonight one of them has a date.

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<v Speaker 2>He's here on date nights. These three friends have a

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<v Speaker 2>bit of a routine. One of them, tonight at Sherry

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<v Speaker 2>lets the suitor in distracts him with aimless conversation while

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<v Speaker 2>his date pretends to put the finishing touches to her hair.

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<v Speaker 2>The third friend, with a bag full of trash from

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<v Speaker 2>the kitchen, sneaks out the door and notes down the make,

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<v Speaker 2>model and license plate of their guests car safety protocol complete,

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<v Speaker 2>the friend on the date leaves Glamder to the nines.

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<v Speaker 2>Her two friends watch her cruise into the sunset with

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<v Speaker 2>a stranger, safe in the knowledge that while they're probably

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<v Speaker 2>just going to Shakey's for some dark beer and warm pizza,

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<v Speaker 2>if God forbid something bad were to happen, they're prepared.

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<v Speaker 3>That was a thing, even back in the sixties, to

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<v Speaker 3>keep each other safe just in case.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Laurie. She heard this story growing up too.

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<v Speaker 3>We couldn't stand each other because, you know, sisters.

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie is Wendy's older sister.

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<v Speaker 3>Our dad told us one of these days, you girls

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<v Speaker 3>are gonna be best friends, and we would jag and

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<v Speaker 3>it bros. He was right, He was so right. Wendy

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<v Speaker 3>always called me her safety net, and I love that.

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<v Speaker 3>I loved being her safety net.

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy got married young to her college sweetheart, and they

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<v Speaker 2>did the whole nights, had a kid, got the white

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<v Speaker 2>picket fence, and it was a great marriage, but it

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<v Speaker 2>ran its course. By thirty five, Wendy is newly single

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<v Speaker 2>and making a home for herself on Maui with her daughter.

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<v Speaker 2>Everything feels new, especially dating.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd never even been to a bar to have a

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<v Speaker 1>guy buy me a drink. I didn't know about online dating.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know about match dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>Will you regale me with one of your dating stories?

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<v Speaker 3>Oh?

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<v Speaker 1>I have so many Broke Bone Bobbie and Jilbird Ryan

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<v Speaker 1>and the cuticle Picker, and I've just have so.

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<v Speaker 3>Many right, like, it's insane.

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<v Speaker 2>As Wendy dives into the dating game headfirst, she tells

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<v Speaker 2>her big sister Laurie all about it over long phone

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<v Speaker 2>calls Wendy and Hawaii. Laurie in Texas.

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<v Speaker 1>He did not look like his photos at all. He

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<v Speaker 1>was trying to take pictures of the sunset, and he

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<v Speaker 1>kept using his flash. I get a letter from the

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<v Speaker 1>county jail asking me to come visit him. I never

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<v Speaker 1>told anyone that I was remotely interested in seeing a

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<v Speaker 1>dick pic. Hordes of them, so many of them.

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<v Speaker 3>That's when I started realizing she needs a little backup.

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<v Speaker 2>So in steps big sister Laurie.

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<v Speaker 3>She allowed me to have her location on Google.

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<v Speaker 2>At first, it doesn't all run as smoothly as their

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<v Speaker 2>mother's trash run reconnaissance strategy.

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<v Speaker 3>I had to call her one time and say, your

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<v Speaker 3>w is out in a lake.

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy's Google map icon is surrounded by water.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sorry, I forget to tell you it's a houseboat.

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<v Speaker 2>The more Wendy dates, the more the sisters fall into

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<v Speaker 2>a kind of rhythm.

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<v Speaker 3>Every guy that she went out with, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 3>see what I can find out about him.

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<v Speaker 1>I told him, I said, I'm okay to come to

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<v Speaker 1>your but I'm having my sister look you up. And

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<v Speaker 1>he goes, oh, try it. She's not going to find anything.

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<v Speaker 3>Challenge accepted. Here's the picture of his house.

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<v Speaker 1>He's got these two kids, and it looks like he

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<v Speaker 1>flies back and forth for these two cities.

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<v Speaker 2>My god, my god. Eight years and hundreds of first

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<v Speaker 2>days later, Wendy has perfected her own strategies and is

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<v Speaker 2>even planning to turn her bizarre dating stories into a book.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the end of summer twenty thirteen and it's been

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<v Speaker 2>just two days since her first date with Derek the

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<v Speaker 2>whale shark guy. And while she's still none the wiser

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<v Speaker 2>as to why he'd lie about scuba diving, she's also

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<v Speaker 2>kind of into him. He's successful, adventurous, and attentive, perhaps

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<v Speaker 2>too attentive. He's been a prolific texter and emailer. Just

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<v Speaker 2>two days after their first date, Derek offers to fly

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy to San Francisco to meet his mother. He signs

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<v Speaker 2>off his message love you more than this morning with

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<v Speaker 2>two exclamation marks.

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<v Speaker 1>I said you couldn't even name ten facts about me,

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<v Speaker 1>and he then sent me an email one hundred.

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<v Speaker 3>Reasons why I love you.

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<v Speaker 1>Hearts of it were I love that you have to

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<v Speaker 1>have a coffee first thing in the morning. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>drink coffee. He literally didn't even read it. He just

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<v Speaker 1>googled a hundred reasons to love someone and then just

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<v Speaker 1>send it to me.

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<v Speaker 2>Derek is a little carried away with his feelings, sure,

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<v Speaker 2>but Wendy thinks maybe he's just kind of clumsy with it.

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<v Speaker 2>We've all been a little cringey when we've had a crush.

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<v Speaker 1>I was excited to meet someone that was very interested

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<v Speaker 1>in me and was very open to me.

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<v Speaker 3>That was very refreshing.

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<v Speaker 1>Something just didn't feel completely right, but I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>like him.

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<v Speaker 2>And so Wendy picks up the phone and makes a

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<v Speaker 2>call to her sister in Texas.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you check out Derek?

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<v Speaker 2>Wendy and Laurie have been in the game for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I had so many details. His name, how old he.

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<v Speaker 3>Was, She said, Oh, he has a daughter, same age's

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<v Speaker 3>my daughter? How long he said he'd been divorced. The

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<v Speaker 3>college that he went to, what year he graduated. She

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<v Speaker 3>did get the name of the company he was working for.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't even know that much information about some of

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<v Speaker 1>my close friends.

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<v Speaker 2>While Laura gets to work online sleuthing, Wendy and Derek

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<v Speaker 2>keep seeing each other, and one of those dates is

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<v Speaker 2>in an upscale neighborhood where Derek is viewing a luxury condo.

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<v Speaker 1>He had told me he's on Maui because he's looking

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<v Speaker 1>for investments.

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<v Speaker 2>It's been less than two weeks since they met.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, do you want to go with me to

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<v Speaker 1>look at some of these properties? So I'm like, yes, absolutely.

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<v Speaker 2>They're walking through a place Derek is considering investing in.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a three bed property with all the amenities, ocean views,

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<v Speaker 2>built in lighting fixtures for hanging your own art collection.

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<v Speaker 2>It's classy. Wendy's realta friend is showing them around.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh wow, he seems like such a great, successful, nice guy.

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<v Speaker 2>But before long, Derek fumbles into weird o behavior again.

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<v Speaker 1>He started acting like, oh, this could be our home,

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<v Speaker 1>ah home, And I'm like, I thought this was a

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<v Speaker 1>real estate investment thing. He started saying, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>really see this as our house. He's like, let's put

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<v Speaker 1>both our names on it. I'm like what he goes,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to make sure you and your daughter are

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<v Speaker 1>taking care of him, Like, well, then put me in

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<v Speaker 1>your will.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm never signing anything with you.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the moment at which Wendy's interest in Derek

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<v Speaker 2>as a possible boyfriend really takes a turn. Whatever his charms,

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<v Speaker 2>he is coming on too strong. It's not just the

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<v Speaker 2>real estate business. He's sending shared calendar invites for upcoming

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<v Speaker 2>family visits.

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<v Speaker 1>Now they call it love bombing, but I didn't know

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<v Speaker 1>the term back then.

0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.840
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's big sister Laurie is starting to question Derek too.

0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.120
<v Speaker 2>In a small, narrow room off her bedroom, Laurie is

0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:51.160
<v Speaker 2>at a cluttered desk. She's sitting on one of those

0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:55.080
<v Speaker 2>ergonomic backlass chairs where you rest your weight on your knees.

0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.160
<v Speaker 2>She's looking at the website for Derek Already's real estate

0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:03.920
<v Speaker 2>investment come the one who sent Wendy scrolling to the

0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.240
<v Speaker 2>bottom of the page. She notices the site was only

0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.800
<v Speaker 2>created that year. Could be something, could be nothing.

0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:17.120
<v Speaker 3>I started noticing things that were static. They weren't clickable.

0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:22.600
<v Speaker 2>It's full of testimonials, generic stock images, but the links

0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:30.000
<v Speaker 2>are dead. Are these real people? For that matter? Is

0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:34.119
<v Speaker 2>a business reel? Luri finds the company's address on the website.

0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.520
<v Speaker 3>I went to Google Earth and I went down to

0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:41.200
<v Speaker 3>street level, and in that building you could see the

0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:45.960
<v Speaker 3>directory of what companies were in that building.

0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:52.840
<v Speaker 2>Derek's supposed company wasn't there. Other than the stuff Derek's

0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:58.200
<v Speaker 2>provided to Wendy himself. Lauri can't find any detail whatsoever

0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.520
<v Speaker 2>on the guy.

0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.720
<v Speaker 3>This puzzle with missing a lot of pieces. I just

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.840
<v Speaker 3>was not finding the normal things that I could find.

0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:14.640
<v Speaker 3>Why am I stuck? Why can't I find more on

0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:20.920
<v Speaker 3>this guy?

0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.920
<v Speaker 2>As she sits alone at her desk, a new thought

0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:29.639
<v Speaker 2>occurs to Laurie. Maybe the lack of information, the very

0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:34.520
<v Speaker 2>existence of so many strange gaps, is the enormous, frantically

0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:39.280
<v Speaker 2>waving red flag she's been looking for. Laurie decides it's

0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.440
<v Speaker 2>time to call in a little backup of her own.

0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.160
<v Speaker 2>She looks up a name and number that she hasn't

0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:48.320
<v Speaker 2>thought about for years. Gives him a call.

0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.240
<v Speaker 3>I recognize that voice immediately.

0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:57.680
<v Speaker 2>Laurie's old college power Pat is now a private investigator,

0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:01.359
<v Speaker 2>Private investigation Pat.

0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.520
<v Speaker 3>He said, of course I will do this. Of course

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:06.439
<v Speaker 3>I will do this for you.

0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:11.280
<v Speaker 2>PI Pat gets to work right away, pulling off his

0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.600
<v Speaker 2>own research tools while the two old friends sit on

0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:18.960
<v Speaker 2>the phone, and in almost no time at all, the

0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.440
<v Speaker 2>computer spits back some results.

0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.760
<v Speaker 3>He said, just from looking at this report, Tell your

0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:30.840
<v Speaker 3>sister to run. Tell her to run.

0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.800
<v Speaker 2>Laurie's just got off the phone with PI Pat, who

0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.840
<v Speaker 2>has told her, in no uncertain terms, to get her

0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.920
<v Speaker 2>sister the hell out of her weird dance with Derek Allread.

0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:07.879
<v Speaker 2>With Pat's reports sitting in her inbox, Laurie reaches for

0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.080
<v Speaker 2>the phone again in her panic to tell Wendy the news.

0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:12.960
<v Speaker 2>She nearly falls off her chair.

0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:17.360
<v Speaker 1>It was really disappointed that there wasn't more information about this.

0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.359
<v Speaker 1>There wasn't anything really big, and I kind of my

0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:21.400
<v Speaker 1>shoulders dropped.

0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:26.360
<v Speaker 2>You see the report pipat sent over didn't really answer

0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:31.879
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's questions, just gave her more. Firstly, Derek had been

0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:35.600
<v Speaker 2>lying to Wendy about the spelling of his name. Derek

0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:42.640
<v Speaker 2>Allread was Derek Alldred. That's how Pipat had found him. Secondly,

0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:46.879
<v Speaker 2>Derek Aldred had a long list of previous addresses, oddly

0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:50.639
<v Speaker 2>long and across states. As well as that, a larger

0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:55.520
<v Speaker 2>than average number of evictions. And that's pretty much it.

0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:58.760
<v Speaker 1>I thought, for sure, we're going to find out there's

0:19:58.760 --> 0:19:59.920
<v Speaker 1>something going on here.

0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:05.040
<v Speaker 2>For Wendy. It doesn't seem like much for Pi Pat

0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:09.080
<v Speaker 2>and Laurie. Reading between the lines, it says a law

0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:13.440
<v Speaker 2>there were no felonies, but PI Pat can explain that.

0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:21.560
<v Speaker 3>He said, I can't see certain reports because states don't

0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:26.320
<v Speaker 3>share the information. But it was enough to know he's

0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:27.120
<v Speaker 3>not a good guy.

0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:33.000
<v Speaker 2>But Wendy's moved beyond wanting to date Derek. She has

0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:34.320
<v Speaker 2>other ambitions.

0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:41.879
<v Speaker 3>She has this thing. She considers herself a karma warrior, okay,

0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:46.280
<v Speaker 3>meaning in her mind, this is a guy that needs

0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:50.719
<v Speaker 3>to be put in his place. The toxic masculinity. Guys

0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:54.040
<v Speaker 3>go for it. Wendy say what she needs to say,

0:20:54.160 --> 0:21:02.360
<v Speaker 3>do what you need to do. This guy was totally different, tractive, friendly, helpful,

0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:06.439
<v Speaker 3>all these things. Those are the ones that you know

0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:10.119
<v Speaker 3>scare me. And I think she thought, eh, I'm just

0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.320
<v Speaker 3>gonna play with them. All a bit just because she could.

0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:17.040
<v Speaker 2>Wendy, with a ponchon for poking the bear and the

0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:19.919
<v Speaker 2>final chapter of a book about online dating to write,

0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:26.959
<v Speaker 2>sets out to find the truth. Wendy meets up with Derek,

0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:32.440
<v Speaker 2>armed with evidence from Pipat and Deputy PI Laurie, but

0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:36.679
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't really go according to plan because Derek cops

0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:40.760
<v Speaker 2>to none of it. The long list of previous addresses.

0:21:41.040 --> 0:21:44.320
<v Speaker 1>Oh, I'm in real estate investment. Those are properties I've

0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:48.560
<v Speaker 1>owned and printed the eviction notices I've had the evict

0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:49.159
<v Speaker 1>other people.

0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:53.600
<v Speaker 2>Derek even calls Maui Memorial Hospital while Wendy is on

0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:57.240
<v Speaker 2>speakerphone beside him, to prove he really was in hospital

0:21:57.400 --> 0:21:59.920
<v Speaker 2>around the time of his story about getting the bend.

0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:06.000
<v Speaker 1>He did not own up to anything that was remotely off.

0:22:07.440 --> 0:22:09.400
<v Speaker 1>He had an answer for everything.

0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:14.640
<v Speaker 2>Without cold, hard proof. All she has is gut instinct,

0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.640
<v Speaker 2>and in the face of Derek's confidence, self assuredness, it's

0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:25.479
<v Speaker 2>not the satisfying confrontation she had hoped for. Wendy just

0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:27.280
<v Speaker 2>has more questions.

0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:31.879
<v Speaker 1>Why is he coming after me? I kept thinking maybe

0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:35.760
<v Speaker 1>there's something to do with buying a house, but I

0:22:35.800 --> 0:22:38.560
<v Speaker 1>don't have a lot of extra cash sitting around. It's

0:22:38.600 --> 0:22:40.679
<v Speaker 1>not like I was super wealthy or anything.

0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:44.879
<v Speaker 2>It's only been a couple of weeks. But Wendy is

0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:49.080
<v Speaker 2>clear on one thing. Derek is not investing in the

0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:50.360
<v Speaker 2>Maui property market.

0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:54.880
<v Speaker 1>That whole deal fell through because he didn't have money.

0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:57.680
<v Speaker 1>My friend was the realtor. She's like, there's no money

0:22:57.680 --> 0:23:01.000
<v Speaker 1>in that account. I'm a super cureious person. So I

0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:05.920
<v Speaker 1>kept agreeing to meet with him now and then I

0:23:05.960 --> 0:23:10.040
<v Speaker 1>would go with them to look at condos, and he

0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:13.440
<v Speaker 1>would talk about how much money he had. One time

0:23:13.720 --> 0:23:16.320
<v Speaker 1>he said, I know you don't believe me, and he

0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:20.560
<v Speaker 1>had pulled up an investment account like one point two million.

0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:23.760
<v Speaker 1>First of all, it looks like a PDF. And then

0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:25.720
<v Speaker 1>I also noticed that there was a typo in the

0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:27.920
<v Speaker 1>word checking, the most basic word.

0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:32.320
<v Speaker 2>And yet all the while he's lavishing her with attention

0:23:33.000 --> 0:23:33.639
<v Speaker 2>and more.

0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:41.960
<v Speaker 1>One two, three dozen roses, Sherry's berries, Tiffany jewelry, prescription sunglasses,

0:23:42.680 --> 0:23:44.560
<v Speaker 1>a giant Teddy Bear.

0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:49.200
<v Speaker 2>To give you a sense of scale. I'm four for

0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:51.760
<v Speaker 2>eleven and I'd call this bad daddy.

0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:55.119
<v Speaker 1>If he would have been just any other person, I

0:23:55.160 --> 0:24:00.080
<v Speaker 1>would have stopped. But because I had already started writing

0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:01.480
<v Speaker 1>a book about online dating.

0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:04.840
<v Speaker 3>I kept going with it.

0:24:05.640 --> 0:24:09.040
<v Speaker 2>She doesn't just want Derek to admit that he's a liar.

0:24:09.960 --> 0:24:12.639
<v Speaker 2>She wants him to explain why he's lying.

0:24:13.760 --> 0:24:16.760
<v Speaker 1>Who in the right mind would spend so much time

0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:20.800
<v Speaker 1>and effort trying to cont someone It just didn't make

0:24:20.840 --> 0:24:21.560
<v Speaker 1>any sense to me.

0:24:22.680 --> 0:24:27.320
<v Speaker 2>Wendy is starting to doubt whether anything Derek says is true.

0:24:27.760 --> 0:24:30.760
<v Speaker 2>Does he really have a dog named Max? Is he

0:24:30.880 --> 0:24:35.840
<v Speaker 2>even from San Francisco? And if so, where does he

0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:40.520
<v Speaker 2>actually live? In response to Wendy's questions, Derek sends Wendy

0:24:40.560 --> 0:24:43.800
<v Speaker 2>a video tour pading around the inside of a home.

0:24:45.520 --> 0:24:48.120
<v Speaker 2>We start off in a living room and there's some

0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:55.800
<v Speaker 2>red walls. He walks through a doorway into a kitchen,

0:24:56.200 --> 0:25:00.600
<v Speaker 2>lots of pictures, a nicely made up bed. There's a

0:25:00.640 --> 0:25:03.800
<v Speaker 2>dogbed in the living room, and the name on the

0:25:03.800 --> 0:25:09.080
<v Speaker 2>back says Maxwell. But what does a random video really

0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:12.960
<v Speaker 2>tell you? It's like if someone said to me, Anna,

0:25:13.240 --> 0:25:16.120
<v Speaker 2>you're not really a vegan, and to prove to them

0:25:16.119 --> 0:25:18.760
<v Speaker 2>that I am, I send them a video of a salad.

0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:24.600
<v Speaker 2>Everyone eats salads. Who's to say it's even my salad?

0:25:25.000 --> 0:25:29.000
<v Speaker 2>Who's to say I even took the video, But whenever

0:25:29.080 --> 0:25:33.440
<v Speaker 2>Wendy pushes too hard with questions or challenges about Derek's

0:25:33.480 --> 0:25:37.520
<v Speaker 2>metaphorical salad, he seems to find ways to derail things

0:25:37.600 --> 0:25:38.360
<v Speaker 2>in his favor.

0:25:41.560 --> 0:25:44.760
<v Speaker 1>There was always some tragic thing that was happening. When

0:25:44.800 --> 0:25:47.439
<v Speaker 1>time he told me his dog died, he would have

0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:50.840
<v Speaker 1>drama in his life. He just wouldn't let it go.

0:25:50.920 --> 0:25:51.879
<v Speaker 3>He still kept trying.

0:25:52.359 --> 0:25:57.360
<v Speaker 2>Wow, he just would not quit. Right, Did he like it?

0:25:57.640 --> 0:25:59.360
<v Speaker 2>You know? The rejection?

0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:04.520
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, Wendy. I've been nothing but transparent with you,

0:26:04.640 --> 0:26:06.840
<v Speaker 1>and I love you, and it really is so hurtful

0:26:06.840 --> 0:26:10.680
<v Speaker 1>that you're saying these things about me. Once I knew

0:26:10.720 --> 0:26:13.679
<v Speaker 1>he was a pathological liar, I really just wanted to

0:26:13.800 --> 0:26:16.240
<v Speaker 1>catch him in a way that he couldn't get out

0:26:16.240 --> 0:26:17.600
<v Speaker 1>of it.

0:26:17.600 --> 0:26:20.480
<v Speaker 2>It isn't until mid October that Wendy gets her next

0:26:20.480 --> 0:26:24.359
<v Speaker 2>opportunity to try and figure out what Derek's really up to,

0:26:25.240 --> 0:26:30.280
<v Speaker 2>and this time it's on his home turf. Wendy has

0:26:30.320 --> 0:26:33.520
<v Speaker 2>to travel to San Francisco for a biopsy following a

0:26:33.520 --> 0:26:37.840
<v Speaker 2>breast cancer scare. When Derek hears about it, in classic

0:26:37.960 --> 0:26:42.000
<v Speaker 2>Derek's style, he makes a big fuss, offering to buy

0:26:42.080 --> 0:26:46.159
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's plane ticket and then sending details for a flight

0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:50.560
<v Speaker 2>that doesn't exist. Didn't he think you'd find out about

0:26:50.600 --> 0:26:51.040
<v Speaker 2>the flight?

0:26:51.440 --> 0:26:54.000
<v Speaker 1>You would think so. I have no idea why he

0:26:54.040 --> 0:26:55.719
<v Speaker 1>would do some things and not others.

0:26:56.520 --> 0:27:00.920
<v Speaker 2>She gets there anyway under her own steam. Results come

0:27:00.960 --> 0:27:04.560
<v Speaker 2>back negative within a couple of days, and Wendy's feeling good.

0:27:05.359 --> 0:27:10.040
<v Speaker 2>Then Derek pops up again. He invites her to dinner.

0:27:10.880 --> 0:27:14.040
<v Speaker 2>Wendy can't resist the opportunity to do a bit slew

0:27:14.160 --> 0:27:17.760
<v Speaker 2>thing on Derek's patch. They go for the dinner, and

0:27:17.840 --> 0:27:21.080
<v Speaker 2>not only does he rock up in a BMW, he

0:27:21.119 --> 0:27:25.879
<v Speaker 2>actually pays for everything. He even takes Wendy to a

0:27:25.960 --> 0:27:32.160
<v Speaker 2>Brian Adams concert, merch drinks, all paid for by this

0:27:32.280 --> 0:27:33.200
<v Speaker 2>strange man.

0:27:34.640 --> 0:27:39.359
<v Speaker 1>I'm sitting there going well, he looks like what he

0:27:39.440 --> 0:27:42.480
<v Speaker 1>told me he was. I was trying to figure out,

0:27:42.520 --> 0:27:44.080
<v Speaker 1>like where did he come into money.

0:27:44.680 --> 0:27:48.800
<v Speaker 2>Wendy looks at the man beside her and asks herself,

0:27:49.040 --> 0:27:53.760
<v Speaker 2>for maybe the hundredth time, what kind of con is this.

0:28:04.800 --> 0:28:07.880
<v Speaker 2>It's a Tuesday evening in the very middle of October.

0:28:08.680 --> 0:28:13.679
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's back on Maui and the prosecco is flowing. A

0:28:13.720 --> 0:28:17.440
<v Speaker 2>medley of dance pop albums play in the background. Brittany

0:28:17.640 --> 0:28:21.320
<v Speaker 2>the Donna, Lady Gaga. There are potluck snacks on Wendy's

0:28:21.359 --> 0:28:24.240
<v Speaker 2>living room table. It's been a month and a half

0:28:24.280 --> 0:28:28.880
<v Speaker 2>since Wendy's first date with Derek, and it's girls' night.

0:28:29.600 --> 0:28:32.800
<v Speaker 2>There are eight women crammed into Wendy's small living room,

0:28:33.160 --> 0:28:36.480
<v Speaker 2>gaping at the giant TV on the wall the show

0:28:37.119 --> 0:28:40.160
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's love Life. She's hook the TV up to her

0:28:40.200 --> 0:28:43.080
<v Speaker 2>phone and is doing a full class report of her

0:28:43.160 --> 0:28:47.360
<v Speaker 2>latest dates with supplementary screenshots and selfies.

0:28:47.840 --> 0:28:51.760
<v Speaker 1>All my girlfriends were getting the reports about what was

0:28:51.800 --> 0:28:53.480
<v Speaker 1>going on, and they were all invested.

0:28:54.080 --> 0:28:57.880
<v Speaker 2>There's nothing quite as intoxicating as being the headline act

0:28:58.080 --> 0:29:01.400
<v Speaker 2>at girls' Night. In the last few weeks have given

0:29:01.440 --> 0:29:05.280
<v Speaker 2>Wendy a lot of material to work with as she

0:29:05.360 --> 0:29:09.360
<v Speaker 2>regales them with her latest tales. The girls speculate about

0:29:09.360 --> 0:29:11.440
<v Speaker 2>Derek's motives.

0:29:11.080 --> 0:29:13.040
<v Speaker 1>What is this guy's deal? What is he after?

0:29:13.720 --> 0:29:17.760
<v Speaker 2>Until finally, one of Wendy's girlfriends says the thing we've.

0:29:17.680 --> 0:29:25.360
<v Speaker 1>All been thinking, Wendy. He does sound like he is

0:29:25.400 --> 0:29:29.360
<v Speaker 1>a psychopath. And what if he physically hurts you? What

0:29:29.400 --> 0:29:32.000
<v Speaker 1>if he hits you? What if he kidnapped you. Up

0:29:32.080 --> 0:29:34.760
<v Speaker 1>until she said that, it had never crossed my mind.

0:29:35.520 --> 0:29:39.680
<v Speaker 2>It's the same worry Wendy's sister had quietly all those

0:29:39.720 --> 0:29:40.480
<v Speaker 2>weeks earlier.

0:29:41.520 --> 0:29:43.400
<v Speaker 3>It really made me open my eyes.

0:29:44.000 --> 0:29:48.120
<v Speaker 2>It's been two months of exchanges with Derek, and despite

0:29:48.160 --> 0:29:52.840
<v Speaker 2>all the evidence, all the difficult questions, Wendy is no

0:29:53.000 --> 0:29:56.960
<v Speaker 2>closer to learning the truth about who this man actually is.

0:29:58.560 --> 0:30:04.320
<v Speaker 2>But now she realized, really realizes.

0:30:07.720 --> 0:30:14.840
<v Speaker 1>This is clearly an unhinged person and maybe I'm not safe.

0:30:16.120 --> 0:30:18.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm just never going to figure this out. I need

0:30:18.040 --> 0:30:19.640
<v Speaker 1>to get him out of my life before he does

0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:21.040
<v Speaker 1>do something really crazy to me.

0:30:40.240 --> 0:30:42.920
<v Speaker 2>It's only been a couple of days since Wendy's girls

0:30:42.960 --> 0:30:48.080
<v Speaker 2>told her gently to leave Derek well alone. When he

0:30:48.120 --> 0:30:51.440
<v Speaker 2>reaches out again wanting to meet up, Wendy does decide

0:30:51.440 --> 0:30:54.160
<v Speaker 2>to go. Maybe this is her chance to end it

0:30:54.200 --> 0:30:54.800
<v Speaker 2>in person.

0:30:55.480 --> 0:30:58.440
<v Speaker 1>He asked me to come meet him because he wanted

0:30:58.440 --> 0:30:59.920
<v Speaker 1>to get his mother a birthday gift.

0:31:03.600 --> 0:31:06.320
<v Speaker 2>Wendy meets Derek at the jewelry store in a busy

0:31:06.320 --> 0:31:11.040
<v Speaker 2>shopping center, and at first she browses solo well. Derek

0:31:11.080 --> 0:31:12.120
<v Speaker 2>does his own thing.

0:31:12.600 --> 0:31:14.320
<v Speaker 1>And then he's like, oh, hey, I think I found

0:31:14.360 --> 0:31:15.280
<v Speaker 1>the gift for my mom.

0:31:15.640 --> 0:31:19.720
<v Speaker 2>Derek shows her a pair of diamond stud earrings four

0:31:19.760 --> 0:31:21.440
<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars, and.

0:31:21.400 --> 0:31:25.960
<v Speaker 1>He goes, would you try him on? They're just diamond studs.

0:31:26.000 --> 0:31:29.040
<v Speaker 1>Everybody knows what they look like on ears. But I

0:31:29.120 --> 0:31:32.720
<v Speaker 1>put them on, and then he goes, well, let's look

0:31:32.760 --> 0:31:34.960
<v Speaker 1>out in the light. And he was trying to pull

0:31:35.040 --> 0:31:36.440
<v Speaker 1>me outside of the store.

0:31:37.480 --> 0:31:41.239
<v Speaker 2>Wendy looks over at the salesperson for help, but they

0:31:41.400 --> 0:31:45.400
<v Speaker 2>just not. I imagine with the patients of all underpaid retail

0:31:45.440 --> 0:31:50.480
<v Speaker 2>workers who are unwillingly roped into romantic gestures outside the

0:31:50.520 --> 0:31:53.640
<v Speaker 2>jewelry store under the bright lights of the shopping mall.

0:31:54.440 --> 0:31:56.360
<v Speaker 2>Derek makes his reveal.

0:31:56.920 --> 0:31:59.160
<v Speaker 1>I've already paid for them. They're for you, not my mother.

0:32:00.280 --> 0:32:03.080
<v Speaker 1>To do it to show you that I'm committed to

0:32:03.200 --> 0:32:04.320
<v Speaker 1>this relationship.

0:32:05.120 --> 0:32:07.880
<v Speaker 2>She comes in here to end it, and now he's

0:32:07.920 --> 0:32:09.200
<v Speaker 2>throwing earrings at.

0:32:09.080 --> 0:32:14.480
<v Speaker 1>Her, and I'm thinking, where is this coming from. I

0:32:14.520 --> 0:32:18.640
<v Speaker 1>gave him back those earrings. I said, I do think

0:32:18.720 --> 0:32:21.280
<v Speaker 1>that you are a con artist, and even though I

0:32:21.280 --> 0:32:23.480
<v Speaker 1>can't put it all together, I don't ever want you

0:32:23.520 --> 0:32:24.560
<v Speaker 1>to contact me again.

0:32:26.600 --> 0:32:29.480
<v Speaker 2>A few weeks later, Wendy gets a text.

0:32:30.280 --> 0:32:34.600
<v Speaker 1>Hi Wendy, I'm on island. My dad doesn't want me

0:32:34.680 --> 0:32:35.440
<v Speaker 1>to contact you.

0:32:35.640 --> 0:32:36.720
<v Speaker 3>Blah blah blah.

0:32:36.960 --> 0:32:40.480
<v Speaker 2>It's from an unknown number, and the text claims to

0:32:40.520 --> 0:32:44.800
<v Speaker 2>be not Derek, but Derek's daughter.

0:32:47.960 --> 0:32:48.760
<v Speaker 3>I started laughing.

0:32:48.800 --> 0:32:52.080
<v Speaker 1>I knew right away it wasn't her, because it's texting

0:32:52.680 --> 0:32:54.719
<v Speaker 1>like adults think teenager's text.

0:32:55.400 --> 0:32:56.680
<v Speaker 3>No word is written out.

0:32:57.440 --> 0:32:59.440
<v Speaker 2>Wendy even shows them to her own daughter.

0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:04.240
<v Speaker 1>Do you think this is actually from a teenager? Oh gosh, no,

0:33:04.400 --> 0:33:05.600
<v Speaker 1>we don't really text like that.

0:33:06.480 --> 0:33:08.760
<v Speaker 2>The unknown number sends a follow up.

0:33:09.480 --> 0:33:11.400
<v Speaker 1>Oh, my dad would be upset if he knew I

0:33:11.440 --> 0:33:13.440
<v Speaker 1>was reaching out to you. But he's in the hospital.

0:33:14.480 --> 0:33:19.080
<v Speaker 2>Wendy resolutely broke up with Derek, but this is too

0:33:19.120 --> 0:33:21.080
<v Speaker 2>good of an opportunity to pass up.

0:33:22.560 --> 0:33:25.560
<v Speaker 1>I call the hospital. He is registered as a patient.

0:33:27.160 --> 0:33:27.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm like, what.

0:33:29.280 --> 0:33:31.560
<v Speaker 2>Wendy's own daughter wants answers now too.

0:33:32.320 --> 0:33:34.440
<v Speaker 1>She goes, You've got to go down there. You can

0:33:34.480 --> 0:33:36.880
<v Speaker 1>catch him, because you know his daughter's not there. I

0:33:37.120 --> 0:33:43.080
<v Speaker 1>drive to the hospital, I go in the room and

0:33:43.120 --> 0:33:45.480
<v Speaker 1>I see him and I'm thinking.

0:33:45.320 --> 0:33:46.120
<v Speaker 3>Where's your daughter.

0:33:46.200 --> 0:33:51.000
<v Speaker 1>Oh, my friend on island took her. They went to Starbucks,

0:33:51.040 --> 0:33:53.719
<v Speaker 1>and I'm like, oh, Starbucks closes in like twenty minutes.

0:33:54.520 --> 0:33:57.440
<v Speaker 1>It's MAUI. Everything closes by nine pm, if not earlier.

0:33:58.480 --> 0:34:01.680
<v Speaker 2>Derek has taken off to get a scam. Wendy sits

0:34:01.760 --> 0:34:06.680
<v Speaker 2>in his room waiting. Twenty minutes go by.

0:34:07.240 --> 0:34:09.160
<v Speaker 3>Starbucks has closed. Where's your daughter?

0:34:09.480 --> 0:34:11.560
<v Speaker 1>He just kept saying, oh, well, they must be doing

0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:14.200
<v Speaker 1>this or that or whatever, and she just didn't come.

0:34:14.280 --> 0:34:16.319
<v Speaker 1>And so I'm like, okay, you know what, whatever, I

0:34:16.360 --> 0:34:17.040
<v Speaker 1>got to go home.

0:34:20.200 --> 0:34:24.960
<v Speaker 2>Wendy doesn't go home because it's time for a good

0:34:25.320 --> 0:34:27.759
<v Speaker 2>old fashioned steak out.

0:34:30.480 --> 0:34:33.880
<v Speaker 1>I went and I parked my car across the street.

0:34:35.160 --> 0:34:39.080
<v Speaker 2>Wendy sits in her car in the dark, eyes trained

0:34:39.200 --> 0:34:42.480
<v Speaker 2>on the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital main entrance,

0:34:43.560 --> 0:34:44.240
<v Speaker 2>and waits.

0:34:45.520 --> 0:34:48.880
<v Speaker 1>He got discharged and I saw him come out of

0:34:48.880 --> 0:34:52.040
<v Speaker 1>the hospital in plane clothes and then just started walking

0:34:52.040 --> 0:34:53.959
<v Speaker 1>down the street. He didn't have a vehicle, he didn't

0:34:53.960 --> 0:34:56.200
<v Speaker 1>have anything. There was nobody to pick him up.

0:34:57.480 --> 0:35:01.640
<v Speaker 2>Wendy was right Darro's door. Her is nowhere to be seen,

0:35:02.320 --> 0:35:06.520
<v Speaker 2>but as she watches him retreat into the distance, she's

0:35:06.719 --> 0:35:08.880
<v Speaker 2>no closer to finding out the truth.

0:35:11.440 --> 0:35:14.279
<v Speaker 1>It really was a bummer because nothing made sense. It

0:35:14.440 --> 0:35:18.480
<v Speaker 1>killed me to not have answers, and to just say

0:35:18.480 --> 0:35:20.560
<v Speaker 1>that I'm never going to have correspondence with him again.

0:35:21.800 --> 0:35:24.520
<v Speaker 2>Back in San Francisco, Derek takes a little longer to

0:35:24.640 --> 0:35:28.960
<v Speaker 2>drop it. He keeps sending emails which Wendy doesn't reply to.

0:35:29.960 --> 0:35:33.480
<v Speaker 2>He even tries one last sympathy play, telling her that

0:35:33.600 --> 0:35:37.400
<v Speaker 2>he in fact has cancer, that she's the love of

0:35:37.440 --> 0:35:42.400
<v Speaker 2>his life, that he loves her forever, attaching copies of

0:35:42.440 --> 0:35:44.160
<v Speaker 2>his ultrasounds as proof.

0:35:45.239 --> 0:35:49.440
<v Speaker 1>I did a Google image search. The ultrasound picture that

0:35:49.520 --> 0:35:51.759
<v Speaker 1>he sent me was one of the first ones that

0:35:51.880 --> 0:35:52.319
<v Speaker 1>came up.

0:35:52.440 --> 0:35:55.880
<v Speaker 2>Oh wow, So he didn't even try hard.

0:35:56.160 --> 0:35:58.720
<v Speaker 1>He wasn't trying hard, he wasn't putting in the effort

0:35:58.800 --> 0:36:01.920
<v Speaker 1>like he used to. I just felt like that was

0:36:01.960 --> 0:36:06.040
<v Speaker 1>his attempt to lure me back in, and I didn't

0:36:06.080 --> 0:36:06.760
<v Speaker 1>take the bait.

0:36:08.239 --> 0:36:12.200
<v Speaker 2>Instead, she resolves not to respond to Derek ever again.

0:36:13.120 --> 0:36:18.759
<v Speaker 2>To close the chapter without answers, she sits down at

0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:24.560
<v Speaker 2>her computer and changes her Wi Fi password to the immortal.

0:36:24.120 --> 0:36:27.320
<v Speaker 1>Words Derek sucks my one ass.

0:36:30.000 --> 0:36:38.880
<v Speaker 2>Wendy is done. Months later, Wendy is walking down Maui's

0:36:38.920 --> 0:36:41.720
<v Speaker 2>busiest street when her phone rings.

0:36:42.520 --> 0:36:45.920
<v Speaker 1>Hi, Wendy, you don't know me, but my name's Cindy

0:36:46.719 --> 0:36:48.359
<v Speaker 1>and we both dated Derek.

0:36:51.120 --> 0:36:56.920
<v Speaker 2>And I was like and just like that, Wendy's back in.

0:36:57.080 --> 0:37:01.560
<v Speaker 3>Baby, I'm going to figure out what's going on.

0:37:03.360 --> 0:37:10.640
<v Speaker 2>Coming up on the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

0:37:11.200 --> 0:37:13.279
<v Speaker 4>Something's off about this whole thing.

0:37:13.480 --> 0:37:14.440
<v Speaker 2>Something's fishy.

0:37:14.800 --> 0:37:18.759
<v Speaker 3>She was relentless. He is not going to get away with.

0:37:18.680 --> 0:37:20.640
<v Speaker 2>This, but it sounds so familiar.

0:37:20.760 --> 0:37:23.200
<v Speaker 3>She kept saying, can you text her and see if

0:37:23.239 --> 0:37:25.479
<v Speaker 3>you can get a picture of him? And she did.

0:37:25.920 --> 0:37:28.320
<v Speaker 3>I can tell you neither one of us had any

0:37:28.360 --> 0:37:30.400
<v Speaker 3>idea what he really was.

0:37:31.080 --> 0:37:36.360
<v Speaker 2>A terrible, middle aged, nearly bolding boyfriend pops up in Minnesota.

0:37:36.560 --> 0:37:37.280
<v Speaker 3>Bad news.

0:37:37.400 --> 0:37:38.400
<v Speaker 2>We don't like them.

0:37:38.719 --> 0:37:41.360
<v Speaker 1>He kind of gave me creepy vibes.

0:37:41.080 --> 0:37:44.319
<v Speaker 2>And runs into a group of no nonsense, pokey loving

0:37:44.440 --> 0:37:44.880
<v Speaker 2>n uses.

0:37:45.360 --> 0:37:49.160
<v Speaker 4>We still talk about it. We always say that trust

0:37:49.200 --> 0:38:04.440
<v Speaker 4>your girlfriends.

0:38:08.200 --> 0:38:11.080
<v Speaker 2>The Girlfriend's Trust Me, Babe is produced by Novel for

0:38:11.160 --> 0:38:15.720
<v Speaker 2>iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit novel dot Audio.

0:38:16.520 --> 0:38:20.839
<v Speaker 2>The series is hosted by me Annasinfield is produced by

0:38:20.920 --> 0:38:25.360
<v Speaker 2>Leona Hamid. Our assistant producer is Valeria Rocker. Our editor

0:38:25.520 --> 0:38:30.000
<v Speaker 2>is Joe Wheeler. Production management from Sharie Houston, Joe Savage

0:38:30.080 --> 0:38:34.560
<v Speaker 2>and Charlotte Wolfe, fact checking by Dania Suleman, sound design,

0:38:34.760 --> 0:38:38.880
<v Speaker 2>mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempson and Nicholas Alexander. The

0:38:38.920 --> 0:38:42.400
<v Speaker 2>Girlfriend's theme was composed by Daniel Kempson and Louisa Gerstein

0:38:42.640 --> 0:38:46.280
<v Speaker 2>and performed by Daniel Kempson with vocals by Luisa Gerstein.

0:38:46.800 --> 0:38:50.840
<v Speaker 2>Music supervision from Daniel Kempson and Anna Sinfield. The series

0:38:50.920 --> 0:38:55.320
<v Speaker 2>artwork was designed by Christina Lemcol. Story development by Susie

0:38:55.320 --> 0:38:59.960
<v Speaker 2>Baker and Olivia Smart. Novel's director of development is Selena mah.

0:39:00.680 --> 0:39:04.720
<v Speaker 2>Max O'Brien is the executive producer for novel. Katrina Norvell

0:39:04.800 --> 0:39:08.520
<v Speaker 2>and Nikki Etoor are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts,

0:39:08.760 --> 0:39:12.520
<v Speaker 2>and the marketing lead is Alison Cantor. Special thanks to

0:39:12.600 --> 0:39:16.960
<v Speaker 2>Carrie Lieberman and Will Pearson at iHeart Podcasts, Julie Sansulo

0:39:17.160 --> 0:39:22.480
<v Speaker 2>and Langston, Carolyn sher Levin, Katie Gillis, Kelly Hunt, Rachel Munroe,

0:39:22.719 --> 0:39:24.760
<v Speaker 2>Tom Oldag, and Tadvesner