WEBVTT - Hazel | Betrayal Weekly

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, everyone, we have some exciting news to share. ABC

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<v Speaker 1>News Studios has turned Caroline Brega's story from Betrayal Season

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<v Speaker 1>four into a docuseries. You'll get to meet the people involved,

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<v Speaker 1>You'll hear from people who have never spoken before, and

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<v Speaker 1>you get to see where this story took place. We

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<v Speaker 1>are so proud and excited to share it with you all.

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<v Speaker 1>Stream Betrayal Dirty Secrets now on Hulu or Hulu for

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<v Speaker 1>Disney Plus.

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<v Speaker 2>You've got to arrest him because I don't know where

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<v Speaker 2>this is going to end. He's a liar, he's a manipulator,

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<v Speaker 2>and he's an abusa and I don't think he'll stop

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<v Speaker 2>unless he's made to stop.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is Betrayal, a show about

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<v Speaker 1>the people we trust the most and the decep that

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<v Speaker 1>change everything. Today we're sharing Hazel's story. She feels more

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<v Speaker 1>comfortable telling her story with a pseudonym, but the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the names and details in this story are unchanged.

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel lives in a small town in the UK.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a village with two shops and there's not really

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<v Speaker 2>a lot there to be honest.

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel married her husband, Mikey, when she was eighteen. In

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<v Speaker 1>her early twenties, she started studying to be a social worker.

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<v Speaker 2>I started college and working a lot, so I wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>really home and I think Mikey's reaction to that was

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<v Speaker 2>he was at home board so it'd have a drink.

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<v Speaker 1>Mikey's drinking turned from a habit to an addiction.

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<v Speaker 2>It was awful. It was awful. He couldn't keep a

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<v Speaker 2>job because obviously being alcohol dependent, so that put more

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<v Speaker 2>pressure on me, having to pay the bills, make sure

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<v Speaker 2>that you've got enough money.

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel was working hard to build a full life. She

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<v Speaker 1>had big dreams, but over time it became clear that

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<v Speaker 1>Mikey couldn't grow with her.

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<v Speaker 2>I wanted to better myself and get a better career

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<v Speaker 2>and do something meaningful, and he was kind of stuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Mikey's struggle with addiction changed him. He began lashing out

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<v Speaker 1>at Hazel. He'd tell her that he wasn't drinking, but

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<v Speaker 1>she started to see that he was just hiding it.

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<v Speaker 2>When I'd come down in the morning, he'd have made

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<v Speaker 2>me a coffee and he'd have one himself, and the

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<v Speaker 2>would be vodka in his coffee. My anxiety was through

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<v Speaker 2>the roof. It was just horrendous.

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel realized she couldn't trust him anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>We tried to save our marriage, but it just got worse.

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<v Speaker 2>Over the next couple of years, things weren't good.

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<v Speaker 1>Eventually, it was clear that Mikey needed professional support and

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel needed a supportive part, and neither of them could

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<v Speaker 1>be that for each other.

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<v Speaker 2>It just got out of control.

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<v Speaker 1>She and Mikey decided to divorce. The day he left,

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel helped him pack up his things. Finally, she grabbed

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<v Speaker 1>the last box and put it in his car. When

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<v Speaker 1>she opened the trunk, it.

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<v Speaker 2>Was filled with empty bottles of vodka whiskey.

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<v Speaker 1>Then Mikey drove away. That's how Hazel found herself living

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<v Speaker 1>alone for the first time as an adult, well almost alone.

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<v Speaker 2>I had a dog called Rico. He was my little

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<v Speaker 2>rescue dog. He rescued me as much as I rescued him.

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<v Speaker 2>I call him my soul dog.

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<v Speaker 1>She was learning how to do a lot of things

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<v Speaker 1>on her own. Just a few days after Mikey moved out,

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel went to take a shower and discovered the water

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<v Speaker 1>was freezing cold.

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<v Speaker 2>I had no hot water, so I had to ring

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<v Speaker 2>this company back and say you've knackered up my hot water.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't have any hot water, so they said, we'll

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<v Speaker 2>send somebody out the next day.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure enough, the next morning, she heard a knock on

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<v Speaker 1>her door. It was a repair man from the gas company.

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<v Speaker 2>He was very tall, but didn't think anything of him,

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<v Speaker 2>just a guess man.

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<v Speaker 1>He got to work on the hot water heater. He

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<v Speaker 1>has all went back to the living room, where she

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<v Speaker 1>was hanging out with her best friend.

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<v Speaker 2>We'd known each other since playgroup, you know, really really close,

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<v Speaker 2>so she of course was the person I rang when

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<v Speaker 2>I'd realized that, yeah, that's it, marriage is over. I

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<v Speaker 2>was on the floor. I was at my most vulnerable,

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred percent.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a relief to have her best friend there

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<v Speaker 1>to listen.

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<v Speaker 2>I was talking about Mikey and his alcohol dependency and

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<v Speaker 2>the lies, and just that I couldn't do it anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Eventually, the repairman finished fixing the boiler. He popped his

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<v Speaker 1>head into the living room, told all he was done,

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<v Speaker 1>and left.

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<v Speaker 2>So my hot water was fixed. My friend had left.

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<v Speaker 2>Didn't really fancy being in the house on my own,

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<v Speaker 2>so I went over to my mom's, just trying to

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<v Speaker 2>keep myself busy.

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<v Speaker 1>She was at her Mom's sitting on the couch doing

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<v Speaker 1>the same thing she'd been doing for days.

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<v Speaker 2>I sat thinking about, you know, the end of my marriage.

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<v Speaker 1>Then her phone buzzed.

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<v Speaker 2>I got a text message from a number that I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't know. Said, it's Mark, the gas engineer. Can I

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<v Speaker 2>just ask? Did I leave my laptop case at your house?

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<v Speaker 2>I told him what, I'd have a look, and when

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<v Speaker 2>I got home there was no laptop case. So I

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<v Speaker 2>messaged him and said, oh, you know, it's not here.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe you left another job.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he texted an emoji.

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<v Speaker 2>He put one of those kiss face emojis, the little

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<v Speaker 2>moojis with a little blowing out heart, and then he

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<v Speaker 2>apologized for sending the emoji, said it was an accident,

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<v Speaker 2>and I said it was okay. I didn't mind. And

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<v Speaker 2>then he sent another.

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<v Speaker 1>One that made her laugh.

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<v Speaker 2>Seeing that little emoji made me feel a little bit like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>we just started texting. We just started talking, just general things.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark's texts were a welcomed distraction.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't have to think about my marriage ending. I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't have to think about all the stresses that brought on.

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<v Speaker 1>They started flirting and bantering over text.

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<v Speaker 2>And it made me feel good. It made me feel,

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god, you know somebody could actually care about me.

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<v Speaker 1>They started talking on the phone sometimes too. After a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of weeks.

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<v Speaker 2>He messaged and said, oh, I've got a job around

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<v Speaker 2>the corner, come on pop in for a coffee, and

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, my gosh, yeah, sure, come over.

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<v Speaker 1>Ten minutes later, she heard a knock on her door.

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<v Speaker 1>When she opened it, Mark was standing in front of her, smiling.

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<v Speaker 1>They'd been flirting for weeks, and now in person she

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<v Speaker 1>clearly felt the chemistry.

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<v Speaker 2>The first thing he did was put me up against

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<v Speaker 2>the wall and kissed me, which of course blew me

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<v Speaker 2>off my feet, like, oh my gosh, I've never had

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<v Speaker 2>that before.

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<v Speaker 1>He's all was nervous that hanging out in person might

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<v Speaker 1>turn out to be an awkward endeavor, but to her surprise,

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<v Speaker 1>we got on.

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<v Speaker 2>We laughed and it was nice. There was no awkward silences.

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<v Speaker 2>If there was a silence, it was comfortable.

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<v Speaker 1>After that day, they started hanging out more often.

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<v Speaker 2>He would come and see me whilst I was working nights,

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<v Speaker 2>whilst I was studying. He was making me laugh.

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<v Speaker 1>She had spent years in her marriage taking care of

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<v Speaker 1>her ex husband. Mark was a breath of fresh air.

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<v Speaker 2>It was different with Mark. It was so much affection.

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<v Speaker 2>We said it was a passion night neither one of

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<v Speaker 2>us had felt before.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark made her feel sexy and wanted. Before long, they

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<v Speaker 1>started dating officially. When Mark got off work, he would

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<v Speaker 1>go to Hazel's place and they would spend their evenings together.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark made even mundane things feel exciting.

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<v Speaker 2>Mark was stupid funny. He would make a twat out

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<v Speaker 2>of himself and you would just be laughing at him

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<v Speaker 2>rather than with him. He'd start doing really sinny dances

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<v Speaker 2>around the house. If a song came on, he'd start

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<v Speaker 2>stripping his clothes off, and I'm just sat there like,

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<v Speaker 2>what are you doing? But it was really funny and

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<v Speaker 2>we just got on. It just felt so natural, and

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<v Speaker 2>that laughter got me through.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark texted Hazel all the time. He didn't hide his

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<v Speaker 1>feelings for her.

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<v Speaker 2>He would draw hearts on his phone and tell me

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<v Speaker 2>how beautiful I was. He would send a message and

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<v Speaker 2>he would say ill and then dash dash dash you,

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<v Speaker 2>And I was like, well, is that like or is

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<v Speaker 2>that love? Obviously it was love.

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<v Speaker 1>When he wasn't around, she missed him.

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<v Speaker 2>There was passion there that I'd never felt before, and

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<v Speaker 2>it felt really nice. It felt wonderful.

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<v Speaker 1>She finally found someone that could meet her halfway.

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<v Speaker 2>He had a stable job with a big company. The

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<v Speaker 2>pension was really good, and obviously I was training to

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<v Speaker 2>be a social worker.

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<v Speaker 1>As time went on, Hazel started imagining what life with

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<v Speaker 1>Mark could look like.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought that this is great. Neither ofs have got children.

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<v Speaker 2>We could have two good incomes. He's got a stable job,

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<v Speaker 2>He's funny, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel

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<v Speaker 2>good about myself. There's a future here.

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<v Speaker 1>Hazel's friends were worried about how fast their relationship was moving.

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<v Speaker 2>One of my friends, Vicki, said it's too quick. It's

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<v Speaker 2>too fast. She said it would be headline in the newspapers.

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<v Speaker 2>Meagered by the guests man, you know, jokingly, but Hazel

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't amused. Come on, sometimes things happen like this. You know.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a big extreme. But her friend was suspicious,

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<v Speaker 1>and she had a good reason to be worried. A

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<v Speaker 1>few days after Hazel's husband moved out, she called the

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<v Speaker 1>gas company to fix her hot water. That led to

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<v Speaker 1>a meet cute with a man named Mark. After weeks

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<v Speaker 1>flirting over text, their relationship developed into something real. They

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<v Speaker 1>began hanging out whenever they could find time.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought that this is great. He's got a stable job,

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<v Speaker 2>he's funny, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel

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<v Speaker 2>good about myself. There's a future here.

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<v Speaker 1>The only complication was that he lived thirty minutes away,

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<v Speaker 1>but luckily he was often in her town for work.

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<v Speaker 1>They would make a date of it.

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<v Speaker 2>I would cook for him, he would come over. He

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<v Speaker 2>made me feel good about myself, telling me how beautiful

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<v Speaker 2>I was and how wonderful I was, and how we

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<v Speaker 2>were perfect for each other.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, he is always still in school training

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<v Speaker 1>to be a social worker. Her schedule was packed. It

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<v Speaker 1>helped that Mark was always willing to make the drive

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<v Speaker 1>to her place.

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<v Speaker 2>I was so busy, I was studying, working, so it

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<v Speaker 2>just worked. It just fitted.

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<v Speaker 1>But Mark had to work early mornings, so he rarely

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<v Speaker 1>spent the night.

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<v Speaker 2>There was one day, for some reason, I think I

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<v Speaker 2>needed to go and get something from the shop. So

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<v Speaker 2>it was about half six so I was drive into

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<v Speaker 2>the shop and I saw Mark walking his dog in

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<v Speaker 2>my area.

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<v Speaker 1>This was weird. Why would Mark be walking his dog

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<v Speaker 1>so far from his own house?

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<v Speaker 2>And I stopped the car and I was like, what

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<v Speaker 2>are you doing around here? And he said, oh, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>my uncle lives around the corner, so sometimes I'll bring

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<v Speaker 2>the dog over and walk the dog around here. It's

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<v Speaker 2>got a really nice dog walking field of that. Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>a bit weird, but all right.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd never mentioned he had family in her area, but

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<v Speaker 1>that made things even more convenient. A few days later,

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<v Speaker 1>Mark came over to Hazel's house. She went outside and

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<v Speaker 1>greeted him as he got out of his truck. As

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<v Speaker 1>she hugged him, her eyes landed on the front seat.

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<v Speaker 2>I saw an Amazon parcel with an address on it

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<v Speaker 2>two roads from where I live.

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<v Speaker 1>Mark lived a half hour away. Why would he have

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<v Speaker 1>a package addressed to a home in her neighborhood.

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<v Speaker 2>I thought maybe he'd just got it delivered to his

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<v Speaker 2>uncle's house. Maybe that was easier for him. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>She made a mental note of the address. Hazel and

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<v Speaker 1>Mark had been dating for months. They'd become a part

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<v Speaker 1>of each other's daily lives. Many nights after work they'd

0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.880
<v Speaker 1>walk her dog Reco together. Mark loved Rico as much

0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:34.079
<v Speaker 1>as she did, and when they weren't together, they texted

0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.120
<v Speaker 1>and called each other constantly.

0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.760
<v Speaker 2>Talking on the phone all the time. Texting all the time.

0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:42.720
<v Speaker 2>If we ran out of things to say, we would

0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.920
<v Speaker 2>just send hearts to each other. Then we'd play games

0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.720
<v Speaker 2>and things on Snapchat if she's easy.

0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.600
<v Speaker 1>For the first time in a long time, Hazel felt

0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.000
<v Speaker 1>settled in her life. She decided to buy the house

0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.400
<v Speaker 1>she'd been renting for the past few years, and she

0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:03.160
<v Speaker 1>started to consider asking Mark to take a big step

0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:03.520
<v Speaker 1>with her.

0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:08.199
<v Speaker 2>I thought about him moving in here, living together, having

0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:11.200
<v Speaker 2>a stable relationship, which I hadn't had in such a

0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:11.720
<v Speaker 2>long time.

0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.240
<v Speaker 1>One day, Hazel went on a hike with one of

0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:15.840
<v Speaker 1>her friends.

0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:19.680
<v Speaker 2>We went to a place. It's called Simmons Yat and

0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:24.720
<v Speaker 2>it's a big lake, big forest, and we walked around

0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.200
<v Speaker 2>the woods. Such a beautiful place.

0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:30.680
<v Speaker 1>After a few hours of hiking and catching up, they

0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:34.680
<v Speaker 1>headed home. On their drive back, she spotted what looked

0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:35.800
<v Speaker 1>like Mark's work van.

0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:38.840
<v Speaker 2>He was parked on the side of the road.

0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:43.080
<v Speaker 1>Hazel did a double take. What was Mark doing out here?

0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.560
<v Speaker 1>Maybe it wasn't him, But as they drove closer, she

0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.480
<v Speaker 1>was sure it was Mark, and he was out of his.

0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:56.880
<v Speaker 2>Van and he was looking in his van, and we

0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:58.280
<v Speaker 2>just prod on driving.

0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:02.040
<v Speaker 1>Over the next few weeks, Hazel started seeing Mark's work

0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.240
<v Speaker 1>fan more and more. When she asked him about it,

0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.320
<v Speaker 1>he said he had a lot of repairs in the area,

0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.040
<v Speaker 1>but how many boilers could be broken on her street.

0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:15.560
<v Speaker 2>I felt really uneasy after he said that, but I thought, no,

0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.840
<v Speaker 2>it's fine, it's fine.

0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.720
<v Speaker 1>One weekend, Mark told Hazel he was going on a trip.

0:15:24.520 --> 0:15:27.560
<v Speaker 2>He was going to his friend's house that was in

0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.800
<v Speaker 2>the middle of nowhere, and he was spending all weekend

0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:36.960
<v Speaker 2>there and he was repiping the whole house, so he

0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.120
<v Speaker 2>wasn't able to talk to me. So I was like,

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:42.320
<v Speaker 2>that's fine, that's no problem.

0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:45.560
<v Speaker 1>She knew he couldn't talk while he was at his

0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.920
<v Speaker 1>friend's house, but she figured his drive there would be

0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:50.200
<v Speaker 1>a great time to catch.

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.840
<v Speaker 2>Up, so I was like, I'll ring him on the way.

0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:59.400
<v Speaker 1>She called Mark. Usually he picked up right away, but

0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.600
<v Speaker 1>this time it went to voicemail.

0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:07.200
<v Speaker 2>He didn't answer, so I thought, Okay, something's not right.

0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.640
<v Speaker 2>He always answers the phone. The phone has rung, so

0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:11.520
<v Speaker 2>he's got signal.

0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:15.120
<v Speaker 1>Hazel had a bad feeling. She got back to the

0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:18.720
<v Speaker 1>Amazon package on his front seat. It was addressed to

0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:22.520
<v Speaker 1>a street just around the corner, so I thought.

0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:24.720
<v Speaker 2>Right, I'm going to get in my car and then

0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:25.800
<v Speaker 2>to drive down that road.

0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:30.720
<v Speaker 1>She drove down the road, scanning each driveway nervously. She

0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.800
<v Speaker 1>wasn't sure what she was looking for or if she'd

0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:38.080
<v Speaker 1>find anything. After a few minutes, she saw something that

0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:39.480
<v Speaker 1>made her hit the brakes.

0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.640
<v Speaker 2>I saw his van parked on the drive.

0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.560
<v Speaker 1>She drove closer, and sure enough, it was his license plate.

0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.400
<v Speaker 2>We're talking two minutes two minute drive from my house.

0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 1>He said he was with a friend far away in

0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.680
<v Speaker 1>the countryside with no phone service, but his car was

0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.040
<v Speaker 1>parked right down the street from her. She texted Mark

0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.439
<v Speaker 1>and told him she saw his van parked in the neighborhood.

0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.160
<v Speaker 2>He then went into kind of panic mode. He told

0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.280
<v Speaker 2>me that he'd gone up the road to find some

0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:14.320
<v Speaker 2>signal to ring me.

0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.840
<v Speaker 1>Mark insisted that he was visiting his friend, that he

0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:18.879
<v Speaker 1>was miles away.

0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:20.760
<v Speaker 2>He's like, I'll send you my location.

0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:23.280
<v Speaker 1>He sent her a screenshot of a map.

0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:27.199
<v Speaker 2>He'd gone on to Google Maps and he'd sent me

0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.480
<v Speaker 2>a screenshot, and it was a little dot in the

0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:30.280
<v Speaker 2>middle of nowhere.

0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:35.760
<v Speaker 1>For a second, it did look like Mark was in

0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.760
<v Speaker 1>the countryside, a small dot surrounded by big green fields.

0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.919
<v Speaker 1>But as Hazel looked closer, at the screenshot, she noticed

0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:44.720
<v Speaker 1>something was off.

0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:50.320
<v Speaker 2>He'd cropped out the time and the date. I said,

0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.520
<v Speaker 2>I'm not stupid. I know you're not there right now.

0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.000
<v Speaker 2>If you were there right now, you wouldn't have cropped

0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.600
<v Speaker 2>out at the time. He carried on making up more nices,

0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.159
<v Speaker 2>telling me I'm being paranoid. Everything was in my head.

0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:07.040
<v Speaker 1>But Hazel was staring straight at his van. She was

0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:11.240
<v Speaker 1>certain this was real. Whenever Mark came to Hazel's he

0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:15.000
<v Speaker 1>parked on the street. But here, at this house, he

0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.720
<v Speaker 1>was parked in the driveway. Did Mark live here? It

0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:23.120
<v Speaker 1>all felt suspicious, and he was clearly.

0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:26.320
<v Speaker 2>Lying to her, this is it. I can't be in

0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:30.600
<v Speaker 2>another relationship where there's this honesty. Once the trust is gone,

0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:34.240
<v Speaker 2>the trust is gone, you can't get it back. I said,

0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:38.440
<v Speaker 2>I'm done. I'm done. It's over. I can't do this anymore.

0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.760
<v Speaker 1>As soon as she said that, Mark's tone shifted. He

0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:46.439
<v Speaker 1>responded right away and began telling Hazel that this was

0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:47.800
<v Speaker 1>all her fault.

0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:51.040
<v Speaker 2>It's all because of my ex husband. Why I'm so broken.

0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:56.200
<v Speaker 2>I don't deserve him, really, just the horrible, horrible messages.

0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.159
<v Speaker 1>No matter what he said to her, Hazel knew what

0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:04.840
<v Speaker 1>she'd seen he was lying, and she'd caught him in

0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:09.520
<v Speaker 1>the act. That's when Mark stopped pretending. He admitted that

0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:13.240
<v Speaker 1>he lived in that house just two minutes away from her.

0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:15.680
<v Speaker 2>Ob Jove passed his size every day.

0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:19.760
<v Speaker 1>At this point, Mark knew all his lives were unraveling,

0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.679
<v Speaker 1>so he admitted the full truth.

0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:29.480
<v Speaker 2>He then told me about his girlfriend and his daughter.

0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:32.560
<v Speaker 2>I was in a state of shock.

0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.240
<v Speaker 1>Lying about where he lived was one thing, but this

0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:40.480
<v Speaker 1>was so much darker than that. Mark was lying about

0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:41.480
<v Speaker 1>his entire light.

0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:45.000
<v Speaker 2>He lives in the same area as me, and he's

0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:49.800
<v Speaker 2>been lying from day one. Hazel was disgusted, but then

0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:54.280
<v Speaker 2>reflecting on it, it all makes sense. Never spent the night,

0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:56.719
<v Speaker 2>you know. I thought it was because it fitted in

0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:58.120
<v Speaker 2>with me, and it fitted in with.

0:19:58.040 --> 0:19:59.199
<v Speaker 1>My work really well.

0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:04.359
<v Speaker 2>But clear made sense, And Wyna, did I not clock

0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:07.119
<v Speaker 2>on to Yeah, there's probably somebody else.

0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:12.080
<v Speaker 1>Mark was grasping extras trying to get her back. He

0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:14.680
<v Speaker 1>told her he would leave his family for her.

0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.240
<v Speaker 2>And when she said she didn't want that, trying to

0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:20.119
<v Speaker 2>blame me. Maybe think it was all in my head,

0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.760
<v Speaker 2>you know, real gaslighting, horrible behavior.

0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.240
<v Speaker 1>Mark was being cruel in a way. She had never

0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:28.800
<v Speaker 1>experienced before.

0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:31.560
<v Speaker 2>And I was like, I'm done, get stuff, get out

0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:33.440
<v Speaker 2>my house. I don't want you anyone near me.

0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.720
<v Speaker 1>At the time, Hazel was working at a women's center

0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.200
<v Speaker 1>where she was training to be a social worker.

0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:43.880
<v Speaker 2>Which was the perfect place for me to be going

0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.320
<v Speaker 2>through all this because I had on hands support and

0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:51.080
<v Speaker 2>they advised me to not block people. Don't block people

0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:55.640
<v Speaker 2>like that because if they don't have a channel of communication,

0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:58.840
<v Speaker 2>that's when they start turning up, and then obviously you

0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:02.480
<v Speaker 2>were at bigger risk. So I didn't block him.

0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:07.639
<v Speaker 1>Mark was messaging her incessantly, biding her, trying everything to

0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:08.520
<v Speaker 1>get her attention.

0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:13.159
<v Speaker 2>It was horrendous. It brought back so many feelings that

0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:19.439
<v Speaker 2>I'd kind of buried from my relationship with my husband.

0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:24.639
<v Speaker 2>I felt all the anxiety was coming back, mistrust, I

0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:28.080
<v Speaker 2>felt sick, I couldn't eat, I lost so much weight.

0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:34.560
<v Speaker 1>Mark was getting increasingly agitated and desperate. Then she got

0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:36.879
<v Speaker 1>an alarming message from him.

0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:39.520
<v Speaker 2>Saying that he'd had a heart attack and was in

0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:44.880
<v Speaker 2>hospital and he'd almost died, and I thought, oh my god,

0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:51.760
<v Speaker 2>have I done this? I felt awful. I messaged him

0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:53.560
<v Speaker 2>back and said, you know you're going to be okay.

0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.240
<v Speaker 1>You're in the right place, Mark responded right away. He

0:21:57.359 --> 0:21:59.040
<v Speaker 1>told her that he was about to go in for

0:21:59.200 --> 0:21:59.880
<v Speaker 1>heart surgery.

0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:05.359
<v Speaker 2>He was texting me from his hospital bed, saying that

0:22:05.400 --> 0:22:09.640
<v Speaker 2>he was being pushed towards theater and that he could

0:22:09.640 --> 0:22:13.680
<v Speaker 2>see the lights above his head because he was led flat.

0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:15.640
<v Speaker 2>That's all he was trying to focus on.

0:22:16.200 --> 0:22:21.280
<v Speaker 1>Hazel's concern melted away and was replaced by skepticism.

0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:25.359
<v Speaker 2>I've had enough operations in my life to know you

0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.920
<v Speaker 2>don't take your phone to an operating data All your

0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:32.560
<v Speaker 2>belongings get bagged up and they get put safely away somewhere.

0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:37.920
<v Speaker 2>So I was like, come on, at this point, I'm

0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:42.040
<v Speaker 2>just like, this is bullshit. This isn't true.

0:22:42.640 --> 0:22:47.200
<v Speaker 1>When Hazel ignored Mark's texts, she started getting harassing, coercive

0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:49.080
<v Speaker 1>messages from unknown numbers.

0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:54.440
<v Speaker 2>I then got messages on Facebook signal and I messages

0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:56.000
<v Speaker 2>pleading apologizing.

0:22:56.960 --> 0:22:59.720
<v Speaker 1>When she first met Mark, she thought he was her

0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:02.040
<v Speaker 1>ticket get out of a dark period of her life,

0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:05.920
<v Speaker 1>but now he was pulling her further and deeper into

0:23:05.960 --> 0:23:07.160
<v Speaker 1>despair and isolation.

0:23:08.119 --> 0:23:12.359
<v Speaker 2>I was managing to eat crackers and drink water. That

0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:14.240
<v Speaker 2>was all I could kind of keep down is the

0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:17.879
<v Speaker 2>time and that just kind of escalated, and you know,

0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:20.840
<v Speaker 2>I was already kind of burning out with what I

0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:23.879
<v Speaker 2>was doing, but then not being able to eat and

0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:26.960
<v Speaker 2>keep food down, I was just burning out even more.

0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:29.840
<v Speaker 1>She decided to get on a dating app.

0:23:30.560 --> 0:23:33.159
<v Speaker 2>I think I was just looking for somebody to make

0:23:33.200 --> 0:23:35.680
<v Speaker 2>me feel better because I couldn't make myself feel better.

0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:39.240
<v Speaker 1>She matched with a few guys and started messaging one

0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:43.440
<v Speaker 1>of them more regularly. Eventually they moved their conversation off

0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:45.600
<v Speaker 1>the app and on to Facebook Messenger.

0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:50.479
<v Speaker 2>But then I started getting messages from Mark about the

0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:53.480
<v Speaker 2>things that I was saying with this guy. My private

0:23:53.480 --> 0:23:56.920
<v Speaker 2>message is to this guy. He knew the bloat's name,

0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:00.119
<v Speaker 2>he knew what the context we were talking about. He

0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:02.320
<v Speaker 2>said that we were talking about awful things.

0:24:03.200 --> 0:24:04.200
<v Speaker 1>Hazel was scared.

0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:08.160
<v Speaker 2>How do you know that I haven't spoken to you?

0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:11.919
<v Speaker 2>And he's like, the guy's messaged me and told me

0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:13.439
<v Speaker 2>and sent me screenshots.

0:24:14.520 --> 0:24:18.040
<v Speaker 1>But this guy didn't even know that Mark existed. That's

0:24:18.080 --> 0:24:19.800
<v Speaker 1>when it dawned on Hazel.

0:24:20.080 --> 0:24:21.560
<v Speaker 2>You've hacked into my Facebook.

0:24:22.880 --> 0:24:25.840
<v Speaker 1>She changed her Facebook password, but that was only a

0:24:25.880 --> 0:24:29.879
<v Speaker 1>temporary solution. She was getting calls and texts from unknown

0:24:29.960 --> 0:24:31.760
<v Speaker 1>numbers at all hours of the day.

0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:36.000
<v Speaker 2>The messages carried on, and then it got kind of

0:24:36.240 --> 0:24:39.879
<v Speaker 2>really nasty, so he started calling me a whore, started

0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:42.320
<v Speaker 2>calling me a slut for moving on so quickly.

0:24:43.480 --> 0:24:48.320
<v Speaker 1>Mark's behavior was escalating. Hazel decided to reach out for support.

0:24:48.760 --> 0:24:51.640
<v Speaker 2>I ran one oh one, which is our non emergency

0:24:51.680 --> 0:24:54.199
<v Speaker 2>police line, but they said they've gotten a way of

0:24:54.240 --> 0:24:58.800
<v Speaker 2>tracking him, trying my network provider. My network provider did

0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:03.680
<v Speaker 2>offer for me have block numbers stopped, but actually, sometimes

0:25:03.800 --> 0:25:07.439
<v Speaker 2>important people wing on block numbers, the police ring on

0:25:07.480 --> 0:25:11.960
<v Speaker 2>block numbers, the doctors do so actually that would be

0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:13.520
<v Speaker 2>impacting my life more.

0:25:14.200 --> 0:25:16.560
<v Speaker 1>So, Hazel was left to deal with Mark on her own.

0:25:18.440 --> 0:25:21.879
<v Speaker 1>Knowing that he lived in her neighborhood was terrifying. She

0:25:22.000 --> 0:25:24.240
<v Speaker 1>was scared he was hiding around every corner.

0:25:25.240 --> 0:25:28.320
<v Speaker 2>I couldn't drive past his house, so I was doing

0:25:28.320 --> 0:25:30.960
<v Speaker 2>a detour. Every time I saw one of those vans,

0:25:31.000 --> 0:25:32.720
<v Speaker 2>I'd get panic attacks.

0:25:33.119 --> 0:25:35.520
<v Speaker 1>She remembered how often she ran into him when they

0:25:35.560 --> 0:25:40.000
<v Speaker 1>were dating. Now she wondered, had that really been a coincidence.

0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:43.919
<v Speaker 1>She checked to find my friends on her phone and

0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:48.640
<v Speaker 1>saw that market access to her location, but she'd never

0:25:48.720 --> 0:25:49.520
<v Speaker 1>given it to him.

0:25:50.440 --> 0:25:53.560
<v Speaker 2>He must have got my phone at some point while

0:25:53.560 --> 0:25:57.760
<v Speaker 2>we were together and set my location so he could

0:25:57.800 --> 0:25:58.159
<v Speaker 2>see it.

0:25:59.200 --> 0:26:03.040
<v Speaker 1>He was tracking her, and maybe he'd been tracking her

0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:06.359
<v Speaker 1>since the very beginning. She didn't know what else he knew,

0:26:07.000 --> 0:26:09.320
<v Speaker 1>or what other ways he might be watching her.

0:26:10.000 --> 0:26:14.959
<v Speaker 2>I didn't feel safe. It was horrible, it was invasive.

0:26:15.880 --> 0:26:18.280
<v Speaker 1>She lived in a state of paranoia for months.

0:26:19.600 --> 0:26:24.720
<v Speaker 2>One morning, I'd come downstairs and we've got candles. They're

0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:29.359
<v Speaker 2>called Imperial candles, and they smell absolutely beautiful, and they've

0:26:29.359 --> 0:26:33.600
<v Speaker 2>got jewelry inside. So I'd gone downstairs and the candle

0:26:33.880 --> 0:26:37.000
<v Speaker 2>had burnt down enough that I could get the jewey out.

0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:40.320
<v Speaker 1>He's all stood by the breakfast bar fishing out the

0:26:40.400 --> 0:26:41.479
<v Speaker 1>jewelry from the candle.

0:26:42.200 --> 0:26:43.800
<v Speaker 2>So I was stood there for quite a while because

0:26:43.800 --> 0:26:45.280
<v Speaker 2>they're quite hard to get out.

0:26:46.160 --> 0:26:47.560
<v Speaker 1>Then she heard something.

0:26:49.280 --> 0:26:52.760
<v Speaker 2>I heard noise.

0:26:53.720 --> 0:26:57.040
<v Speaker 1>She looked up slowly in the corner of her living room.

0:26:57.119 --> 0:26:58.240
<v Speaker 1>She kept a pet camera.

0:26:59.000 --> 0:27:02.119
<v Speaker 2>I always had the camera pointing at the front door

0:27:02.359 --> 0:27:04.840
<v Speaker 2>because that was where Rico would always owl.

0:27:05.640 --> 0:27:10.240
<v Speaker 1>But now the camera was turning slowly looking around the room.

0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:14.800
<v Speaker 1>Somebody was controlling it remotely. When it was pointing directly

0:27:14.840 --> 0:27:18.080
<v Speaker 1>at her, the camera stopped and.

0:27:18.119 --> 0:27:21.439
<v Speaker 2>I just froze, I think he's in my camera.

0:27:43.720 --> 0:27:46.880
<v Speaker 1>After Hazel broke up with Mark, he began harassing her.

0:27:47.520 --> 0:27:51.760
<v Speaker 1>It started with incessant text messages and calls, then he

0:27:51.800 --> 0:27:56.240
<v Speaker 1>hacked into her Facebook account, and then one morning, Hazel

0:27:56.320 --> 0:27:58.720
<v Speaker 1>was in her living room when she heard her pet

0:27:58.760 --> 0:28:03.399
<v Speaker 1>camera move. Someone was controlling it remotely. When it was

0:28:03.440 --> 0:28:07.520
<v Speaker 1>pointing directly at her, the camera stopped and I just

0:28:07.560 --> 0:28:09.400
<v Speaker 1>stood and I just froze.

0:28:11.080 --> 0:28:11.920
<v Speaker 2>I didn't know what to do.

0:28:12.359 --> 0:28:15.399
<v Speaker 1>She grabbed her phone and logged into the pet camera app.

0:28:15.560 --> 0:28:19.680
<v Speaker 2>And it said two viewers, so me and somebody else.

0:28:20.760 --> 0:28:24.040
<v Speaker 2>Now I didn't live with anyone else, never given the

0:28:24.119 --> 0:28:26.800
<v Speaker 2>access to anybody. No one else should have had any

0:28:26.800 --> 0:28:27.800
<v Speaker 2>access to the camera.

0:28:28.880 --> 0:28:31.840
<v Speaker 1>This had to be Mark. And with the camera pointed

0:28:31.880 --> 0:28:35.360
<v Speaker 1>straight at her, she knew he was watching her. That

0:28:35.640 --> 0:28:36.240
<v Speaker 1>very moment.

0:28:36.880 --> 0:28:41.160
<v Speaker 2>I thought, okay, just trying a normal I picked up

0:28:41.160 --> 0:28:43.960
<v Speaker 2>my keys, I picked up my phone, and I just

0:28:44.080 --> 0:28:44.720
<v Speaker 2>left the house.

0:28:47.520 --> 0:28:48.640
<v Speaker 1>He's always rattled.

0:28:49.360 --> 0:28:52.160
<v Speaker 2>What's going to happen next? I don't know what to do.

0:28:52.280 --> 0:28:54.800
<v Speaker 2>If I hut off my camera, is he going to

0:28:54.800 --> 0:28:55.600
<v Speaker 2>start turning up?

0:28:56.200 --> 0:28:57.880
<v Speaker 1>She ran through options in her mind.

0:28:58.640 --> 0:29:00.800
<v Speaker 2>I deleted all of his message years. At one point

0:29:00.960 --> 0:29:03.200
<v Speaker 2>because I didn't want to read the mcgannal, didn't want

0:29:03.200 --> 0:29:07.800
<v Speaker 2>to relive it. So I thought, okay, if I ring

0:29:07.840 --> 0:29:10.360
<v Speaker 2>the police, I've got no evidence, so it's my word

0:29:10.360 --> 0:29:10.840
<v Speaker 2>against his.

0:29:12.120 --> 0:29:14.920
<v Speaker 1>Eventually she decided to confront Mark directly.

0:29:15.760 --> 0:29:19.480
<v Speaker 2>I messaged him and I said, I know you've been

0:29:19.480 --> 0:29:22.040
<v Speaker 2>on my camera. I know you've been watching me.

0:29:23.080 --> 0:29:25.600
<v Speaker 1>Enter her surprise, they admitted it.

0:29:26.200 --> 0:29:28.280
<v Speaker 2>He said that it was because he missed me so

0:29:28.400 --> 0:29:31.480
<v Speaker 2>much and it didn't know how else for me to

0:29:31.520 --> 0:29:32.400
<v Speaker 2>be part of his life.

0:29:33.400 --> 0:29:37.120
<v Speaker 1>His words were alarming, but he's all gained something valuable.

0:29:37.800 --> 0:29:43.480
<v Speaker 1>I had evidence he'd admitted in writing what he'd done

0:29:43.880 --> 0:29:46.960
<v Speaker 1>and why he did it. He's all reported him to

0:29:47.000 --> 0:29:47.520
<v Speaker 1>the police.

0:29:48.520 --> 0:29:50.160
<v Speaker 2>The police came out to see me the next day,

0:29:50.200 --> 0:29:52.920
<v Speaker 2>took a full statement, asked me what I wanted to do,

0:29:53.440 --> 0:29:56.480
<v Speaker 2>and they gave me three options. They said they can

0:29:56.480 --> 0:29:58.600
<v Speaker 2>have a word with him and tell him to stop.

0:29:59.440 --> 0:30:04.240
<v Speaker 2>They can, or they can just record it in case

0:30:04.280 --> 0:30:07.560
<v Speaker 2>something else happens, and then they've got a bigger picture.

0:30:08.360 --> 0:30:11.200
<v Speaker 2>And I sat there and I just thought, if something

0:30:11.200 --> 0:30:12.000
<v Speaker 2>else happens.

0:30:13.840 --> 0:30:17.240
<v Speaker 1>Her mind went to dark places. What did they mean

0:30:17.440 --> 0:30:18.680
<v Speaker 1>if something else happens?

0:30:19.800 --> 0:30:22.560
<v Speaker 2>And that kind of sat with me, and I thought

0:30:23.080 --> 0:30:28.880
<v Speaker 2>it's escalated to the point already, which is horrendous. Didn't

0:30:28.880 --> 0:30:30.160
<v Speaker 2>feel safe in my own home.

0:30:31.000 --> 0:30:33.640
<v Speaker 1>So she told the police she'd made her decision.

0:30:34.760 --> 0:30:37.240
<v Speaker 2>You've got to arrest him because I don't know where

0:30:37.280 --> 0:30:41.040
<v Speaker 2>this is going to end. He's a liar, he's a manipulator,

0:30:41.560 --> 0:30:43.720
<v Speaker 2>and he's an abuser, and I don't think he'll stop

0:30:43.800 --> 0:30:44.920
<v Speaker 2>unless he's made to still.

0:30:45.560 --> 0:30:47.920
<v Speaker 1>A few days later, Mark was arrested.

0:30:50.400 --> 0:30:53.640
<v Speaker 2>He'd been arrested on suspicion of stalking and arrestment.

0:30:54.760 --> 0:30:57.200
<v Speaker 1>He still knew he was still employed by the gas company.

0:30:57.680 --> 0:31:00.000
<v Speaker 1>She called them and explained that Mark was a liar

0:31:00.000 --> 0:31:01.640
<v Speaker 1>ability to their customer's safety.

0:31:02.120 --> 0:31:05.400
<v Speaker 2>I was just trying to get my point across and

0:31:05.440 --> 0:31:08.080
<v Speaker 2>say that this man is dangerous and you've got him

0:31:08.120 --> 0:31:11.960
<v Speaker 2>going into people's homes and you need to get him out.

0:31:12.680 --> 0:31:18.280
<v Speaker 2>They said it was the wireless heating system company's problem.

0:31:18.760 --> 0:31:20.960
<v Speaker 1>So Hazel called them, and then.

0:31:20.880 --> 0:31:23.840
<v Speaker 2>They said it's the gas company's problem. So I was

0:31:24.040 --> 0:31:28.520
<v Speaker 2>just getting bound from the two companies and I was

0:31:28.560 --> 0:31:29.560
<v Speaker 2>on the phone for als.

0:31:30.640 --> 0:31:34.200
<v Speaker 1>This pathway wasn't working. Nobody she spoke to and knew

0:31:34.200 --> 0:31:38.520
<v Speaker 1>how to help with Mark's trial coming up, Hazel decided

0:31:38.560 --> 0:31:41.840
<v Speaker 1>she wanted her story to serve a broader purpose. She

0:31:41.920 --> 0:31:46.000
<v Speaker 1>wanted to spread awareness about stalking and perpetrators like Mark.

0:31:47.400 --> 0:31:51.520
<v Speaker 1>Before Mark's trial, Hazel reached out to her local newspaper.

0:31:51.560 --> 0:31:54.080
<v Speaker 2>To make sure there was a reporter there because I

0:31:54.120 --> 0:31:56.320
<v Speaker 2>thought this isn't going under the carpet.

0:31:56.640 --> 0:31:59.160
<v Speaker 1>On the day of Mark's trial, Hazel went to court.

0:31:59.840 --> 0:32:02.800
<v Speaker 2>I felt that I needed to be there to show

0:32:02.880 --> 0:32:08.400
<v Speaker 2>him that he hadn't broken me. I had probably about

0:32:08.440 --> 0:32:11.880
<v Speaker 2>seven or eight friends with me that had come to

0:32:11.960 --> 0:32:16.400
<v Speaker 2>be there and to support me. I read my victim

0:32:16.400 --> 0:32:21.440
<v Speaker 2>impact statement, and my hands they were really really shaking.

0:32:22.360 --> 0:32:26.760
<v Speaker 1>There was overwhelming evidence of Marx's harassment and stalking, including

0:32:26.800 --> 0:32:28.360
<v Speaker 1>his own confession to Hazel.

0:32:28.880 --> 0:32:33.440
<v Speaker 2>He played guilty. He got an eighteen week prison sentence

0:32:33.480 --> 0:32:39.760
<v Speaker 2>suspended for twelve months. He got an indefinite restraining order

0:32:40.000 --> 0:32:45.280
<v Speaker 2>preventing any contact with myself, and he's not allowed in

0:32:45.400 --> 0:32:45.840
<v Speaker 2>my road.

0:32:47.960 --> 0:32:51.280
<v Speaker 1>Two days later, the local newspaper reported on Hazel's story

0:32:51.760 --> 0:32:55.320
<v Speaker 1>and Mark's crimes. Over the coming weeks and months, the

0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:57.920
<v Speaker 1>story spread to other outlets across the UK.

0:32:59.000 --> 0:33:03.720
<v Speaker 2>I had paper writing to me and magazine's writing to me.

0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:07.400
<v Speaker 1>We've had voice actors read some of the headlines. We've

0:33:07.400 --> 0:33:11.680
<v Speaker 1>anatomized the name of Mark's former employer, gas engineer who

0:33:11.720 --> 0:33:14.880
<v Speaker 1>hacked into excess pet camera to spy on her avoids jail.

0:33:15.520 --> 0:33:17.320
<v Speaker 1>This is what it's like to be stocked in your

0:33:17.320 --> 0:33:20.920
<v Speaker 1>own hall. Gloucestershire woman's full account of how ex gas

0:33:21.000 --> 0:33:24.640
<v Speaker 1>engineer hacked into her cameras after fixing her boiler. Gas

0:33:24.680 --> 0:33:28.600
<v Speaker 1>engineer stocked ex girlfriend by hacking pet camera inside her home.

0:33:29.360 --> 0:33:32.600
<v Speaker 1>Telling her story was challenging at first, but she has

0:33:32.640 --> 0:33:36.040
<v Speaker 1>continued to tell it because she knows how important it

0:33:36.080 --> 0:33:38.400
<v Speaker 1>is to put language to her experience.

0:33:39.320 --> 0:33:44.400
<v Speaker 2>I didn't think of harassment and stalking. I just saw

0:33:44.440 --> 0:33:48.200
<v Speaker 2>it as he's got a screw loose and he just

0:33:48.240 --> 0:33:52.200
<v Speaker 2>needs to leave me alone. It wasn't until the police

0:33:52.640 --> 0:33:57.840
<v Speaker 2>said stalking and harassment that I really started to reflect

0:33:58.720 --> 0:34:02.600
<v Speaker 2>on what I had gone through and how serious it was.

0:34:03.760 --> 0:34:06.160
<v Speaker 1>When Mark showed up at her house to fix her boiler,

0:34:06.680 --> 0:34:10.080
<v Speaker 1>Hazel was at her most vulnerable when she was talking

0:34:10.080 --> 0:34:12.920
<v Speaker 1>with her friend about her divorce. Mark was in the

0:34:12.920 --> 0:34:13.520
<v Speaker 1>next room.

0:34:14.440 --> 0:34:18.400
<v Speaker 2>He was listening to everything. He told me that later

0:34:18.520 --> 0:34:22.760
<v Speaker 2>on he was listening to the fact that I was crying.

0:34:23.160 --> 0:34:27.120
<v Speaker 1>He heard her desperation, and just hours later he swooped

0:34:27.160 --> 0:34:31.720
<v Speaker 1>in and started flirting with her. Mark saw Hazel was lost.

0:34:32.440 --> 0:34:37.640
<v Speaker 1>Because of that, she'd make the perfect target. One night,

0:34:37.840 --> 0:34:40.719
<v Speaker 1>Hazel got a call from an unknown number and I.

0:34:40.719 --> 0:34:44.240
<v Speaker 2>Was like, oh my god, the restraining order hasn't worked.

0:34:44.360 --> 0:34:46.680
<v Speaker 2>None of this has worked. He thinks he can message

0:34:46.680 --> 0:34:47.680
<v Speaker 2>me again and ring me.

0:34:48.840 --> 0:34:52.520
<v Speaker 1>Nervously, she picked up the phone. She braced herself to

0:34:52.560 --> 0:34:56.880
<v Speaker 1>hear Mark's voice. Instead, it was the CEO of the

0:34:56.880 --> 0:34:58.000
<v Speaker 1>gas company.

0:34:58.560 --> 0:35:03.960
<v Speaker 2>And he said he'd read the article. He terminated Mark's

0:35:03.960 --> 0:35:09.120
<v Speaker 2>contract with immediate effect. He already had people going to

0:35:09.200 --> 0:35:11.880
<v Speaker 2>his house to collect the van, collect all the equipment,

0:35:12.640 --> 0:35:16.760
<v Speaker 2>and he was very sympathetic as to what happened.

0:35:17.480 --> 0:35:20.960
<v Speaker 1>The gas company connected her with mental health services.

0:35:21.760 --> 0:35:26.040
<v Speaker 2>They gave me counseling through their counseling service, which helped

0:35:26.040 --> 0:35:30.360
<v Speaker 2>me a lot use CBT, which really did change my

0:35:30.480 --> 0:35:34.520
<v Speaker 2>view on him. He wasn't scary anymore. He was just

0:35:34.600 --> 0:35:40.440
<v Speaker 2>this little pathetic man that it's just not worth my time,

0:35:40.760 --> 0:35:43.160
<v Speaker 2>my thought, my energy.

0:35:43.560 --> 0:35:46.799
<v Speaker 1>Even though it had taken a stocking conviction, it was

0:35:46.920 --> 0:35:49.480
<v Speaker 1>meaningful that the company reached out to support her.

0:35:50.400 --> 0:35:53.680
<v Speaker 2>I received an apology and lots of reassurance, and they

0:35:53.719 --> 0:36:00.080
<v Speaker 2>actually use that case now in training moving forward, so

0:36:00.360 --> 0:36:04.800
<v Speaker 2>that's really positive. I think if something like that happened

0:36:04.840 --> 0:36:07.000
<v Speaker 2>again that maybe it would be dealt with differently.

0:36:08.800 --> 0:36:11.480
<v Speaker 1>Hazel suspects that Mark's girlfriend found out that he was

0:36:11.560 --> 0:36:14.600
<v Speaker 1>cheating on her. After Hazel broke up with him, she

0:36:14.719 --> 0:36:17.000
<v Speaker 1>learned that his girlfriend had also kicked him out of

0:36:17.000 --> 0:36:20.440
<v Speaker 1>the house. But more recently, Hazel saw Mark and his

0:36:20.480 --> 0:36:24.920
<v Speaker 1>girlfriend together in their driveway. That means Mark is still

0:36:24.960 --> 0:36:25.920
<v Speaker 1>two roads away.

0:36:26.480 --> 0:36:29.360
<v Speaker 2>So I drive past his house mose days, but I

0:36:29.480 --> 0:36:33.000
<v Speaker 2>do it with my head held high. He didn't win.

0:36:33.920 --> 0:36:37.560
<v Speaker 1>Hazel has a permanent restraining order against Mark. He's not

0:36:37.719 --> 0:36:41.680
<v Speaker 1>allowed on her road, but that only offers so much protection.

0:36:42.440 --> 0:36:45.120
<v Speaker 1>It was scary knowing that Mark lived around the corner.

0:36:45.880 --> 0:36:49.080
<v Speaker 1>For a while, Hazel thought about moving, but in the

0:36:49.200 --> 0:36:52.839
<v Speaker 1>end she decided to stay. It didn't seem right that

0:36:52.880 --> 0:36:55.400
<v Speaker 1>she should be the one forced out of their neighborhood.

0:36:56.040 --> 0:36:59.880
<v Speaker 1>For Hazel, staying in her home symbolizes.

0:37:00.000 --> 0:37:02.719
<v Speaker 2>Didn't win this. He didn't break me.

0:37:04.120 --> 0:37:06.160
<v Speaker 1>She didn't want Mark to be the reason she loved

0:37:06.160 --> 0:37:09.480
<v Speaker 1>a place she loves deeply. She wanted to rebuild and

0:37:09.520 --> 0:37:13.000
<v Speaker 1>make her home somewhere she felt comfortable again, so she

0:37:13.120 --> 0:37:14.240
<v Speaker 1>decided to renovate.

0:37:14.880 --> 0:37:19.560
<v Speaker 2>I completely ripped out everything and started again. I kind

0:37:19.600 --> 0:37:22.320
<v Speaker 2>of took back the safety of my house and made

0:37:22.360 --> 0:37:25.279
<v Speaker 2>it so different that if he walked in air and

0:37:25.280 --> 0:37:26.480
<v Speaker 2>now I would recognize it.

0:37:27.280 --> 0:37:31.719
<v Speaker 1>She refuses to uproot her life because of what Mark did. Instead,

0:37:32.200 --> 0:37:35.400
<v Speaker 1>she's leaned into her community and shifted her mindset.

0:37:35.880 --> 0:37:40.040
<v Speaker 2>It's made me stronger. I will not take any shit.

0:37:41.000 --> 0:37:45.319
<v Speaker 2>I won't I will not put up with anything. I

0:37:45.360 --> 0:37:48.600
<v Speaker 2>will not be told I can't do something or be

0:37:48.719 --> 0:37:51.360
<v Speaker 2>spoken about disrespectfully by anybody.

0:37:52.360 --> 0:37:56.520
<v Speaker 1>Knowing the realities of stalking and harassment firsthand has informed

0:37:56.520 --> 0:37:57.080
<v Speaker 1>her career.

0:37:58.360 --> 0:38:03.080
<v Speaker 2>It's made me a better social worker in cases like this.

0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:06.719
<v Speaker 2>I will share some of my story with some families.

0:38:07.560 --> 0:38:10.000
<v Speaker 2>We'll sit and we'll talk about red flags.

0:38:10.960 --> 0:38:14.280
<v Speaker 1>We asked Hazel to share the signs she encourages people

0:38:14.320 --> 0:38:14.960
<v Speaker 1>to look out for.

0:38:16.080 --> 0:38:19.920
<v Speaker 2>The massive one is love bombing. If somebody is in

0:38:19.960 --> 0:38:22.440
<v Speaker 2>love with you after a couple of days, run for

0:38:22.480 --> 0:38:26.200
<v Speaker 2>the hills. Like run for the hills, you can't be

0:38:26.239 --> 0:38:28.120
<v Speaker 2>in love with somebody after a couple of days.

0:38:32.840 --> 0:38:36.799
<v Speaker 1>We had every weekly episode with the same question, why

0:38:36.840 --> 0:38:41.200
<v Speaker 1>do you want to share your story.

0:38:39.719 --> 0:38:43.799
<v Speaker 2>What happened to me? I lighted the gaps in how

0:38:43.880 --> 0:38:48.720
<v Speaker 2>people are protected. There's professionals that are coming into your home.

0:38:49.200 --> 0:38:53.200
<v Speaker 2>You would expect them to be safe. You would expect

0:38:53.239 --> 0:38:58.000
<v Speaker 2>them to have checks done on them, to know that

0:38:58.560 --> 0:39:01.960
<v Speaker 2>they are safe to be entered in people's homes. This

0:39:02.120 --> 0:39:08.760
<v Speaker 2>isn't just my story. It's about awareness, accountability and reminds

0:39:08.760 --> 0:39:14.920
<v Speaker 2>in people to put their safety first.

0:39:16.520 --> 0:39:22.440
<v Speaker 1>On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly, my sister starts

0:39:22.480 --> 0:39:27.280
<v Speaker 1>receiving these text messages from an unknown number. Who else

0:39:27.360 --> 0:39:30.520
<v Speaker 1>is getting these messages? Why did it start with us?

0:39:38.440 --> 0:39:41.120
<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please

0:39:41.160 --> 0:39:47.120
<v Speaker 1>email Betrayalpod at gmail dot com. That is Betrayalpod at

0:39:47.200 --> 0:39:50.960
<v Speaker 1>gmail dot com. Please note that we are not a

0:39:51.040 --> 0:39:55.480
<v Speaker 1>mental health organization. If you are in crisis or currently

0:39:55.560 --> 0:39:59.840
<v Speaker 1>experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek local help

0:40:00.239 --> 0:40:04.360
<v Speaker 1>dial nine to one one. Please contact organizations that offer

0:40:04.440 --> 0:40:08.400
<v Speaker 1>immediate support and our show notes, we've included a list

0:40:08.400 --> 0:40:12.640
<v Speaker 1>of US based resources. You can follow us on Instagram

0:40:12.800 --> 0:40:16.080
<v Speaker 1>at Betrayal Pod or find me at It's Andrea Gunning

0:40:16.719 --> 0:40:20.040
<v Speaker 1>to access our newsletter and additional content and to connect

0:40:20.120 --> 0:40:23.919
<v Speaker 1>with the Betrayal community, join our substack at Betrayal dot

0:40:23.960 --> 0:40:27.919
<v Speaker 1>substack dot com. We're grateful for your support. One way

0:40:27.960 --> 0:40:30.520
<v Speaker 1>to show support is by subscribing to our show on

0:40:30.560 --> 0:40:34.759
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and review Betrayal five

0:40:34.840 --> 0:40:38.080
<v Speaker 1>star reviews go a long way. Big thank you to

0:40:38.160 --> 0:40:42.200
<v Speaker 1>all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts,

0:40:42.360 --> 0:40:46.279
<v Speaker 1>a division of Glass Entertainment Group and partnership with iHeart Podcasts.

0:40:47.080 --> 0:40:50.200
<v Speaker 1>The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason,

0:40:50.760 --> 0:40:54.600
<v Speaker 1>hosted and produced by me Andrea Gunning, written and produced

0:40:54.600 --> 0:40:59.120
<v Speaker 1>by Olivia Hewitt. Our story editor is Monique Leboord, also

0:40:59.160 --> 0:41:03.040
<v Speaker 1>produced by Benfai Betterman. Our associate producer is Leah Jablow.

0:41:03.640 --> 0:41:08.440
<v Speaker 1>Production management by Kristin Melcuriy, booking support by Curry Richmond.

0:41:08.960 --> 0:41:13.040
<v Speaker 1>Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Tresica Crincheck. Audio

0:41:13.160 --> 0:41:16.160
<v Speaker 1>editing by Tanner Robbins with additional editing and mixing by

0:41:16.200 --> 0:41:21.440
<v Speaker 1>Matt Albecchio. Betrayals theme composed by Oliver Bains. Music library

0:41:21.480 --> 0:41:25.320
<v Speaker 1>provided by my Music and For more podcasts from iHeart,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get

0:41:29.320 --> 0:41:30.120
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts,