WEBVTT - Lucy | Betrayal Weekly

0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:05.520
<v Speaker 1>I don't know this person. What I had in my

0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:09.320
<v Speaker 1>mind is not true. He's not the person I thought

0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:13.240
<v Speaker 1>he was. I have no idea what he was capable

0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:14.480
<v Speaker 1>of doing.

0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.080
<v Speaker 2>I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about

0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:34.720
<v Speaker 2>the people we trust the most and the deceptions that

0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:40.320
<v Speaker 2>change everything really quick. Before we get into the episode,

0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:43.519
<v Speaker 2>I have a small favor to ask you. If you're

0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:46.519
<v Speaker 2>enjoying listening to Betrayal, please take a second to hit

0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.680
<v Speaker 2>the follow button on your podcast app, and please rate

0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.080
<v Speaker 2>and review. We read all the comments and your voices

0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.480
<v Speaker 2>help our show improve and evolve. I really mean it

0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:00.400
<v Speaker 2>when I say thank you for listening and helping us grow. Also,

0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.119
<v Speaker 2>if you went behind the scenes content or resources, follow

0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.600
<v Speaker 2>at Betrayal pod on Instagram or follow me at It's

0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:15.440
<v Speaker 2>Andre Gutting. All right, onto the show. Today, we're sharing

0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.920
<v Speaker 2>the story of a woman we're going to call Lucy.

0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.800
<v Speaker 2>She grew up in Puerto Rico with her parents and siblings.

0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:26.560
<v Speaker 1>Puerto Rico is an amazing place. People are super friendly.

0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:32.640
<v Speaker 1>It's like everybody's family and you feel absolutely welcomed.

0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.840
<v Speaker 2>Lucy grew up with three brothers and they were really close.

0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.080
<v Speaker 1>I really tried to be up to their standards in

0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.639
<v Speaker 1>terms of sports. So I had to run and play

0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.600
<v Speaker 1>basketball and baseball and things like that.

0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:53.720
<v Speaker 2>Lucy is tall and strikingly beautiful. When she was fifteen

0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.520
<v Speaker 2>years old, she started modeling.

0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:01.920
<v Speaker 1>Runways, commercials, TV. But you know, I always kept this

0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:04.840
<v Speaker 1>part of my life as secondary thing.

0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:07.520
<v Speaker 2>School was her top priority.

0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.919
<v Speaker 1>I always had very high standards, and I accomplished them.

0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:16.640
<v Speaker 1>I graduated almost four point average in high school.

0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:21.080
<v Speaker 2>She excelled in college as well. After graduating, she built

0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:25.000
<v Speaker 2>a successful career in the media industry. Her twenties and

0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:26.800
<v Speaker 2>thirties were full of adventure.

0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:31.800
<v Speaker 1>I met a lot of very interesting people. I used

0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.720
<v Speaker 1>to travel a lot. I've been lucky one of the

0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:35.480
<v Speaker 1>lucky ones.

0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:39.799
<v Speaker 2>In her mid thirties, Lucy was in a long term relationship.

0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.440
<v Speaker 2>She and her boyfriend had been dating for eight years.

0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.800
<v Speaker 2>One night, Lucy was out at a party when a

0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.320
<v Speaker 2>friend of hers came over and told her that a

0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.880
<v Speaker 2>guy at the party kept asking about her. His name

0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:53.640
<v Speaker 2>was Ellie.

0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:59.360
<v Speaker 1>I was going out with somebody else, so it was

0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:03.680
<v Speaker 1>not my raider to look at other people, but evidently

0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.079
<v Speaker 1>he asked about me, and he told my friend, I'm

0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:08.760
<v Speaker 1>going to end up with this girl.

0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:12.120
<v Speaker 2>Ellie was bold to be announcing his crush on her.

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.000
<v Speaker 2>After all, Lucy was dating someone and Ellie was too.

0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.800
<v Speaker 1>He was the boyfriend of my girlfriend, and I always

0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:21.120
<v Speaker 1>thought they were going to get married.

0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.640
<v Speaker 2>But she kept seeing Ellie around and over time he

0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:29.400
<v Speaker 2>became a friendly face in the crowd. She always had

0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:32.480
<v Speaker 2>fun talking to him. She learned that he had moved to.

0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.600
<v Speaker 1>Puerto Rico for work Puerto Rico s Mole. So we

0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.080
<v Speaker 1>would see each other like in a restaurant or in

0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.880
<v Speaker 1>a party, but nothing so intimate.

0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.680
<v Speaker 2>Eventually, Lucy and her long term boyfriend broke up, and

0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:50.800
<v Speaker 2>at the age of thirty five, she was single again

0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:55.920
<v Speaker 2>for the first time in nearly a decade. One night,

0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.120
<v Speaker 2>she went out to dinner with some friends at a

0:03:58.160 --> 0:03:59.840
<v Speaker 2>Mediterranean restaurant.

0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:04.200
<v Speaker 1>And when I got in, the first person I see

0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.360
<v Speaker 1>is Ellie and he stopped me and he said hi.

0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.920
<v Speaker 2>He asked about her boyfriend, and she told him that

0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:13.240
<v Speaker 2>they had just broken up.

0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.320
<v Speaker 1>And I asked him, and how's your girlfriend? And he

0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:21.200
<v Speaker 1>told me that they broke up and I said, oh

0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.120
<v Speaker 1>my god, I can't believe this. We have to cry

0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:28.120
<v Speaker 1>in each other's shoulder, and he said yes, and he

0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:29.440
<v Speaker 1>asked me for my phone number.

0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:34.359
<v Speaker 2>After that night, Ellie called Lucy. Talking to him was

0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.480
<v Speaker 2>fun and refreshing. He started calling her more often, and

0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.960
<v Speaker 2>soon he couldn't hide his feelings for her anymore, and

0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:43.280
<v Speaker 2>he asked her on a date.

0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.560
<v Speaker 1>And since it was recent that I have split with

0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:51.440
<v Speaker 1>my boyfriend of eight years, I told him listen, I'm

0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:54.320
<v Speaker 1>not ready now, it's too soon.

0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.280
<v Speaker 2>After her breakup, she was focused on herself, so they

0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:04.000
<v Speaker 2>stayed front But over time, Lucy's feelings for Ellie grew.

0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.440
<v Speaker 1>He was so smart as that really attracted me to

0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:12.360
<v Speaker 1>him a lot. I could listen to him talk for

0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.680
<v Speaker 1>hours and that was fascinated.

0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:19.320
<v Speaker 2>And Ellie kept pursuing her, asking her out to dinner.

0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.159
<v Speaker 1>He would call me and call me and call me.

0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:26.360
<v Speaker 2>Eventually she agreed and they went out on their first date.

0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:33.400
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't believe how amazing this guy was. I really

0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:35.960
<v Speaker 1>liked him, and it was like I started looking at

0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:36.920
<v Speaker 1>him in another way.

0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:41.000
<v Speaker 2>Ellie was romantic. He pulled out all the stops to

0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:43.839
<v Speaker 2>show Lucy how much he liked her. And it didn't

0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:46.400
<v Speaker 2>hurt that he made a lot of money. He had

0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.279
<v Speaker 2>a lucrative job in the oil and gas industry and

0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:50.760
<v Speaker 2>could afford to spoil Lucy.

0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.240
<v Speaker 1>He would send me flowers constantly. He would call me

0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.719
<v Speaker 1>all the time. He would pick me up and he

0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.839
<v Speaker 1>would be dressed super nice and smell super good.

0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:03.679
<v Speaker 2>She was having so much fun.

0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.039
<v Speaker 1>He would take me to this wonderful restaurant and I

0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.480
<v Speaker 1>would go to the hotel and I would have flowers

0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:11.839
<v Speaker 1>waiting for me and a bottle of champagne.

0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.440
<v Speaker 2>They made their relationship official.

0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.919
<v Speaker 1>At the beginning, I just let everything flow and you know,

0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:25.039
<v Speaker 1>enjoy myself. But then I realized I admire him so much.

0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:32.599
<v Speaker 1>This man is so smart, so well versed. He was fascinating.

0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.840
<v Speaker 1>He spoke four languages, he was well read. He was

0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.640
<v Speaker 1>really a very special guy for me.

0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:46.039
<v Speaker 2>The feeling was mutual. Ellie admired Liusey's intelligence ambition and

0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.480
<v Speaker 2>told her all the time how beautiful she was.

0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.279
<v Speaker 1>He would call all his friends to tell him, no,

0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:55.520
<v Speaker 1>I'm with this girl, and I love her. He was really,

0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:56.840
<v Speaker 1>really in love.

0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:01.919
<v Speaker 2>They made a great pair. Over time, their relationship became

0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.320
<v Speaker 2>more serious. They were both hoping to start a family soon,

0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.120
<v Speaker 2>and they talked about their future together often. Then, when

0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:12.760
<v Speaker 2>winter came around, they'd been dating for a year, Ellie

0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:15.280
<v Speaker 2>took a trip to New York for work and invited

0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:16.120
<v Speaker 2>Lucy to come.

0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.680
<v Speaker 1>We went out to dinner to this beautiful restaurant and

0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.480
<v Speaker 1>he said, Okay, let's just go around the carriage in

0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:26.360
<v Speaker 1>Central Park.

0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.800
<v Speaker 2>So they booked a carriage tour and rode through Central

0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:30.440
<v Speaker 2>Park together.

0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.040
<v Speaker 1>It was beautiful. It was a beautiful night.

0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.720
<v Speaker 2>Lucy looked out at the city lights, taking it all in.

0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:42.960
<v Speaker 2>When she turned back to Ellie, he was down on one.

0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:47.200
<v Speaker 1>Knee asking me to marry him. Oh my god, it

0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:52.400
<v Speaker 1>was so perfect. It was really charming and so unexpected

0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:54.400
<v Speaker 1>and really magical.

0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.440
<v Speaker 2>Back in Puerto Rico, Lucy and Ellie moved in together

0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.520
<v Speaker 2>and seven months later they got married.

0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:06.320
<v Speaker 1>In this beautiful hotel in Puerto Rico. We really had

0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:06.960
<v Speaker 1>a good time.

0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:11.280
<v Speaker 2>After two years of marriage, they were ready to have kids.

0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:14.880
<v Speaker 1>I got pregnant when I was thirty nine. It was

0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:18.480
<v Speaker 1>so wanted and it turned out a beautiful experience.

0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.880
<v Speaker 2>Lucy decided to put her career on hold and spend

0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.240
<v Speaker 2>as much time as possible with her son.

0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.280
<v Speaker 1>I never imagined I was going to be a housewife,

0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:33.320
<v Speaker 1>and I loved it. At that stage in my life,

0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:37.720
<v Speaker 1>I have already traveled I have partied, I have had fun.

0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:39.600
<v Speaker 1>You know, I was ready.

0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:42.840
<v Speaker 2>Ellie worked hard to provide for their family.

0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:48.040
<v Speaker 1>He worked for a oil company and the company was

0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.240
<v Speaker 1>in Puerto Rico. He didn't like to live in Puerto Rico.

0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:57.000
<v Speaker 1>He never got too used to our culture. We are

0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.160
<v Speaker 1>a little relaxed. He's a little more a type. He

0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:03.960
<v Speaker 1>really wanted to move to the state. That's where he

0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:04.800
<v Speaker 1>felt comfortable.

0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:08.760
<v Speaker 2>As time went on, Ellie started having more and more

0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:09.720
<v Speaker 2>success at work.

0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.600
<v Speaker 1>He started buying properties with business partners, and he also

0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:18.479
<v Speaker 1>had a gas company, so he started being very successful.

0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.760
<v Speaker 2>They were happy, but Ellie dreamed of moving somewhere new.

0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:27.240
<v Speaker 2>When their first child was a year old, the timing

0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:31.160
<v Speaker 2>was finally right. Ellie could work remotely, and Lucy was

0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:34.080
<v Speaker 2>up for the adventure, so they moved their life from

0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:38.640
<v Speaker 2>Puerto Rico to the continental United States. Lucy didn't know

0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:42.360
<v Speaker 2>what to expect. When they got there, she found herself

0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:44.120
<v Speaker 2>immersed in a whole new world.

0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.120
<v Speaker 1>He was a kind of high class community, which I

0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:55.760
<v Speaker 1>didn't know when I bought the house. How prestigious was

0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:56.840
<v Speaker 1>the place I was living.

0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.880
<v Speaker 2>They moved to a gated waterfront community. We're not naming

0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:04.160
<v Speaker 2>this community. For Lucy's privacy. But it was an exclusive

0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:08.760
<v Speaker 2>island where every street was lined with beautiful mansions. Many

0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.520
<v Speaker 2>of the estates had their own pool or yacht. Suddenly

0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.480
<v Speaker 2>they had attained another level of wealth and luxury, and

0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.760
<v Speaker 2>Lucy wouldn't have to work again.

0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.040
<v Speaker 1>We had a huge house, beautiful house.

0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:25.720
<v Speaker 2>After a few years in the States, they welcomed their

0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:27.840
<v Speaker 2>second child, a daughter.

0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:32.840
<v Speaker 1>And it was a wonderful pregnancy at forty three years old. Remember,

0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.040
<v Speaker 1>I grew up with boys only, so having a girl

0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:41.600
<v Speaker 1>was fantastic. Ellie was still administrating the old company in

0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.840
<v Speaker 1>Puerto Rico, but he was investing in real estate, and

0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.320
<v Speaker 1>he kept on doing very well. With time, he did

0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:50.960
<v Speaker 1>better and better and better.

0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:56.840
<v Speaker 2>Within their marriage, Lucy and Ellie each had their own domain.

0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:01.960
<v Speaker 2>Ellie handled work and money, and handled their kids, the house,

0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.440
<v Speaker 2>and their family's needs. They gave each other full rein

0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.880
<v Speaker 2>to handle their side of things, and their system was

0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:10.959
<v Speaker 2>a well oiled machine.

0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.560
<v Speaker 1>He would work, I would do the rest everything else.

0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:19.120
<v Speaker 1>Regarding my children. Regarding the house, he just said how

0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.640
<v Speaker 1>much and he would pay for it.

0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:25.480
<v Speaker 2>They gave each other a lot of space and trusted

0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:26.439
<v Speaker 2>each other deeply.

0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:31.280
<v Speaker 1>I was so respectful of his space and his things.

0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:35.560
<v Speaker 1>I really never knew how much money he had. I

0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:40.599
<v Speaker 1>never knew all his businesses, just in general, but not details.

0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.440
<v Speaker 2>Lucy didn't need to know the details to see the

0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:49.280
<v Speaker 2>big picture. They were very lucky. They'd been happily married

0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:53.719
<v Speaker 2>for twenty years and their kids were teenagers now. They

0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:57.520
<v Speaker 2>traveled together often and gave their kids everything they could

0:11:57.559 --> 0:11:57.960
<v Speaker 2>dream of.

0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:03.679
<v Speaker 1>Our lifestyle was so wonderful when I was thinking, I

0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.800
<v Speaker 1>have so much more than what I need. We traveled

0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:10.560
<v Speaker 1>a lot. We ended up buying a beach house. We

0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.440
<v Speaker 1>decided for many years to spend Christmas in Paris with

0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:18.679
<v Speaker 1>the kids. We were happy, you know, we were happy.

0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:23.600
<v Speaker 1>There was no reason for me to think that things

0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:24.960
<v Speaker 1>were going to end up the way they did.

0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.320
<v Speaker 2>Lucy and her husband, Ellie, built an impressive life together.

0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.880
<v Speaker 2>They lived in a beautiful house, had two kids, and

0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:58.600
<v Speaker 2>traveled often. They had everything they needed and more.

0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:04.040
<v Speaker 1>I was so wonderful, and every time we traveled we

0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:08.680
<v Speaker 1>had fun. We would laugh and it was good. We

0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:10.959
<v Speaker 1>were happy, you know, we were happy.

0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:15.080
<v Speaker 2>For twenty years. Their marriage was a dream. But when

0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:19.280
<v Speaker 2>Ellie turned sixty, Lucy started noticing some changes in him.

0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:21.960
<v Speaker 2>He grew emotionally distant.

0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:26.280
<v Speaker 1>It was more touchy, freely than he was. He started

0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:31.400
<v Speaker 1>not having any intimacy with me. I was always very

0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:36.160
<v Speaker 1>much into looking good. I tried to keep being attractive

0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.559
<v Speaker 1>to him, but there was no reaction from him.

0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.520
<v Speaker 2>And on top of that, he started dressing differently.

0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:49.560
<v Speaker 1>My husband was a very, very classy man. He would

0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:54.040
<v Speaker 1>always be very well dressed, but very appropriate for his age.

0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:58.280
<v Speaker 1>When he turned sixty, I started noticing that he started

0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:03.440
<v Speaker 1>dressing like a young guy. He would wear like skinny jeans,

0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.640
<v Speaker 1>and he started wearing bracelets. And I was like, what

0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:08.960
<v Speaker 1>the hell, what's wrong with you? Do you look like

0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:13.160
<v Speaker 1>an old man in teenager's clothes? And I asked him,

0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.840
<v Speaker 1>are you seeing somebody else? Because this is too strange,

0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.280
<v Speaker 1>and he was saying, no, you're crazy.

0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.880
<v Speaker 2>She took his word for it. Their mutual trust was

0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:26.920
<v Speaker 2>an essential part of their relationship.

0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:31.000
<v Speaker 1>I had no reasons to doubt. I respected him so much.

0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.480
<v Speaker 1>I never went through his phone, I never went through

0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:34.440
<v Speaker 1>his wallet.

0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.080
<v Speaker 2>She talked it all up to a midlife crisis, but

0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:42.440
<v Speaker 2>over time Ellie went from being distant to being cruel.

0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.480
<v Speaker 2>One day, Lucy and Ellie got into an argument.

0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:52.560
<v Speaker 1>And he said, you know something. You are not necessary,

0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.400
<v Speaker 1>you are convenient. I went to the room and I

0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.760
<v Speaker 1>started crying and didn't say anything. And he realized what

0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.800
<v Speaker 1>stupid thing he said, and he started sending me flowers

0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.239
<v Speaker 1>and saying how important I am.

0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:10.160
<v Speaker 2>But Lucy couldn't get his words out of her head.

0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:14.320
<v Speaker 2>Every year Lucy and her friends went on a girl's trip.

0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:19.160
<v Speaker 1>We would go to Europe or New York or different

0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.480
<v Speaker 1>places just for a week or something like that. We

0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.040
<v Speaker 1>went to Spain and then we ended up in Turkey.

0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.040
<v Speaker 2>While on her girl's trip. She called Ellie to check in,

0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.240
<v Speaker 2>but when he picked up the phone, he was crying.

0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.800
<v Speaker 1>And I said, what happened. He used to have a

0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.880
<v Speaker 1>Bentley and he said, I went to the mall to

0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.960
<v Speaker 1>have the business launch and when I came back to

0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:49.880
<v Speaker 1>pick up my car, it was scratched from head to toe.

0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:50.720
<v Speaker 1>And I said what.

0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:56.360
<v Speaker 2>Lucy was confused, why would that happen? And why was

0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:57.440
<v Speaker 2>he in tears over this?

0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:00.920
<v Speaker 1>Especially the mall that he went. It was a very

0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.320
<v Speaker 1>high end more that had cameras and had security all over.

0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:10.040
<v Speaker 1>Said how could this happen? He said no, but don't worry.

0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to send it to be fixed.

0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.080
<v Speaker 2>Lucy wasn't ready to just accept this and move on.

0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:20.920
<v Speaker 2>It was too strange. King someone's car was personal.

0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.040
<v Speaker 1>Who did this? Who could have done this? And he said,

0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.480
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, this is just vandalism.

0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:34.280
<v Speaker 2>Even though he'd been so emotional on the phone, Ellie

0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:40.680
<v Speaker 2>insisted that this wasn't targeted at them specifically. Lucy wasn't convinced,

0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:43.440
<v Speaker 2>but she tried to enjoy the rest of her trip

0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:44.360
<v Speaker 2>with her friends.

0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.280
<v Speaker 1>When I came back from my trip, I noticed he

0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:52.520
<v Speaker 1>was very nervous. And the first night I received a

0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:53.920
<v Speaker 1>call at three o'clock in the.

0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:59.400
<v Speaker 2>Morning, Lucy woke up in the darkness to her phone ringing.

0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.120
<v Speaker 2>When she picked up, there was silence.

0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:05.240
<v Speaker 1>And they hung up.

0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.720
<v Speaker 2>Lucy looked at Ellie sitting in bed next to.

0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.919
<v Speaker 1>Her, and he was very nervous, and it was like,

0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.359
<v Speaker 1>what's going on? And he said, no, no, that must

0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:17.280
<v Speaker 1>be a wrong number.

0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:22.560
<v Speaker 2>Her normally calm and collected husband of twenty years seemed

0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:27.840
<v Speaker 2>a little rattled. The following day, one of their close

0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.960
<v Speaker 2>friends came over for dinner. They shared a nice meal,

0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:35.639
<v Speaker 2>good conversation, and everything felt normal. But then, just when

0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.919
<v Speaker 2>their friend was about to head home, Ellie stopped him.

0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.280
<v Speaker 1>He tells him, please don't leave. She's going to need you,

0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:44.720
<v Speaker 1>and he tells me sit down.

0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.120
<v Speaker 2>Confused, Lucy sat down and her friend sat next to her.

0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.639
<v Speaker 2>They both looked at Ellie, waiting for an explanation. He

0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.240
<v Speaker 2>stood nervously in front of.

0:17:56.200 --> 0:18:01.159
<v Speaker 1>Them, and he said, I have been kidnapped, and it

0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.720
<v Speaker 1>is what by who? What happened?

0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:09.199
<v Speaker 2>All of a sudden, their living room became Ellie's confessional.

0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:15.040
<v Speaker 1>I have been dating women from sugar daddy dot com.

0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:21.840
<v Speaker 1>I have dated a few women. I would see them

0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:27.640
<v Speaker 1>at lunchtime two days a week, But for the last

0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:33.879
<v Speaker 1>six months I have been closer to these Russian women. Anna,

0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:39.520
<v Speaker 1>and she's married. She has a three year old baby.

0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:46.720
<v Speaker 1>Her husband knows that she's an escort. He manages her.

0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.800
<v Speaker 2>Elie would meet Anna in different places, sometimes in hotel rooms,

0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.800
<v Speaker 2>sometimes at one of his rental properties. But one day

0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:57.399
<v Speaker 2>things took a turn.

0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:05.439
<v Speaker 1>Anna told Ellie to meet her in an apartment that

0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:10.080
<v Speaker 1>Ellie owned. When Ellie goes to the apartment, he thought

0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 1>he was going to be in the rendezvous with Anna.

0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.880
<v Speaker 1>When he goes there, who's in the apartment Anna's husband.

0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.560
<v Speaker 2>Ellie told Lucy how shocked he was in that moment,

0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.840
<v Speaker 2>but he said there was no time for him to react.

0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:28.639
<v Speaker 2>Once Ellie was inside, Anna's husband closed the door and

0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:31.560
<v Speaker 2>took out a steel pipe, threatening to hurt Ellie.

0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:36.680
<v Speaker 1>He wanted Ellie to see that he was serious. He

0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:41.600
<v Speaker 1>told Elie, take off your clothes, so he got naked.

0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:45.639
<v Speaker 1>He sat him in the sofa, and he started breaking

0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:46.960
<v Speaker 1>things in the apartment.

0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.800
<v Speaker 2>Anna and her husband had been struggling financially, and they

0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.480
<v Speaker 2>knew how wealthy Ellie was, so they devised a plan

0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.240
<v Speaker 2>to extore him. They planted cameras in the hotel rooms

0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.800
<v Speaker 2>and rental properties where Ellie and Anna met, and they

0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.639
<v Speaker 2>filmed them having sex to use as blackmail.

0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:13.760
<v Speaker 1>Anna's husband would put the camera in front of the

0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:16.840
<v Speaker 1>bed and tell her this is where the camera is,

0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.040
<v Speaker 1>this is where you have to concentrate, and then he

0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:22.080
<v Speaker 1>would record everything.

0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.800
<v Speaker 2>Now, Anna and her husband were threatening to release these tapes.

0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.720
<v Speaker 2>If Ellie did not comply with their demands.

0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:33.880
<v Speaker 1>You have to give me one million dollars cash, and

0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:38.280
<v Speaker 1>you have to put under my wife's name two apartments

0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:42.560
<v Speaker 1>in a specific building. And if he didn't, I'm going

0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:47.240
<v Speaker 1>to tell your wife and everybody, I'm going to ruin

0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:52.800
<v Speaker 1>your reputation, and for Ellie, his reputation was everything.

0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:58.200
<v Speaker 2>If his reputation wasn't enough, Anna and her husband had

0:20:58.240 --> 0:20:59.119
<v Speaker 2>more collateral.

0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:05.520
<v Speaker 1>Anna's husband showed Ellie pictures of my children, pictures of

0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:09.680
<v Speaker 1>my house, pictures of me, pictures of the cars, pictures

0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:14.200
<v Speaker 1>of the school my children went. They knew everything. They

0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:18.160
<v Speaker 1>implied there were going to be consequences. Something's gonna happen

0:21:18.240 --> 0:21:18.800
<v Speaker 1>to your family.

0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:22.760
<v Speaker 2>Anna's husband held Ellie in the apartment for a few

0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:26.879
<v Speaker 2>hours to make it clear he was serious. Finally he

0:21:27.040 --> 0:21:31.440
<v Speaker 2>left and Ellie was free to go. Ellie explained all

0:21:31.440 --> 0:21:34.120
<v Speaker 2>of this in one go to Lucy.

0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:37.640
<v Speaker 1>I didn't know how to react. This was like from

0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:45.120
<v Speaker 1>a movie, but it was happening. That day, my life collapsed.

0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.600
<v Speaker 2>Lucy's husband, Ellie sat her down and told her he

0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:11.679
<v Speaker 2>needed to confess something. She never could have predicted what

0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:14.280
<v Speaker 2>came out of his mouth next.

0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:17.359
<v Speaker 1>That day, my life collapsed.

0:22:18.760 --> 0:22:21.400
<v Speaker 2>She thought her husband of twenty years was an honest

0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:26.560
<v Speaker 2>and loyal man. She saw no indications otherwise until Ellie

0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:29.760
<v Speaker 2>was forced to tell her the truth. For years, he'd

0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:33.080
<v Speaker 2>been meeting women from a sugar Daddy website. For the

0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:37.840
<v Speaker 2>past few months, he'd been seeing one woman regularly. That

0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:41.320
<v Speaker 2>was until she and her husband devised a plan to

0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:45.920
<v Speaker 2>blackmail and extort Ellie, threatening Lucy and their children's safety

0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:49.040
<v Speaker 2>if Ellie didn't give them what they wanted, which was

0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:51.640
<v Speaker 2>a million dollars in cash and the deed to two

0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:52.959
<v Speaker 2>real estate properties.

0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:58.280
<v Speaker 1>He was such a shock. My world crashed, and I

0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:00.480
<v Speaker 1>didn't know who to call. I didn't know who to

0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:02.400
<v Speaker 1>talk to. I didn't know what to do.

0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:07.720
<v Speaker 2>Her immediate reaction was to make sure the kids were safe.

0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:10.560
<v Speaker 1>There was a clear sign that we're watching us. We

0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:13.119
<v Speaker 1>don't know with whom we're cheelling because we don't know

0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:14.280
<v Speaker 1>the associates they have.

0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:18.320
<v Speaker 2>Ellie came clean about the time someone keyed his Bentley.

0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:23.160
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't a random act of vandalism, and he'd known it.

0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:28.720
<v Speaker 1>Have Wedaly That was Anna's husband and his friends.

0:23:29.760 --> 0:23:31.920
<v Speaker 2>That call she'd gotten in the middle of the night

0:23:32.280 --> 0:23:35.680
<v Speaker 2>had also been from Anna's husband. They had all sorts

0:23:35.720 --> 0:23:39.480
<v Speaker 2>of information on Lucy and her family, their phone numbers,

0:23:39.800 --> 0:23:43.920
<v Speaker 2>license plates, their address. Anna and her husband had also

0:23:44.000 --> 0:23:47.240
<v Speaker 2>sent someone to take photos of Lucy's kids and her

0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:52.240
<v Speaker 2>It was terrifying. Anna and her husband were three steps ahead,

0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:55.439
<v Speaker 2>and Lucy was scared of what they might do next.

0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.080
<v Speaker 2>She had to think fast and went into solution mode

0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:01.959
<v Speaker 2>all the while, while Ellie seemed to shrink.

0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:06.000
<v Speaker 1>He was super scared. He has always been a coward.

0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:10.760
<v Speaker 2>Lucy wanted protection right away, so she hired a private

0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:11.760
<v Speaker 2>security detail.

0:24:12.560 --> 0:24:15.639
<v Speaker 1>I had an armed guard for twenty four hours in

0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:18.200
<v Speaker 1>the front of my house, and this is very unusual

0:24:18.280 --> 0:24:21.520
<v Speaker 1>where I live. Just imagine the shock of my children.

0:24:22.200 --> 0:24:24.840
<v Speaker 2>What Anna and her husband were doing was a crime.

0:24:25.200 --> 0:24:29.240
<v Speaker 2>It was extortion. Despite how angry Lucy was, she worked

0:24:29.280 --> 0:24:32.320
<v Speaker 2>with Elli as a team. She told Ellie he needed

0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.080
<v Speaker 2>to go to the police and report the crime.

0:24:35.520 --> 0:24:40.399
<v Speaker 1>And he contacted the FBI, so the FBI took the case.

0:24:41.320 --> 0:24:45.040
<v Speaker 2>The FBI needed proof of the extortion, so they planned

0:24:45.040 --> 0:24:48.840
<v Speaker 2>to record a phone call with Ellie. Anna and her husband.

0:24:49.000 --> 0:24:52.720
<v Speaker 1>And the FBI told them, make him believe that you're

0:24:52.800 --> 0:24:55.960
<v Speaker 1>going to comply with what they want. We're going to

0:24:56.000 --> 0:24:58.200
<v Speaker 1>record this and then we're going to arrest them.

0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:01.840
<v Speaker 2>The call went off without a hit. Anna's husband gave

0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:04.280
<v Speaker 2>the FBI exactly what they needed.

0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:06.800
<v Speaker 1>He said, you know, I'm going to give you a break.

0:25:07.280 --> 0:25:09.399
<v Speaker 1>Just give me the million dollars and you don't have

0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:11.480
<v Speaker 1>to give me the two apartments because I want the

0:25:11.520 --> 0:25:15.360
<v Speaker 1>money right now. So they have that on tape. So

0:25:15.440 --> 0:25:19.600
<v Speaker 1>they sent SWAT to their apartment and they got them,

0:25:20.040 --> 0:25:24.000
<v Speaker 1>both of them and their computers. They had all the evidence.

0:25:26.040 --> 0:25:28.879
<v Speaker 2>Authorities were able to charge Anna and her husband with

0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:29.840
<v Speaker 2>a federal crime.

0:25:30.600 --> 0:25:33.760
<v Speaker 1>They charged him with extortionire most of them went to jail.

0:25:34.760 --> 0:25:38.320
<v Speaker 2>Since her husband's confession, Lucy had been in fight or flight,

0:25:39.200 --> 0:25:43.399
<v Speaker 2>terrified for her children's safety. Finally it seemed like the

0:25:43.480 --> 0:25:47.000
<v Speaker 2>threat was neutralized. She thought that once Anna and her

0:25:47.080 --> 0:25:50.280
<v Speaker 2>husband were in jail, Ellie would apologize for what he'd

0:25:50.280 --> 0:25:55.320
<v Speaker 2>done and make amends with the family. But Ellie shut down.

0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:59.000
<v Speaker 1>I really tried, and he's like talking to a wall.

0:26:00.080 --> 0:26:05.120
<v Speaker 1>He would never ever explain himself, talk about feelings, talk

0:26:05.160 --> 0:26:11.120
<v Speaker 1>about anything. Zero. He never asked about me how I felt.

0:26:11.760 --> 0:26:16.920
<v Speaker 1>He never said I'm sorry. He portrayed himself as the victim.

0:26:17.920 --> 0:26:22.320
<v Speaker 1>He told me, I am the victim of extortion. I'm

0:26:22.359 --> 0:26:26.480
<v Speaker 1>the victim. He thought I was going to just ignore

0:26:26.520 --> 0:26:31.000
<v Speaker 1>the situation and keep on being married like nothing happened.

0:26:31.840 --> 0:26:34.240
<v Speaker 2>But the fact that he didn't seem to care about

0:26:34.240 --> 0:26:37.560
<v Speaker 2>what he'd put the family through was what alarmed Lucy

0:26:37.600 --> 0:26:38.600
<v Speaker 2>the most.

0:26:39.200 --> 0:26:42.760
<v Speaker 1>How can you live with yourself knowing that you crushed

0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:47.000
<v Speaker 1>the people that love you the most and portray yourself

0:26:47.119 --> 0:26:51.000
<v Speaker 1>as a victim after you have caused so much damage.

0:26:51.800 --> 0:26:54.320
<v Speaker 2>As the shock of it all wore off, a new

0:26:54.359 --> 0:26:59.520
<v Speaker 2>feeling emerged in its place, betrayal. Who was this man

0:27:00.080 --> 0:27:03.680
<v Speaker 2>a life with? Was anything he told her true?

0:27:04.400 --> 0:27:10.080
<v Speaker 1>I started questioning many many things. I felt like live

0:27:10.160 --> 0:27:13.480
<v Speaker 1>the lie and I don't know who his true self

0:27:13.680 --> 0:27:16.879
<v Speaker 1>was when this happened. I think that was the most

0:27:16.920 --> 0:27:21.560
<v Speaker 1>difficult thing to deal with, the betrayal of knowing that

0:27:21.840 --> 0:27:24.439
<v Speaker 1>I don't know this person, that what I had in

0:27:24.480 --> 0:27:28.119
<v Speaker 1>my mind is not true. He's not the person I

0:27:28.160 --> 0:27:30.480
<v Speaker 1>thought he was. Absolutely he's not.

0:27:31.560 --> 0:27:34.560
<v Speaker 2>Ellie had been meeting women from sugar daddy dot Com.

0:27:34.600 --> 0:27:38.720
<v Speaker 2>For years. After every meetup, he returned to their home,

0:27:39.280 --> 0:27:42.200
<v Speaker 2>sit down at dinner with their kids, and lie about

0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:42.840
<v Speaker 2>where he'd been.

0:27:44.040 --> 0:27:47.640
<v Speaker 1>It's not like I'm talking about five years, twenty one

0:27:47.720 --> 0:27:51.720
<v Speaker 1>years of being fooled. He lived a facade.

0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:57.560
<v Speaker 2>Lucy realized that Anna and her husband weren't the only

0:27:57.680 --> 0:28:02.159
<v Speaker 2>threat to her safety. Also, Ellie, I have.

0:28:02.280 --> 0:28:06.560
<v Speaker 1>No idea what he was capable of doing. The betrayals

0:28:06.680 --> 0:28:11.360
<v Speaker 1>too much, too deep. It was hell. I went through

0:28:11.400 --> 0:28:16.760
<v Speaker 1>the motions of living. That's it. I could hardly survive.

0:28:17.400 --> 0:28:19.760
<v Speaker 1>I was just an entity walking around.

0:28:20.600 --> 0:28:24.199
<v Speaker 2>She emotionally disconnected from Ellie for weeks. He tried to

0:28:24.200 --> 0:28:27.440
<v Speaker 2>win her back with grand gestures, the kind he'd made

0:28:27.480 --> 0:28:29.160
<v Speaker 2>at the beginning of their relationship.

0:28:29.840 --> 0:28:32.359
<v Speaker 1>He promised me, I'll buy you an apartment in Madri

0:28:32.800 --> 0:28:35.920
<v Speaker 1>Let's move, let's do. He promised me the world.

0:28:36.760 --> 0:28:39.320
<v Speaker 2>But all the money in the world wouldn't fix it.

0:28:40.200 --> 0:28:45.680
<v Speaker 2>Lucy couldn't be bought. It was too late. There was

0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:47.000
<v Speaker 2>no coming back from this.

0:28:48.000 --> 0:28:50.640
<v Speaker 1>I kicked him out of the house. For him was

0:28:50.680 --> 0:28:53.560
<v Speaker 1>a shock that I left him. He never thought I

0:28:53.600 --> 0:28:54.240
<v Speaker 1>was going to leave.

0:28:59.240 --> 0:29:03.640
<v Speaker 2>Then Lucy filed for divorce. When Ellie saw that she

0:29:03.800 --> 0:29:07.040
<v Speaker 2>was serious about leaving, it was like a switch flipped.

0:29:07.960 --> 0:29:10.840
<v Speaker 2>She saw it in his eyes and heard it in

0:29:10.880 --> 0:29:11.440
<v Speaker 2>his voice.

0:29:12.560 --> 0:29:15.680
<v Speaker 1>He thought, I'm going to destroy this woman because she

0:29:15.840 --> 0:29:18.440
<v Speaker 1>left me and losing her when I'm going to destroy

0:29:18.480 --> 0:29:19.320
<v Speaker 1>her in the process.

0:29:19.880 --> 0:29:23.240
<v Speaker 2>After she filed for divorce, Ellie became vicious.

0:29:23.600 --> 0:29:27.520
<v Speaker 1>He started being super mean to me, and he would

0:29:27.520 --> 0:29:30.600
<v Speaker 1>blame me on everything. He declared war.

0:29:31.200 --> 0:29:33.480
<v Speaker 2>The man who promised her the world just a few

0:29:33.520 --> 0:29:38.000
<v Speaker 2>weeks earlier, began berating and insulting Lucy every chance he got.

0:29:38.520 --> 0:29:41.280
<v Speaker 1>He told her, I don't even love you. If you

0:29:41.360 --> 0:29:43.840
<v Speaker 1>were the last woman that insisted in the world, I

0:29:43.880 --> 0:29:46.320
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't even get close to you. That's how much I

0:29:46.400 --> 0:29:47.000
<v Speaker 1>dislike you.

0:29:47.560 --> 0:29:50.320
<v Speaker 2>Lucy thought his cruel remarks were as low as he

0:29:50.360 --> 0:29:53.440
<v Speaker 2>would go, but he was about to take his retaliation

0:29:53.640 --> 0:29:58.560
<v Speaker 2>a step further. One day, they got into an argument

0:29:58.600 --> 0:30:03.840
<v Speaker 2>on Lucy's front lawn. Ellie was escalating, becoming increasingly agitated

0:30:04.320 --> 0:30:06.080
<v Speaker 2>and getting in her personal space.

0:30:09.640 --> 0:30:12.240
<v Speaker 1>And he started talking to me with his finger in

0:30:12.280 --> 0:30:15.280
<v Speaker 1>my face, and I pushed him because he was on

0:30:15.360 --> 0:30:19.520
<v Speaker 1>my face. He said, you want to play with me,

0:30:20.240 --> 0:30:23.360
<v Speaker 1>You're going to see what suffering is. He called nine

0:30:23.440 --> 0:30:27.160
<v Speaker 1>one one, and nine one one came. They arrest me

0:30:27.200 --> 0:30:28.920
<v Speaker 1>for domestic violets.

0:30:29.560 --> 0:30:34.440
<v Speaker 2>Lucy remembers this moment vividly. Ellie watched, unfazed as she

0:30:34.560 --> 0:30:35.680
<v Speaker 2>was being handcuffed.

0:30:36.440 --> 0:30:39.200
<v Speaker 1>They took me to jail. I was in jail for

0:30:39.240 --> 0:30:41.480
<v Speaker 1>three days, two nights. In jail.

0:30:42.560 --> 0:30:47.480
<v Speaker 2>It was unbelievable, surrounded by strangers. She was too anxious

0:30:47.480 --> 0:30:50.840
<v Speaker 2>to eat or even use the bathroom. She waited there

0:30:50.920 --> 0:30:55.560
<v Speaker 2>until a friend was able to bail her out. Lucy

0:30:55.600 --> 0:30:58.520
<v Speaker 2>has since gotten the domestic violence charge expunged.

0:30:59.360 --> 0:31:04.920
<v Speaker 1>Narcissus. I think that they enjoy making you suffer because

0:31:04.960 --> 0:31:07.760
<v Speaker 1>he makes them feel better. It makes them feel superior,

0:31:07.880 --> 0:31:09.440
<v Speaker 1>It makes him feel in control.

0:31:10.240 --> 0:31:12.560
<v Speaker 2>It was easy for him to pose as the victim

0:31:13.000 --> 0:31:15.840
<v Speaker 2>and paint her as the villain, and he made it

0:31:15.880 --> 0:31:20.000
<v Speaker 2>clear he was willing to do it again. A few

0:31:20.040 --> 0:31:22.640
<v Speaker 2>months later, it was time for Anna and her husband

0:31:22.800 --> 0:31:27.000
<v Speaker 2>sentencing hearing. Lucy wanted to attend the hearing. She wrote

0:31:27.040 --> 0:31:28.320
<v Speaker 2>a victim impact statement.

0:31:28.840 --> 0:31:32.640
<v Speaker 1>I prepared a statement explaining everything that has happened and

0:31:32.720 --> 0:31:34.440
<v Speaker 1>how he had affected my children.

0:31:35.240 --> 0:31:37.800
<v Speaker 2>But Ellie told her she wasn't allowed to go to

0:31:37.840 --> 0:31:41.440
<v Speaker 2>the hearing If she showed up there, he said he'd

0:31:41.440 --> 0:31:42.840
<v Speaker 2>have her arrested again.

0:31:43.440 --> 0:31:46.360
<v Speaker 1>And since I was in jail not too long before,

0:31:47.240 --> 0:31:49.840
<v Speaker 1>I just believed him because he was so convincing.

0:31:50.800 --> 0:31:53.760
<v Speaker 2>Ellie was doing whatever he could to control the situation

0:31:54.400 --> 0:31:57.480
<v Speaker 2>and keep Lucy in the dark. Not only did he

0:31:57.560 --> 0:32:02.200
<v Speaker 2>intimidate Lucy out of attending the hearing, Ellie didn't attend either.

0:32:03.160 --> 0:32:06.320
<v Speaker 2>He never went to present his testimony. He was the

0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:07.680
<v Speaker 2>only witness.

0:32:08.800 --> 0:32:14.040
<v Speaker 1>He's a coward. He didn't want anything on record because

0:32:14.080 --> 0:32:18.680
<v Speaker 1>when you go to a court, everything's transcribed, so John,

0:32:18.760 --> 0:32:22.440
<v Speaker 1>she never knew exactly what happened. They just said in general,

0:32:22.680 --> 0:32:27.920
<v Speaker 1>but nothing like the tragedy and all day implications, the threatening,

0:32:28.320 --> 0:32:31.600
<v Speaker 1>the impact on me and my kids. Did Judge never

0:32:31.680 --> 0:32:36.040
<v Speaker 1>heard it. He didn't advocate for his family for us.

0:32:37.080 --> 0:32:41.160
<v Speaker 1>His reputation was more important. He didn't want anybody to

0:32:41.200 --> 0:32:42.560
<v Speaker 1>hear what he did.

0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:47.760
<v Speaker 2>He couldn't face the shame of it because Ellie wasn't there.

0:32:48.280 --> 0:32:52.520
<v Speaker 2>The judge was very lenient with the sentencing. Anna's husband

0:32:52.760 --> 0:32:57.000
<v Speaker 2>was sentenced to fifteen months in jail, and Anna was

0:32:57.080 --> 0:33:03.120
<v Speaker 2>only given five as for Lucy, she endured a much

0:33:03.240 --> 0:33:06.800
<v Speaker 2>longer sentence. Trying to put the pieces of her life

0:33:06.840 --> 0:33:09.880
<v Speaker 2>back together after Ellie's betrayal.

0:33:10.440 --> 0:33:14.800
<v Speaker 1>I was a mess. I barely could move for a

0:33:14.880 --> 0:33:19.440
<v Speaker 1>year and a half. I was in bed, crying, crying, crying.

0:33:19.520 --> 0:33:24.959
<v Speaker 1>I would cry for days. I don't even remember many days.

0:33:25.360 --> 0:33:27.920
<v Speaker 1>This guy destroyed my life so much a way that

0:33:28.280 --> 0:33:29.520
<v Speaker 1>he destroyed my soul.

0:33:31.160 --> 0:33:34.840
<v Speaker 2>During their marriage, she and Ellie had cultivated a community

0:33:34.880 --> 0:33:39.080
<v Speaker 2>of close friends. After his betrayal, she needed someone to

0:33:39.160 --> 0:33:43.320
<v Speaker 2>turn to, but she'd stop getting replies or calls back

0:33:43.360 --> 0:33:47.280
<v Speaker 2>from friends. Then she found out that Ellie had been

0:33:47.280 --> 0:33:52.360
<v Speaker 2>telling everyone a very different story about their divorce, one

0:33:53.040 --> 0:33:54.520
<v Speaker 2>where Lucy was to blame.

0:33:55.600 --> 0:33:58.000
<v Speaker 1>I would receive calls from friends that would say, how

0:33:58.040 --> 0:34:00.840
<v Speaker 1>could you be uns faithful to you your husband like that?

0:34:00.960 --> 0:34:04.840
<v Speaker 1>I say, what what are you talking about? He started

0:34:04.880 --> 0:34:07.760
<v Speaker 1>saying that I wasn't faithful to him with a Russian

0:34:07.920 --> 0:34:12.120
<v Speaker 1>guy just changed the story, making me the one that

0:34:12.280 --> 0:34:14.840
<v Speaker 1>did everything he did. It was crazy.

0:34:15.440 --> 0:34:19.240
<v Speaker 2>It was the definition of projection. But she couldn't stop

0:34:19.280 --> 0:34:23.200
<v Speaker 2>the rumors. Many of their friends took Ellie's side, and

0:34:23.239 --> 0:34:24.680
<v Speaker 2>she has a theory about.

0:34:24.400 --> 0:34:30.640
<v Speaker 1>Why unfortunately money talks. People respect people with money, even

0:34:30.680 --> 0:34:34.799
<v Speaker 1>if they are the devil in disguise. People want to

0:34:34.800 --> 0:34:37.960
<v Speaker 1>be close to success, to successful people, not two people

0:34:37.960 --> 0:34:42.200
<v Speaker 1>that are destroyed or a mess. I was a mess.

0:34:46.800 --> 0:34:49.840
<v Speaker 1>I took a few pills because I want to numb myself,

0:34:49.880 --> 0:34:53.280
<v Speaker 1>not because I want to die. I wanted to numb myself,

0:34:53.360 --> 0:34:56.759
<v Speaker 1>but maybe I took too many. I ended up in

0:34:56.760 --> 0:35:01.680
<v Speaker 1>the hospital in emergency and they transferred me to a

0:35:01.920 --> 0:35:03.120
<v Speaker 1>psychiatric hospital.

0:35:04.040 --> 0:35:07.120
<v Speaker 2>The doctors asked Lucy what was going on at home?

0:35:09.160 --> 0:35:11.319
<v Speaker 1>When I told the psychiatric is my story, and she

0:35:11.640 --> 0:35:15.640
<v Speaker 1>thought I was making it up. She told me, your delusional,

0:35:16.719 --> 0:35:17.440
<v Speaker 1>what a story.

0:35:19.600 --> 0:35:22.799
<v Speaker 2>Lucy stayed in the psychiatric hospital for a few days.

0:35:23.239 --> 0:35:25.120
<v Speaker 2>Eli brought their kids to visit her.

0:35:26.000 --> 0:35:31.880
<v Speaker 1>He looked very calm and collected. He told my nineteen

0:35:31.920 --> 0:35:34.520
<v Speaker 1>year old son, listen, I think you should live alone

0:35:34.640 --> 0:35:38.319
<v Speaker 1>because your mother is not well, so you shouldn't be

0:35:38.480 --> 0:35:42.640
<v Speaker 1>with her. And he gave him an apartment that was devastating.

0:35:44.040 --> 0:35:48.680
<v Speaker 1>He took advantage of my vulnerability that he would talk

0:35:48.719 --> 0:35:52.759
<v Speaker 1>about me like I was the crazy one. He keeps

0:35:52.840 --> 0:35:55.120
<v Speaker 1>the financial control of everybody.

0:35:56.120 --> 0:35:59.239
<v Speaker 2>It took five months for their divorce to be finalized.

0:36:00.239 --> 0:36:04.560
<v Speaker 1>It cost him a fortune. It cost me my sanity.

0:36:05.600 --> 0:36:09.560
<v Speaker 2>Looking back now, Lucy sees how wealth enabled Ellie.

0:36:10.360 --> 0:36:13.040
<v Speaker 1>The more money you get, the more powerful you feel.

0:36:13.400 --> 0:36:18.239
<v Speaker 1>He felt superior to everybody, and he's above everybody. He

0:36:18.320 --> 0:36:19.440
<v Speaker 1>thought he was untouchable.

0:36:21.840 --> 0:36:25.320
<v Speaker 2>It's been almost ten years since she discovered Ellie's betrayal.

0:36:25.960 --> 0:36:28.600
<v Speaker 2>Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about it.

0:36:29.560 --> 0:36:32.439
<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure if I forgive him, but if I don't,

0:36:33.000 --> 0:36:37.400
<v Speaker 1>it's okay, because you don't have to forgive everybody, especially

0:36:37.480 --> 0:36:41.239
<v Speaker 1>somebody that has been so purposely mean to you and

0:36:41.280 --> 0:36:46.120
<v Speaker 1>your children. You know he doesn't deserve forgiveness.

0:36:47.080 --> 0:36:51.680
<v Speaker 2>The person she has forgiven is herself. She knows now

0:36:51.719 --> 0:36:54.480
<v Speaker 2>that none of this was her fault. It took her

0:36:54.480 --> 0:36:57.480
<v Speaker 2>a while to trust again, but when she did, it

0:36:57.560 --> 0:37:01.120
<v Speaker 2>was worth it. A few years ago, Wow, she met

0:37:01.160 --> 0:37:01.719
<v Speaker 2>someone new.

0:37:02.760 --> 0:37:07.160
<v Speaker 1>He made me be living life again. We got married

0:37:07.160 --> 0:37:11.400
<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty three. We're happily married, and he's an

0:37:11.480 --> 0:37:15.040
<v Speaker 1>amazing man and he brings me joy every day.

0:37:15.680 --> 0:37:18.919
<v Speaker 2>She's rebuilt a life that feels authentically hers.

0:37:19.480 --> 0:37:22.880
<v Speaker 1>I just dedicate myself to what makes me happy. My

0:37:22.960 --> 0:37:25.800
<v Speaker 1>two dogs are my life. My husband is my life,

0:37:26.000 --> 0:37:30.080
<v Speaker 1>my children. I live a very quiet life. I love

0:37:30.160 --> 0:37:35.080
<v Speaker 1>to read, I love to watch my Netflix. I just

0:37:35.200 --> 0:37:38.840
<v Speaker 1>accept things for the way they are. I don't sweat

0:37:39.000 --> 0:37:42.840
<v Speaker 1>little things. Finally, I'm at peace.

0:37:45.840 --> 0:37:49.640
<v Speaker 2>We end every weekly episode with the same question, why

0:37:49.680 --> 0:37:51.000
<v Speaker 2>do you want to share your story?

0:37:52.880 --> 0:37:57.320
<v Speaker 1>What happened to me was minimized by many people around

0:37:57.360 --> 0:38:01.600
<v Speaker 1>me and the hurt. But I think that my story

0:38:01.719 --> 0:38:06.200
<v Speaker 1>was so extraordinary that it has to be heard. And

0:38:06.320 --> 0:38:11.080
<v Speaker 1>you know something, in a way, I won validation because

0:38:11.120 --> 0:38:14.440
<v Speaker 1>I have been strong. I went through hell for years,

0:38:15.719 --> 0:38:20.520
<v Speaker 1>not months, years, and I discovered that I'm stronger than

0:38:20.560 --> 0:38:20.960
<v Speaker 1>I think.

0:38:25.239 --> 0:38:27.680
<v Speaker 2>On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly.

0:38:30.080 --> 0:38:35.160
<v Speaker 3>I remember everything that man for so long had so

0:38:35.719 --> 0:38:40.040
<v Speaker 3>much control over me. I cannot just stand by and

0:38:40.080 --> 0:38:43.799
<v Speaker 3>do nothing. You will not get away with this.

0:38:53.719 --> 0:38:56.400
<v Speaker 2>If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please

0:38:56.480 --> 0:39:00.279
<v Speaker 2>email Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That is is

0:39:00.360 --> 0:39:05.839
<v Speaker 2>Betrayalpod at gmail dot com. Please note that we are

0:39:05.920 --> 0:39:09.960
<v Speaker 2>not a mental health organization. If you are in crisis

0:39:10.080 --> 0:39:14.280
<v Speaker 2>or currently experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek

0:39:14.360 --> 0:39:19.160
<v Speaker 2>local help or dial nine one one. Please contact organizations

0:39:19.160 --> 0:39:23.280
<v Speaker 2>that offer immediate support. In our show notes, we've included

0:39:23.280 --> 0:39:27.200
<v Speaker 2>a list of US based resources. You can follow us

0:39:27.200 --> 0:39:30.560
<v Speaker 2>on Instagram at Betrayal Pod or find me at its

0:39:30.600 --> 0:39:34.799
<v Speaker 2>Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and additional content, and

0:39:34.840 --> 0:39:38.279
<v Speaker 2>to connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at

0:39:38.440 --> 0:39:42.520
<v Speaker 2>Betrayal dot substack dot com. We're grateful for your support.

0:39:42.840 --> 0:39:45.319
<v Speaker 2>One way to show support is by subscribing to our

0:39:45.360 --> 0:39:48.520
<v Speaker 2>show on Apple Podcasts and don't forget to rate and

0:39:48.560 --> 0:39:52.760
<v Speaker 2>review Betrayal. Five star reviews go a long way. Big

0:39:52.840 --> 0:39:55.880
<v Speaker 2>thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a

0:39:55.920 --> 0:39:59.439
<v Speaker 2>production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group,

0:39:59.520 --> 0:40:03.760
<v Speaker 2>in partner with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced

0:40:03.760 --> 0:40:07.239
<v Speaker 2>by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by

0:40:07.320 --> 0:40:11.399
<v Speaker 2>me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Olivia Hewitt. Our

0:40:11.480 --> 0:40:15.640
<v Speaker 2>story editor is Monique Lebord, also produced by Ben Fetterman.

0:40:16.160 --> 0:40:21.359
<v Speaker 2>Our associate producer is Leah Jablo. Production management by Kristin Melcurie,

0:40:21.840 --> 0:40:25.680
<v Speaker 2>Booking support by Curry Richmond. Our iHeart team is Ali

0:40:25.760 --> 0:40:29.840
<v Speaker 2>Perry and Tessica Crincheck. Audio editing by Tanner Robbins with

0:40:29.880 --> 0:40:34.240
<v Speaker 2>additional editing and mixing by Matt Elbecchio. Betrayals theme composed

0:40:34.239 --> 0:40:38.920
<v Speaker 2>by Oliver Bains. Music library provided by my Music and

0:40:38.960 --> 0:40:43.399
<v Speaker 2>For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:40:43.719 --> 0:40:45.400
<v Speaker 2>or wherever you get your podcasts.