1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: Hi, it's Andrea Gunning. Thanks for tuning into our first 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: three seasons of Betrayal. These stories have inspired so many 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: of you to share your own experiences with us. We 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: knew we had to find a way to bring more 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: of your stories to the podcast speed and now we are. 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: Every Thursday, we'll be releasing new extraordinary episodes. These are 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: first hand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: trayal of destruction left behind. And these are stories you've 9 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: never heard before. 10 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 2: What, No, this isn't real. 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: What's going on? 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 2: Who are you really? I said, I can't believe what 13 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 2: I'm listening to. 14 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 3: I was like, where is the baby? What's happening? 15 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 4: From unbelievable romantic betrayals? 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 3: The love that was so real for me was always 17 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 3: just a game for him. 18 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 4: To betrayals in your own family. 19 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 3: When I think about my dad, Oh well, he is 20 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 3: a sociopath. 21 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 4: He is a criminal financial betrayals. So this is like 22 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 4: the beginning of it. This is not even the part 23 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 4: where he steals millions of dollars, right, even life or 24 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 4: death deceptions. 25 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 2: She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police 26 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 2: calls her after they kill me. 27 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 4: The people we trust the most. 28 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 2: He was caring and loving and genuine with his wife 29 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 2: and his child and his patients. 30 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 4: The people we least expect. 31 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 3: And he was a psychopath. 32 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: These are cautionary tales, stories of romance, family and business 33 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: gone horribly wrong. But they're also survival stories, stories of 34 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: resilience after losing the thing we all depend on. 35 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 4: Trust. 36 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 3: My story was true, even if his wasn't. Mine was. 37 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: Now here's a sneak peak of our first episode. This 38 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: Stefy's story. Her marriage came crashing down in an instant 39 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: when she discovered the sinister truth about her husband, a 40 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: dark secret he had hidden for twenty two years. 41 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 2: We got married in nineteen ninety eight. It was a 42 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 2: second marriage for both of us. I came with four boys. 43 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,359 Speaker 2: He had a boy and a girl. Our kids were 44 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 2: already friends and were thrilled about us being together. 45 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: Stephanie and her husband I'm gonna call him Greg, lived 46 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: together in a tiny Midwestern town. It's the kind of 47 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: town where everybody knows everybody. 48 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 2: It's like a small town that you would see on 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 2: a movie or a sitcom. I didn't want my husband 50 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 2: to go to the grocery store with me. It just 51 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 2: would take so long if he went with because we 52 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 2: knew every person at the store and everyone would have 53 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: to stop and visit with him. 54 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: Their big, blended family was well known in town. Picture 55 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: a modern day Brady Bunch. At least that's the feeling 56 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: I got from a photo she shared with me. It's Stephanie, 57 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: her sons, and Greg's kids, all six of them standing 58 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 1: side by side on the beach, smiling. Their family takes 59 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,519 Speaker 1: up the whole three by five photo across their arm 60 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: and arm having the best beach vacation. 61 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 4: It's really sweet. 62 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 3: He was the absolute ideal husband. He was my best friend. 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 2: He did housework, he cooked, he played with the kids, 64 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 2: and when the kids who were little, we would go 65 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: in and volunteer at their elementary school and help with 66 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 2: their reading groups, which was super fun and like what 67 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 2: their dad does that? I mean, back in those days, 68 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 2: he was the only dad who volunteered, and the kids 69 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 2: all loved him. 70 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: There's another photo of Stephanie and her husband in front 71 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: of a waterfall in a forest with his arms wrapped 72 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: around her. 73 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 4: The sun lights her face and she looks relaxed and blissful. 74 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 2: He was very kind, very generous, very interested in hearing 75 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:23,039 Speaker 2: what I had to say. He very much lifted me up. 76 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 2: He made me feel seen, and he made me feel 77 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 2: like I was smart and competent. 78 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 4: They had great chemistry. 79 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: They made great partners, not just in marriage, but in business. 80 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 2: I just ended up working at my husband's optometry practice, 81 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 2: because you know, it's a small practice, just him. He 82 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 2: always had three employees and one quit and I was 83 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 2: kind of in between jobs, so it's like, oh, could 84 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 2: you just fill in. 85 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: Stephanie did a lot more than just fill in. She 86 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: started managing her husband's optometry practice, pushing insurance claims through 87 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: and making the business more profitable than ever. They had 88 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: a clear vision for their future. 89 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 2: We certainly were not rich, but we were very comfortable. 90 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 2: We had our own resort in our backyard. We had 91 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 2: a large and ground. 92 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 3: Pool, hot tub, basketball court. 93 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 2: Have this great photo of Greg on his giant pool 94 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 2: lounger watching the Master's golf tournament on our outdoor big 95 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 2: screen TV. We had just begun a plan of getting 96 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 2: the house absolutely perfect and maintenance free for when we retired. 97 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: Of course, there were hard moments bumps along the way 98 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: in a twenty two year marriage. 99 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 4: That's par for the course. 100 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 2: At one point, he admitted that he hadn't been paying 101 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 2: the taxes at his business, and there was a possibility 102 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 2: we could lose the business, our house, he could go 103 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 2: to jail. That's a pretty big bump. It's like I've 104 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 2: invested everything. I've put my life and my kids' lives 105 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 2: in this man's hands. 106 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 3: So that was tough, but we worked through it. 107 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: They agreed to a payment plan with the irs and 108 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: move forward as a team, back on track for a 109 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: happy retirement. As the kids got older, Stephanie and her 110 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 1: husband adjusted well to the empty nest. 111 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 2: When the kids were grown, things were almost even better. 112 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 2: We would leave the office and walk hand in hand 113 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 2: down the street to the local cafe and go to 114 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 2: lunch together and sit and talk and laugh through the 115 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 2: whole lunch, not and scroll on our phones like other couples. 116 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,799 Speaker 3: And then we would go back and work for the afternoon. 117 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 2: And then we would go home together and make dinner, 118 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 2: watch our favorite game shows, and play a board game. 119 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: Even during the twenty twenty pandemic, Stephanie and her husband 120 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: got along. 121 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 3: So you know, during COVID, I'd hop on a. 122 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 2: Zoom call with like six or seven girlfriends and we're 123 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 2: pretty much all empty nesters, so we're all just stuck 124 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 2: in the house alone with our husbands. 125 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 3: And my friends have good marriages, and still there was 126 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 3: a lot of like, I don't know how much longer 127 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 3: I can take this. I'm really bored, and I'm. 128 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 2: Going, oh gosh, you guys, I feel bad because, you 129 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 2: know what, We're having a blast over here. 130 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 3: We're trying new recipes, We've. 131 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 2: Got this whole game thing going on. We're doing all 132 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 2: these puzzles. We're having so much fun. 133 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: When COVID restrictions lifted, the couple took the opportunity to 134 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: spend even more time together and enjoy a warmer climate. 135 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 2: Kind of on a whim, we were like, hey, things 136 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 2: are opening up. We didn't get to go on our 137 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 2: winter vacation to our time sharing cancuon let's go down there. 138 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 2: So we had gone down the first week of April 139 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 2: and had a fabulous time as we always do. 140 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 4: But on this. 141 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: Little COVID getaway, she could tell that something was off 142 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: with Greg. 143 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 4: She first noticed it when they were lounging by the pool. 144 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 2: One of the things that really struck me as weird 145 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 2: on that trip was that we had kind of sat 146 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 2: in this same spot a couple days and there was 147 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 2: someone else sitting a couple chairs down from us, another 148 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 2: husband and wife. 149 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 3: And the guy made me really uncomfortable. 150 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,319 Speaker 2: You know how some guys just look at you weird, 151 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 2: you know, when you're hanging out in your bathing suit whatever. 152 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,959 Speaker 3: And I the guy just kind of made me uncomfortable. 153 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 3: And I told Greg that. I said, you know, that 154 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 3: guy is just kind of creeping me out. Can we 155 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 3: sit somewhere else? And he said no. That was totally 156 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 3: out of character for him. 157 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 2: He was always so accommodating to me and never wanted 158 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 2: me to feel uncomfortable. I mean, does it matter if 159 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 2: we sit over on the other side of the gorgeous 160 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 2: infinity pool looking out at the ocean? 161 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 3: So yeah, it just struck me as a little weird. 162 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: It was weird, but Stephanie didn't think much of it. 163 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: That night, the couple indulged in a long, romantic dinner. 164 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: This was always part of their vacation, a few dinners 165 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: where they could really treat. 166 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 2: Themselves, many many courses and lots of different drinks and 167 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 2: wine and all of that. 168 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 4: The next morning, Stephanie was in a fog. 169 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 3: I was very out of it like it was really 170 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 3: hard to wake up. I had this feeling. 171 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 2: It was almost like I was at the bottom of 172 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:02,319 Speaker 2: the lake and I could just see light way up ahead, 173 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 2: but it was so hard to try to get there, 174 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 2: and then I would just feel so awful, like very 175 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 2: cotton mull, very dehydrated, headache, miserable waking up. 176 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 3: Shouldn't feel like that. 177 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 4: But Greg was there to help take care of her. 178 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 2: Last night. You had a lot to drink, and we 179 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,479 Speaker 2: were out in the sun a lot. I'm sure you're dehydrated. 180 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: Let's get you some water, Let's get you some coffee. 181 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 2: Let's try to stay out of the sun a little 182 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 2: bit today. You know, very comforting, very kind. 183 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 4: But Greg wasn't the man who was pretending to be. 184 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 2: I had that feeling. I was like, I got to 185 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 2: check all his stuff while he's gone. I saw his 186 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 2: laptop was sitting there by his recliner. I picked it 187 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 2: up and I took it over to the kitchen counter 188 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 2: and that was where I was sitting, and I literally 189 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 2: just lifted it up up and it was there. The 190 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 2: pages were open. He readily confessed to all of it. 191 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 2: No tears, no remorse, no regret, no care whatsoever. He 192 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 2: talked to me like he was telling me I went 193 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 2: to the store and got a gallon of milk. He said, 194 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 2: I have those pictures of those other women because I 195 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 2: trade like kids trade Pokemon cards. I would trade your image. 196 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: Be sure to listen in on July twenty fifth to 197 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: hear all of Stephanie's story, and subscribe to the Betrayal Feed, 198 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 1: where you'll hear news stories every Thursday.