June 18, 2026 • 41 mins
After Lucy and her husband built a life most people only dream of, a confession unravels it all in an instant.
If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal team by emailing us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. You can also find us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts.
To access our newsletter and additional content and to connect with the Betrayal community, join our Substack at betrayal.substack.com.
If you are currently in crisis, please reach out to organizations that offer immediate support. We are including a few US-based resources here:
988 Lifeline. If you or someone you know is in crisis or need to talk to someone immediately, please call or text 988 – the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline available 24/7/365.
National Domestic Violence Hotline. They offer 24/7 phone and chat support to help you create a personalized safety plan and connect you with local support.
For resources on sexual violence, visit rainn.org/betrayal. You can also get free, confidential, 24/7 support through RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline. Text HOPE to 64673 or call 1-800-656-HOPE.
Every state has a domestic violence coalition. If you’re looking for help in the US, search the web for your state’s domestic violence coalition.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone, I have something exciting to share with you.
Betrayal finally has merch. This is something I've been wanting
to do for a long time. Every piece has been
designed and curated for our Betrayal community. We've got mugs, shirts, stickers,
and a guided Betrayal journal filled with thoughtful prompts. Whether
(00:22):
it's for yourself or as a gift for someone you
know who loves the show, these pieces help support the
work we do. Visit Betrayal podcast dot shop to explore
the full collection. Pre Orders are open now.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I don't know this person. What I had in my
mind is not true. He's not the person I thought
he was. I have no idea what he was capable
of doing.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about
the people we trust the most and the deceptions that
change everything. Really quick. Before we get into the episode,
I have a small favor to ask you. If you're
enjoying listening to Betrayal, please take a second to hit
the follow button on your podcast app and please rate
(01:25):
and review. We read all the comments, and your voices
help our show improve and evolve. I really mean it
when I say thank you for listening and helping us grow. Also,
if you went behind the scenes content or resources, follow
ad Betrayal Pod on Instagram or follow me at It's
Andrea Gunning. All right, onto the show. Today, we're sharing
(01:51):
the story of a woman we're going to call Lucy.
She grew up in Puerto Rico with her parents and siblings.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Puerto Rico is an amazing please. People are super friendly.
It's like everybody's family and you feel absolutely welcomed.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Lucy grew up with three brothers and they were really close.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I really tried to be up to their standards in
terms of sports, so I had to run and play
basketball and baseball and things like that.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Lucy is tall and strikingly beautiful. When she was fifteen
years old, she started modeling.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Runways, commercials, TV. But you know, I always kept this
part of my life as secondary thing.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
School was her top priority.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I always had very high standards and I accomplished them.
I graduated almost four point average in high school.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
She excelled in college as well. After graduating, she built
a successful career in the media industry. Her twenties and
thirties were full of adventure.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I met a lot of very interesting people I used
to travel a lot and be lucky one of the
lucky ones.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
In her mid thirties, Lucy was in a long term relationship.
She and her boyfriend had been dating for eight years.
One night, Lucy was out at a party when a
friend of hers came over and told her that a
guy at the party kept asking about her. His name
was Ellie.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I was going out with somebody else, so it was
not in my raider to look at other people, but
evidently he asked about me, and he told my friend,
I'm going to end up with this girl.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Ellie was bold to be announcing his crush on her.
After all, Lucy was dating someone and Ellie was too.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
She was the boyfriend of my girlfriend that I always
thought they were going to get married.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But she kept seeing Ellie around, and over time he
became a friendly face in the crowd. She always had
fun talking to him. She learned that he had moved.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
To Puerto Rico for work. Puerto Rico s moll So
we would see each other like in a restaurant or
in a party, but nothing so intimate.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Eventually, Lucy and her long term boyfriend broke up, and
at the age of thirty five, she was single again
for the first time in nearly a decade. One night,
she went out to dinner with some friends at a
Mediterranean restaurant.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
And when I got in, the first person I see
is Eli, and he stopped me and he said hi.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
He asked about her boyfriend and she told him that
they had just broken up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And I asked him, on, how's your a girlfriend? And
he told me that they broke up and I said,
oh my god, I can't believe this. We have to
in each other's shoulder and he said yes, and he
asked me for my phone number.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
After that night, Ellie called Lucy. Talking to him was
fun and refreshing. He started calling her more often, and
soon he couldn't hide his feelings for her anymore, and
he asked her on a date.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And since it was recent that I have split with
my boyfriend of eight years, I told him listen, I'm
not ready now, it's too soon.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
After her breakup, she was focused on herself, so they
stayed friends. But over time, Lucy's feelings for Ellie grew.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
He was so smart as they really attracted me to
him a lot. I could listen to him talk for
hours and I was fascinated.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And Ellie kept pursuing her, asking her out to dinner.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
He would call me and call me and call me.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Eventually she and they went out on their first date.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I couldn't believe how amazing this guy was. I really
liked him, and it was like I started looking at
him in another way.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Eli was a romantic. He pulled out all the stops
to show Lucy how much he liked her. And it
didn't hurt that he made a lot of money. He
had a lucrative job in the oil and gas industry
and could afford to spoil Lucy.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
He would send me flowers constantly. He would call me
all the time. He would pick me up and he
would be dressed super nice and smelled super good.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
She was having so much fun.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
He would take me to this wonderful restaurant and I
would go to the hotel and I would have flowers
waiting for me and a bottle of champagne.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
They made their relationship official.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
At the beginning, I just let everything flow and you know,
enjoy myself. But then I realized I had him so much.
This man is so smart, so well versed. He was fascinating.
He spoke four languages, He was well read. He was
(07:13):
really a very special guy for me.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
The feeling was mutual. Ellie admired Lucy's intelligence, ambition and
told her all the time how beautiful she was.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
He would call all his friends to tell him, no,
I'm with this girl, and I love her. He was really,
really in love.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
They made a great pair. Over time, their relationship became
more serious. They were both hoping to start a family soon,
and they talked about their future together often. Then when
winter came around they'd been dating for a year, Ellie
took a trip to New York for work and invited
Lucy to come.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
We went out to dinner to this beautiful restaurant and
he said, Okay, let's just go around the carriage in
Central Park.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So they booked a carriage tour and rode through Central
Park together.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It was beautiful, It was a beautiful night.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Lucy looked out at the city lights, taking it all in.
When she turned back to Ellie, he was down on one.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Knee asking me to marry him. Oh my god, it
was so perfect. It was really charming and so unexpected
and really magical.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Back in Puerto Rico, Lucy and Ellie moved in together,
and seven months later they got married in.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
This beautiful hotel in Puerto Rico. We really had a
good time.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
After two years of marriage, they were ready to have kids.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I got pregnant when I was thirty nine. We was
so wanted and it turned out a beautiful experience.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Lucy decided to put her career on hold and spend
as much time as possible with her son.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I never imagined I was going to be a housewife,
and I loved it. At that stage in my life,
I have already traveled, I have partied, I have had fun.
You know, I was ready.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Ellie worked hard to provide for their family.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
He worked for a oil company and the company was
in Puerto Rico. He didn't like to live in Puerto Rico.
He never got too used to our culture. We are
a little relaxed. He's a little more a type. He
really wanted to move to the state. That's where he
(09:40):
felt comfortable.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
As time went on, Ellie started having more and more
success at work.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
He started buying properties with business partners, and he also
had a gas company, so he started being very successful.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
They were happy, but Ellie dreamed of moving somewhere new.
When their first child was a year old. The timing
was finally right. Ellie could work remotely, and Lucy was
up for the adventure. So they moved their life from
Puerto Rico to the continental United States. Lucy didn't know
what to expect when they got there, she found herself
(10:18):
immersed in a whole new world.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It was a kind of a high class community, which
I didn't know when I bought the house. How prestigious
was the place I was living.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
They moved to a gated waterfront community. We're not naming
this community for Lucy's privacy, but it was an exclusive
island where every street was lined with beautiful mansions. Many
of the estates had their own pool or yacht. Suddenly
they had attained another level of wealth and luxury, and
Lucy wouldn't have to work again.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
We had a huge house, beautiful house.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
After a few years in Estates, they welcomed their second child,
a daughter.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
And it was a wonderful pregnancy at forty three years old. Remember,
I grew up with boys only, so having a girl
was fantastic. Ellie was still administrating the old company in
Puerto Rico, but he was investing in real estate and
he kept on doing very well. With time, he did
(11:25):
better and better and better.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Within their marriage, Lucy and Ellie each had their own domain.
Ellie handled work and money, and Lucy handled their kids,
the house, and their family's needs. They gave each other
full rain to handle their side of things, and their
system was a well oiled machine.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
He would work, I would do rest everything else. Regarding
my children. Regarding the house, he just said how much
and he would pay for it.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
They gave each other a life of space and trusted
each other deeply.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
I was so respectful of his space and his things.
I really never knew how much money he had. I
never knew all his businesses, just in general, but not details.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Lucy didn't need to know the details to see the
big picture. They were very lucky. They'd been happily married
for twenty years and their kids were teenagers now. They
traveled together often and gave their kids everything they could
dream of.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Our lifestyle was so wonderful when I was thinking, I
have so much more than what I need. We traveled
a lot. We ended up buying a beach house. We
decided for many years to spend Christmas in Paris with
the kids. We were happy, you know, we were happy.
(12:55):
There was no reason for me to think that things
were going to end up the way they did.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Lucy and her husband Ellie, built an impressive life together.
They lived in a beautiful house, had two kids, and
traveled often. They had everything they needed and more.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Our lifestyle was so wonderful and every time we travel
we had fun. We would laugh and he was good.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
We were happy, you know, we were happy for twenty years.
Their marriage was a dream. But when Ellie turned sixty,
Lucy started noticing some changes in him. He grew emotionally distant.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
It was more total feeling than he was. He started
not having any intimacy with me. I was always very
much into looking good. I tried to keep being attractive
to him, but there was no reaction from him.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And on top of that, he started dressing differently.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
My husband was a very, very classy man. He would
always be very well dressed, but very appropriate for his age.
When he turned sixty, I started noticing that he started
dressing like a young guy. He would wear like skinny jeans,
and he started wearing bracelets, And I was like, what
(14:42):
the hell, what's wrong with you? Do you look like
an old man In teenager's clothes, and I asked him,
are you using somebody else? Because this is too strange,
and he was saying, no, you're crazy. She took his.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Word for it. Their mutual trust was an essential part
of their relationship.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I had no reasons to doubt. I respected him so much.
I never went through his phone, I never went through
his wallet.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
She chalked it all up to a midlife crisis, but
over time, Ellie went from being distant to being cruel.
One day, Lucy and Ellie got into an argument.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
And he said, you know something. You are not necessary,
you are convenient. I went to the room and I
started crying and didn't say anything. And he realized what
stupid thing he said, and he started sending me flowers
and saying how important I am.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
But Lucy couldn't get his words out of her head.
Every year Lucy and her friends went on a girl's trip.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
We would go to Europe or New York or different
places just for a week or something like that. We
went to Spain and then we ended up being Turkey.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
While on her girl's trip, she called Ellie to check in,
but when he picked up the phone, he was crying.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And I said, what happened. He used to have a
Bentley and he said, I went to the mall to
have the business lunch, and when I came back to
pick up my car, it was scratched from head to toe.
And I said what.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Lucy was confused, Why would that happen? And why was
he in tears over this?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Especially the mall that he went. It was a very
high end mall that had cameras, had security all over.
He said, how could this happen? He said no, but
don't worry. I'm going to send it to be fixed.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Lucy wasn't ready to just accept this and move on.
It was too strange. King someone's car was personal.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Who did this? Who could have done this? And he said,
I got no, this is just vandalism.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Even though he'd been so emotional on the phone, Ellie
insisted that this wasn't targeted at them specifically. Lucy wasn't convinced,
but she tried to enjoy the rest of her trip
with her friends.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
When I came back from my trip, I noticed he
was very nervous and the first night I received a
call at three o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Lucy woke up in the darkness to her phone ringing.
When she picked up, there was silence.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And they hung up.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Lucy looked at Ellie sitting in bed next to.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Her, and he was very nervous, and I was like,
what's going on? And he said no, no, that must
be a wrong number.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Her normally calm and collected husband of twenty years seemed
a little rattled. The following day, one of their close
friends came over for dinner. They shared a nice meal,
good conversation, and everything felt normal. But then just when
their friend was about to head home, Ellie stopped him.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
He tells him, please don't leave. She's going to need you,
and he tells me sit down.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Confused, Lucy sat down and her friend sat next to her.
They both looked at Ellie, waiting for an explanation. He
stood nervously in front of.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Them and he said, I have been kidnapped. And I
said what by who? What happened?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
All of a sudden, their living room became Ellie's confessional.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
I have been dating women from sugar daddy dot com.
I have dated a few women. I would see them
at lunchtime a week, but for the last six months
I have been closer to these Russian women Anna, and
(19:11):
she's married. She has a three year old baby. Her
husband knows that she's an escort. He manages her.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Elie would meet Anna in different places, sometimes in hotel rooms,
sometimes at one of his rental properties. But one day
things took a turn.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Anna told Ellie to meet her in an apartment that
Ellie owned. When Ellie goes to the apartment, he thought
he was going to be in the rendezvous with Anna.
When he goes there, who's in the apartment Anna's husband.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Ellie told Lucy how shocked he was in that moment,
but he said there was no time for him to react.
Once Ellie was inside, Anna's husband closed the door and
took out a steel pipe, threatening to hurt Ellie.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He wanted Ellie to see that he was serious. He
told Ali, take off your clothes, so he got naked.
He sat him in the sofa, and he started breaking
things in the apartment.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Anna and her husband had been struggling financially, and they
knew how wealthy Ellie was, so they devised a plan
to extore him. They planted cameras in the hotel rooms
and rental properties where Ellie and Anna met, and they
filmed them having sex to use as blackmail.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Anna's husband would put the camera in front of the
bed and tell her this is where the camera is,
this is where you have to concentrate, and then he
would record everything.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Now, Anna and her husband were threatening to release these
tapes if Ellie did not comply with their demands.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You have to give me one million dollars cash and
you have to put under my wife's name two apartments
in a specific building. And if he didn't, I'm going
to tell you wife and everybody, I'm going to ruin
your reputation. And for Ellie, his reputation was everything.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
If his reputation wasn't enough, Anna and her husband had
more collateral.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Anna's husband showed Ellie pictures of my children, pictures of
my house, pictures of me, pictures of the cars, pictures
of the school my children went. They knew everything. They
implied they were going to be consequences. Something's going to
happen to your family.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Anna's husband held Ellie in the apartment for a few
hours to make it clear he was serious. Finally he
left and Ellie was free to go. Ellie explained all
of this in one go to Lucy.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
I didn't know how to react. This was like from
a movie, but he was happening. That day, my life collapsed.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Lucy's husband, Ellie, sat her down and told her he
needed to confess something. She never could have predicted what
came out of his mouth next.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
That day, my life collapsed.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
She thought her husband of twenty years was an honest
and loyal man. She saw a new indicateations otherwise, until
Ellie was forced to tell her the truth. For years,
he'd been meeting women from a sugar Daddy website. For
the past few months, he'd been seeing one woman regularly.
That was until she and her husband devised a plan
(23:17):
to blackmail and extort Ellie, threatening Lucy and their children's
safety if Ellie didn't give them what they wanted, which
was a million dollars in cash and the deed to
two real estate properties.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
It was such a shock. My world crashed, and I
didn't know who to call. I didn't know who to
talk to. I didn't know what to do.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Her immediate reaction was to make sure the kids were safe.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
There was a clear sign that we're watching us. We
don't know with whom we're telling with because we don't
know the associates.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
They have Ellie came clean about the time someone keyed
his Bentley. It wasn't a random act of vandalism, and
he'd known it.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Evidently that was Anna's husband and his friends.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That call she'd gotten in the middle of the night
had also been from Anna's husband. They had all sorts
of information on Lucy and her family, their phone numbers,
license plates, their address. Anna and her husband had also
sent someone to take photos of Lucy's kids and her
It was terrifying. Anna and her husband were three steps ahead,
(24:28):
and Lucy was scared of what they might do next.
She had to think fast and went into solution mode,
all the while Ellie seemed to shrink.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
He was super scared. He has always me in a coward.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Lucy wanted protection right away, so she hired a private
security detail.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I had an armed guard for twenty four hours in
the front of my house, and this is very unusual
where I live. Just imagine the shock of my children.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
What Anna and her husband were doing was a crime.
It was extortion. Despite how angry Lucy was, she worked
with Eli as a team. She told Elie he needed
to go to the police and report the crime.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
And he contacted the FBI, so the FBI took the case.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
The FBI needed proof of the extortion, so they planned
to record a phone call with Elie. Anna and her husband.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
And the FBI told them, make him believe that you're
going to comply with what they want. We're going to
record this and then we're going to arrest them.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
The call went off without a hitch, and his husband
gave the FBI exactly what they needed.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
He said, you know, I'm going to give you a break.
Just give me the million dollars and you don't have
to give me the two apartments because I want the
money right now. So they have that on tape. So
they sent SWAT to their apartment and they got them,
both of them and their computers. They had all the evidence.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Authorities were able to charge Anna and her husband with
a federal crime.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
They charged him with extortion. Both of them went to jail.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Since her husband's confession, Lucy had been in fight or flight,
terrified for her children's safety. Finally it seemed like the
threat was neutralized. She thought that once Anna and her
husband were in jail, Ellie would apologize for what he'd
done and make amends with the family. But Ellie shut down.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
I really tried, and he's like talking to a wall.
He would never ever explain himself, talk about feelings, talk
about anything. Zero. He never asked about me how I felt.
He never said I'm sorry. He portrayed himself as the victim.
(26:53):
He told me, I am the victim of extortion. I'm
the victim. You thought I was going to just ignore
the situation and keep on being married like nothing happened.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
But the fact that he didn't seem to care about
what he'd put the family through was what alarmed Lucy
the most.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
How can you live with yourself knowing that you crushed
the people that love you the most and portray yourself
as a victim after you have caused so much damage.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
As the shock of it all wore off, a new
feeling emerged in its place, betrayal. Who was this man
she built a life with? Was anything he told her true?
Speaker 2 (27:40):
I started questioning many many things. I felt I live
the lie and I don't know who his true self
was when this happened. I think that was the most
difficult thing to deal with, the betrayal of knowing that
I don't know this person that I had in my
(28:00):
mind is not true, He's not the person I thought
he was. Absolutely he's not.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Ellie had been meeting women from sugar Daddy dot Com
for years. After every meetup, he'd returned to their home,
sit down at dinner with their kids, and lie about
where he'd been.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
It's not like I'm talking about five years. Twenty one
years of being fooled. He lived at facade.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Lucy realized that Anna and her husband weren't the only
threat to her safety. It was also Ellie.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I have no idea what he was capable of doing.
The betrayals too much, too deep. It was hell. I
went through the motions of living. That's it. I could
hardly survive. I was just an entity walking around.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
She emotionally disconnected from Ellie for weeks. To win her
back with grand gestures, the kind he'd made at the
beginning of their relationship.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
He promised me, I'll buy you an apartment in madri
let's move, let's do. He promised me the world.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
But all the money in the world wouldn't fix it.
Lucy couldn't be bought. It was too late. There was
no coming back from this.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I kicked him out of the house. For him was
a shock that I left him. He never thought I
was going to leave.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Then Lucy filed for divorce. When Ellie saw that she
was serious about leaving, it was like a switch flipped.
She saw it in his eyes and heard it in
his voice.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
He thought, I'm going to destroy this woman because she
left me and losing her when I'm going to destroy
her in the process.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
After she filed for divorce, Ellie became.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Vicious it being super mean to me, and he would
blame me on everything. He declared war.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
The man who promised her the world just a few
weeks earlier, began berating and insulting Lucy every chance he got.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
He told her, I don't even love you. If you
were the last woman that insisted in the world, I
wouldn't even get close to you. That's how much I
dislike you.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Lucy thought his cruel remarks were as low as he
would go, but he was about to take his retaliation
a step further. One day, they got into an argument
on Lucy's front lawn. Ellie was escalating, becoming increasingly agitated
and getting in her personal space.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And he started talking to me with his finger in
my face, and I pushed him because he was on
my face. He said, you want to play with me,
You're going to see what suffering is. He called nine
to one one, and nine one one came. They arrest
me for domestic violence.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Lucy remembers this moment vividly. Ellie watched unfazed as she
was being handcuffed.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
They took me to jail. I was in jail for
three days, two nights in jail.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
It was unbelievable, surrounded by strangers. She was too anxious
to eat or even use the bathroom. She waited there
until a friend was able to bail her out. Lucy
has since gotten the domestic violence charge expunged.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Narcissists I think that they enjoy making you suffer because
it makes them feel better. It makes them feel superior,
It makes him feel in control.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
It was easy for him to pose as the victim
and paint her as the villain, and he made it
clear he was willing to do it again. A few
months later, it was time for Anna and her husband
sentencing hearing. Lucy wanted to attend the hearing. She wrote
a victim impact statement.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I prepare a statement explaining everything that has happened and
how he had affected my children.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
But Ellie told her she wasn't allowed to go to
the hearing. If she showed up there, he said he'd
have her arrested again.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And since I was in jail not too long before,
I just believed him because he was so convincing.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Ellie was doing whatever he could to control the situation
and keep Lucy in the dark. Not only did he
intimidate Lucy out of attending the hearing, Ellie didn't attend either.
He never went to present his testimony and he was
the only witness.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
He's a coward. He didn't want anything on record because
when you go to a court, everything is transcribed. So
June she never knew exactly what happened. They just said
in general, but nothing like the tragedy and all day implications,
the threatening, the impact on me and my kids. Did
(33:07):
judge never heard it. He didn't advocate for his family
for us. His reputation was more important. He didn't want
anybody to hear what he did.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
He couldn't face the shame of it because Ellie wasn't there.
The judge was very lenient with the sentencing. Anna's husband
was sentenced to fifteen months in jail, and Anna was
only given five. As for Lucy, she endured a much
longer sentence trying to put the pieces of her life
(33:42):
back together after Ellie's betrayal.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
I was a mess. I barely could move for a
year and a half. I was in bed, crying, crying, crying.
I would cry for days. I don't even remberd many days.
This guy destroyed my life in such a way that
he destroyed my soul.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
During their marriage, she and Ellie had cultivated a community
of close friends. After his betrayal, she needed someone to
turn to, but she'd stop getting replies or calls back
from friends. Then she found out that Ellie had been
telling everyone a very different story about their divorce, one
(34:29):
where Lucy was to blame.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I would receive calls from friends that would say, how
could you be unfaithful to your husband like that? I say,
what what are you talking about? He started saying that
I wasn't faithful to him with a Russian guy just
changed the story, making me the one that did everything
he did. It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
It was the definition of projection. But she couldn't stop
the rumors. Many of their friends took Ellie's side, and
she has a theory about.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Why Unfortunately, money talks. People respect people with money, even
if they are the devil in disguise. People want to
be close to success, to successful people, not two people
that are destroyed or a mess. I was a mess.
(35:22):
I took a few pills because I want to numb myself,
not because I want to die. I wanted to numb myself.
But maybe I took too many. I ended up in
the hospital in emergency, and they transferred me to a
psychiatric hospital.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
The doctors asked Lucy what was going on at home?
Speaker 2 (35:45):
When I told the psychiatric is my story, and she
thought I was making it up. She told me, you're delusional.
What a story.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Lucy stayed in the psychiatric hospital for a few days.
Elie brought their kids to visit her.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
He looked very calm and collected. He told my nineteen
year old son, listen, I think you should live alone
because your mother is not well, so you shouldn't be
with her. And he gave him an apartment. That was devastating.
He took advantage of my vulnerability that he would talk
(36:24):
about me like I was the crazy one. He keeps
the financial control of everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
It took five months for their divorce to be finalized.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
It cost him a fortune. It caused me my sanity.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Looking back now, Lucy sees how wealth enabled Ellie.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
The more money you get, the more powerful you feel.
He felt superior to everybody, and he's above everybody. He
thought he was untouchable.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
It's been almost ten years since she just covered Ellie's betrayal.
Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about it.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
I'm not sure if I forgive him, but if I don't,
it's okay, because you don't have to forgive everybody, especially
somebody that has been so prapousely mean to you and
your children. You know he doesn't deserve forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
The person she has forgiven is herself. She knows now
that none of this was her fault. It took her
a while to trust again, but when she did, it
was worth it. A few years ago, she met someone new.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
He made me be living life again. We got married
in twenty twenty three. We're happily married and he's an
amazing man and he brings me joy everything.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
She's rebuilt a life that feels authentically hers.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I just dedicate myself to what makes me happy. My
two dogs are my life, my husband is my life,
my children. I live a very quiet life. I love
to read, I love to watch my Netflix. I just
accept things for the way they are. I don't sweat
little things. Finally, I'm at peace.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
We end every weekly episode with the same question, why
do you want to share your story?
Speaker 2 (38:28):
What happened to me was minimized by many people around
me and the hurt. But I think that my story
was so extraordinary that it has to be heard. And
you know something. In a way, I want validation because
I have been strong. I went through hell for years,
(38:51):
not months, years, and I discovered that I'm stronger than
I think.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly, I remember everything
that man for so long had so much control over me.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
I cannot just stand by and do nothing. You will
not get away with this.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please
email Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That is Betrayal
Pod at gmail dot com. Please note that we are
not a mental health organization. If you are in crisis
or currently experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek
(39:50):
local help or dial nine to one.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
One.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Please contact organizations that offer immediate support in our show notes.
We've included a list of you US based resources. You
can follow us on Instagram at Betrayal pod or find
me at It's Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and
additional content, and to connect with the Betrayal community, join
our substack at Betrayal dot substack dot com. We're grateful
(40:17):
for your support. One way to show support is by
subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts and don't forget
to rate and review Betrayal. Five star reviews go a
long way. Big thank you to all of our listeners.
Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of
Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show
(40:38):
is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted
and produced by me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by
Olivia Hewitt. Our story editor is Monique Lebord, also produced
by Ben Fetterman. Our associate producer is Leah Jablow. Production
management by Kristin Melcurie, Booking support by Curry Richmond. Our
(41:00):
iHeart team is Ali Perry and Treessica Crime Check. Audio
editing by Tanner Robbins, with additional editing and mixing. By
Matt Delvecchio. Betrayals theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music library
provided by my Music and for more podcasts from iHeart,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
(41:20):
your podcasts
Hi, everyone, I have something exciting to share with you.
Betrayal finally has merch. This is something I've been wanting
to do for a long time. Every piece has been
designed and curated for our Betrayal community. We've got mugs, shirts, stickers,
and a guided Betrayal journal filled with thoughtful prompts. Whether
(00:22):
it's for yourself or as a gift for someone you
know who loves the show, these pieces help support the
work we do. Visit Betrayal podcast dot shop to explore
the full collection. Pre Orders are open now.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
I don't know this person. What I had in my
mind is not true. He's not the person I thought
he was. I have no idea what he was capable
of doing.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about
the people we trust the most and the deceptions that
change everything. Really quick. Before we get into the episode,
I have a small favor to ask you. If you're
enjoying listening to Betrayal, please take a second to hit
the follow button on your podcast app and please rate
(01:25):
and review. We read all the comments, and your voices
help our show improve and evolve. I really mean it
when I say thank you for listening and helping us grow. Also,
if you went behind the scenes content or resources, follow
ad Betrayal Pod on Instagram or follow me at It's
Andrea Gunning. All right, onto the show. Today, we're sharing
(01:51):
the story of a woman we're going to call Lucy.
She grew up in Puerto Rico with her parents and siblings.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Puerto Rico is an amazing please. People are super friendly.
It's like everybody's family and you feel absolutely welcomed.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Lucy grew up with three brothers and they were really close.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I really tried to be up to their standards in
terms of sports, so I had to run and play
basketball and baseball and things like that.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Lucy is tall and strikingly beautiful. When she was fifteen
years old, she started modeling.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Runways, commercials, TV. But you know, I always kept this
part of my life as secondary thing.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
School was her top priority.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I always had very high standards and I accomplished them.
I graduated almost four point average in high school.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
She excelled in college as well. After graduating, she built
a successful career in the media industry. Her twenties and
thirties were full of adventure.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I met a lot of very interesting people I used
to travel a lot and be lucky one of the
lucky ones.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
In her mid thirties, Lucy was in a long term relationship.
She and her boyfriend had been dating for eight years.
One night, Lucy was out at a party when a
friend of hers came over and told her that a
guy at the party kept asking about her. His name
was Ellie.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I was going out with somebody else, so it was
not in my raider to look at other people, but
evidently he asked about me, and he told my friend,
I'm going to end up with this girl.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Ellie was bold to be announcing his crush on her.
After all, Lucy was dating someone and Ellie was too.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
She was the boyfriend of my girlfriend that I always
thought they were going to get married.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But she kept seeing Ellie around, and over time he
became a friendly face in the crowd. She always had
fun talking to him. She learned that he had moved.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
To Puerto Rico for work. Puerto Rico s moll So
we would see each other like in a restaurant or
in a party, but nothing so intimate.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Eventually, Lucy and her long term boyfriend broke up, and
at the age of thirty five, she was single again
for the first time in nearly a decade. One night,
she went out to dinner with some friends at a
Mediterranean restaurant.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
And when I got in, the first person I see
is Eli, and he stopped me and he said hi.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
He asked about her boyfriend and she told him that
they had just broken up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And I asked him, on, how's your a girlfriend? And
he told me that they broke up and I said,
oh my god, I can't believe this. We have to
in each other's shoulder and he said yes, and he
asked me for my phone number.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
After that night, Ellie called Lucy. Talking to him was
fun and refreshing. He started calling her more often, and
soon he couldn't hide his feelings for her anymore, and
he asked her on a date.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
And since it was recent that I have split with
my boyfriend of eight years, I told him listen, I'm
not ready now, it's too soon.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
After her breakup, she was focused on herself, so they
stayed friends. But over time, Lucy's feelings for Ellie grew.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
He was so smart as they really attracted me to
him a lot. I could listen to him talk for
hours and I was fascinated.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And Ellie kept pursuing her, asking her out to dinner.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
He would call me and call me and call me.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Eventually she and they went out on their first date.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I couldn't believe how amazing this guy was. I really
liked him, and it was like I started looking at
him in another way.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Eli was a romantic. He pulled out all the stops
to show Lucy how much he liked her. And it
didn't hurt that he made a lot of money. He
had a lucrative job in the oil and gas industry
and could afford to spoil Lucy.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
He would send me flowers constantly. He would call me
all the time. He would pick me up and he
would be dressed super nice and smelled super good.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
She was having so much fun.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
He would take me to this wonderful restaurant and I
would go to the hotel and I would have flowers
waiting for me and a bottle of champagne.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
They made their relationship official.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
At the beginning, I just let everything flow and you know,
enjoy myself. But then I realized I had him so much.
This man is so smart, so well versed. He was fascinating.
He spoke four languages, He was well read. He was
(07:13):
really a very special guy for me.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
The feeling was mutual. Ellie admired Lucy's intelligence, ambition and
told her all the time how beautiful she was.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
He would call all his friends to tell him, no,
I'm with this girl, and I love her. He was really,
really in love.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
They made a great pair. Over time, their relationship became
more serious. They were both hoping to start a family soon,
and they talked about their future together often. Then when
winter came around they'd been dating for a year, Ellie
took a trip to New York for work and invited
Lucy to come.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
We went out to dinner to this beautiful restaurant and
he said, Okay, let's just go around the carriage in
Central Park.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So they booked a carriage tour and rode through Central
Park together.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It was beautiful, It was a beautiful night.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Lucy looked out at the city lights, taking it all in.
When she turned back to Ellie, he was down on one.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Knee asking me to marry him. Oh my god, it
was so perfect. It was really charming and so unexpected
and really magical.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Back in Puerto Rico, Lucy and Ellie moved in together,
and seven months later they got married in.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
This beautiful hotel in Puerto Rico. We really had a
good time.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
After two years of marriage, they were ready to have kids.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I got pregnant when I was thirty nine. We was
so wanted and it turned out a beautiful experience.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Lucy decided to put her career on hold and spend
as much time as possible with her son.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I never imagined I was going to be a housewife,
and I loved it. At that stage in my life,
I have already traveled, I have partied, I have had fun.
You know, I was ready.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Ellie worked hard to provide for their family.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
He worked for a oil company and the company was
in Puerto Rico. He didn't like to live in Puerto Rico.
He never got too used to our culture. We are
a little relaxed. He's a little more a type. He
really wanted to move to the state. That's where he
(09:40):
felt comfortable.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
As time went on, Ellie started having more and more
success at work.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
He started buying properties with business partners, and he also
had a gas company, so he started being very successful.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
They were happy, but Ellie dreamed of moving somewhere new.
When their first child was a year old. The timing
was finally right. Ellie could work remotely, and Lucy was
up for the adventure. So they moved their life from
Puerto Rico to the continental United States. Lucy didn't know
what to expect when they got there, she found herself
(10:18):
immersed in a whole new world.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It was a kind of a high class community, which
I didn't know when I bought the house. How prestigious
was the place I was living.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
They moved to a gated waterfront community. We're not naming
this community for Lucy's privacy, but it was an exclusive
island where every street was lined with beautiful mansions. Many
of the estates had their own pool or yacht. Suddenly
they had attained another level of wealth and luxury, and
Lucy wouldn't have to work again.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
We had a huge house, beautiful house.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
After a few years in Estates, they welcomed their second child,
a daughter.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
And it was a wonderful pregnancy at forty three years old. Remember,
I grew up with boys only, so having a girl
was fantastic. Ellie was still administrating the old company in
Puerto Rico, but he was investing in real estate and
he kept on doing very well. With time, he did
(11:25):
better and better and better.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Within their marriage, Lucy and Ellie each had their own domain.
Ellie handled work and money, and Lucy handled their kids,
the house, and their family's needs. They gave each other
full rain to handle their side of things, and their
system was a well oiled machine.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
He would work, I would do rest everything else. Regarding
my children. Regarding the house, he just said how much
and he would pay for it.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
They gave each other a life of space and trusted
each other deeply.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
I was so respectful of his space and his things.
I really never knew how much money he had. I
never knew all his businesses, just in general, but not details.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Lucy didn't need to know the details to see the
big picture. They were very lucky. They'd been happily married
for twenty years and their kids were teenagers now. They
traveled together often and gave their kids everything they could
dream of.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Our lifestyle was so wonderful when I was thinking, I
have so much more than what I need. We traveled
a lot. We ended up buying a beach house. We
decided for many years to spend Christmas in Paris with
the kids. We were happy, you know, we were happy.
(12:55):
There was no reason for me to think that things
were going to end up the way they did.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Lucy and her husband Ellie, built an impressive life together.
They lived in a beautiful house, had two kids, and
traveled often. They had everything they needed and more.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Our lifestyle was so wonderful and every time we travel
we had fun. We would laugh and he was good.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
We were happy, you know, we were happy for twenty years.
Their marriage was a dream. But when Ellie turned sixty,
Lucy started noticing some changes in him. He grew emotionally distant.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
It was more total feeling than he was. He started
not having any intimacy with me. I was always very
much into looking good. I tried to keep being attractive
to him, but there was no reaction from him.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And on top of that, he started dressing differently.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
My husband was a very, very classy man. He would
always be very well dressed, but very appropriate for his age.
When he turned sixty, I started noticing that he started
dressing like a young guy. He would wear like skinny jeans,
and he started wearing bracelets, And I was like, what
(14:42):
the hell, what's wrong with you? Do you look like
an old man In teenager's clothes, and I asked him,
are you using somebody else? Because this is too strange,
and he was saying, no, you're crazy. She took his.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Word for it. Their mutual trust was an essential part
of their relationship.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I had no reasons to doubt. I respected him so much.
I never went through his phone, I never went through
his wallet.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
She chalked it all up to a midlife crisis, but
over time, Ellie went from being distant to being cruel.
One day, Lucy and Ellie got into an argument.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
And he said, you know something. You are not necessary,
you are convenient. I went to the room and I
started crying and didn't say anything. And he realized what
stupid thing he said, and he started sending me flowers
and saying how important I am.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
But Lucy couldn't get his words out of her head.
Every year Lucy and her friends went on a girl's trip.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
We would go to Europe or New York or different
places just for a week or something like that. We
went to Spain and then we ended up being Turkey.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
While on her girl's trip, she called Ellie to check in,
but when he picked up the phone, he was crying.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And I said, what happened. He used to have a
Bentley and he said, I went to the mall to
have the business lunch, and when I came back to
pick up my car, it was scratched from head to toe.
And I said what.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Lucy was confused, Why would that happen? And why was
he in tears over this?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Especially the mall that he went. It was a very
high end mall that had cameras, had security all over.
He said, how could this happen? He said no, but
don't worry. I'm going to send it to be fixed.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Lucy wasn't ready to just accept this and move on.
It was too strange. King someone's car was personal.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Who did this? Who could have done this? And he said,
I got no, this is just vandalism.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Even though he'd been so emotional on the phone, Ellie
insisted that this wasn't targeted at them specifically. Lucy wasn't convinced,
but she tried to enjoy the rest of her trip
with her friends.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
When I came back from my trip, I noticed he
was very nervous and the first night I received a
call at three o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Lucy woke up in the darkness to her phone ringing.
When she picked up, there was silence.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And they hung up.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Lucy looked at Ellie sitting in bed next to.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Her, and he was very nervous, and I was like,
what's going on? And he said no, no, that must
be a wrong number.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Her normally calm and collected husband of twenty years seemed
a little rattled. The following day, one of their close
friends came over for dinner. They shared a nice meal,
good conversation, and everything felt normal. But then just when
their friend was about to head home, Ellie stopped him.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
He tells him, please don't leave. She's going to need you,
and he tells me sit down.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Confused, Lucy sat down and her friend sat next to her.
They both looked at Ellie, waiting for an explanation. He
stood nervously in front of.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Them and he said, I have been kidnapped. And I
said what by who? What happened?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
All of a sudden, their living room became Ellie's confessional.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
I have been dating women from sugar daddy dot com.
I have dated a few women. I would see them
at lunchtime a week, but for the last six months
I have been closer to these Russian women Anna, and
(19:11):
she's married. She has a three year old baby. Her
husband knows that she's an escort. He manages her.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Elie would meet Anna in different places, sometimes in hotel rooms,
sometimes at one of his rental properties. But one day
things took a turn.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Anna told Ellie to meet her in an apartment that
Ellie owned. When Ellie goes to the apartment, he thought
he was going to be in the rendezvous with Anna.
When he goes there, who's in the apartment Anna's husband.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Ellie told Lucy how shocked he was in that moment,
but he said there was no time for him to react.
Once Ellie was inside, Anna's husband closed the door and
took out a steel pipe, threatening to hurt Ellie.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He wanted Ellie to see that he was serious. He
told Ali, take off your clothes, so he got naked.
He sat him in the sofa, and he started breaking
things in the apartment.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Anna and her husband had been struggling financially, and they
knew how wealthy Ellie was, so they devised a plan
to extore him. They planted cameras in the hotel rooms
and rental properties where Ellie and Anna met, and they
filmed them having sex to use as blackmail.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Anna's husband would put the camera in front of the
bed and tell her this is where the camera is,
this is where you have to concentrate, and then he
would record everything.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Now, Anna and her husband were threatening to release these
tapes if Ellie did not comply with their demands.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You have to give me one million dollars cash and
you have to put under my wife's name two apartments
in a specific building. And if he didn't, I'm going
to tell you wife and everybody, I'm going to ruin
your reputation. And for Ellie, his reputation was everything.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
If his reputation wasn't enough, Anna and her husband had
more collateral.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Anna's husband showed Ellie pictures of my children, pictures of
my house, pictures of me, pictures of the cars, pictures
of the school my children went. They knew everything. They
implied they were going to be consequences. Something's going to
happen to your family.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Anna's husband held Ellie in the apartment for a few
hours to make it clear he was serious. Finally he
left and Ellie was free to go. Ellie explained all
of this in one go to Lucy.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
I didn't know how to react. This was like from
a movie, but he was happening. That day, my life collapsed.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Lucy's husband, Ellie, sat her down and told her he
needed to confess something. She never could have predicted what
came out of his mouth next.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
That day, my life collapsed.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
She thought her husband of twenty years was an honest
and loyal man. She saw a new indicateations otherwise, until
Ellie was forced to tell her the truth. For years,
he'd been meeting women from a sugar Daddy website. For
the past few months, he'd been seeing one woman regularly.
That was until she and her husband devised a plan
(23:17):
to blackmail and extort Ellie, threatening Lucy and their children's
safety if Ellie didn't give them what they wanted, which
was a million dollars in cash and the deed to
two real estate properties.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
It was such a shock. My world crashed, and I
didn't know who to call. I didn't know who to
talk to. I didn't know what to do.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Her immediate reaction was to make sure the kids were safe.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
There was a clear sign that we're watching us. We
don't know with whom we're telling with because we don't
know the associates.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
They have Ellie came clean about the time someone keyed
his Bentley. It wasn't a random act of vandalism, and
he'd known it.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Evidently that was Anna's husband and his friends.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
That call she'd gotten in the middle of the night
had also been from Anna's husband. They had all sorts
of information on Lucy and her family, their phone numbers,
license plates, their address. Anna and her husband had also
sent someone to take photos of Lucy's kids and her
It was terrifying. Anna and her husband were three steps ahead,
(24:28):
and Lucy was scared of what they might do next.
She had to think fast and went into solution mode,
all the while Ellie seemed to shrink.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
He was super scared. He has always me in a coward.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Lucy wanted protection right away, so she hired a private
security detail.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I had an armed guard for twenty four hours in
the front of my house, and this is very unusual
where I live. Just imagine the shock of my children.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
What Anna and her husband were doing was a crime.
It was extortion. Despite how angry Lucy was, she worked
with Eli as a team. She told Elie he needed
to go to the police and report the crime.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
And he contacted the FBI, so the FBI took the case.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
The FBI needed proof of the extortion, so they planned
to record a phone call with Elie. Anna and her husband.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
And the FBI told them, make him believe that you're
going to comply with what they want. We're going to
record this and then we're going to arrest them.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
The call went off without a hitch, and his husband
gave the FBI exactly what they needed.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
He said, you know, I'm going to give you a break.
Just give me the million dollars and you don't have
to give me the two apartments because I want the
money right now. So they have that on tape. So
they sent SWAT to their apartment and they got them,
both of them and their computers. They had all the evidence.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Authorities were able to charge Anna and her husband with
a federal crime.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
They charged him with extortion. Both of them went to jail.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Since her husband's confession, Lucy had been in fight or flight,
terrified for her children's safety. Finally it seemed like the
threat was neutralized. She thought that once Anna and her
husband were in jail, Ellie would apologize for what he'd
done and make amends with the family. But Ellie shut down.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
I really tried, and he's like talking to a wall.
He would never ever explain himself, talk about feelings, talk
about anything. Zero. He never asked about me how I felt.
He never said I'm sorry. He portrayed himself as the victim.
(26:53):
He told me, I am the victim of extortion. I'm
the victim. You thought I was going to just ignore
the situation and keep on being married like nothing happened.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
But the fact that he didn't seem to care about
what he'd put the family through was what alarmed Lucy
the most.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
How can you live with yourself knowing that you crushed
the people that love you the most and portray yourself
as a victim after you have caused so much damage.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
As the shock of it all wore off, a new
feeling emerged in its place, betrayal. Who was this man
she built a life with? Was anything he told her true?
Speaker 2 (27:40):
I started questioning many many things. I felt I live
the lie and I don't know who his true self
was when this happened. I think that was the most
difficult thing to deal with, the betrayal of knowing that
I don't know this person that I had in my
(28:00):
mind is not true, He's not the person I thought
he was. Absolutely he's not.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Ellie had been meeting women from sugar Daddy dot Com
for years. After every meetup, he'd returned to their home,
sit down at dinner with their kids, and lie about
where he'd been.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
It's not like I'm talking about five years. Twenty one
years of being fooled. He lived at facade.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Lucy realized that Anna and her husband weren't the only
threat to her safety. It was also Ellie.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I have no idea what he was capable of doing.
The betrayals too much, too deep. It was hell. I
went through the motions of living. That's it. I could
hardly survive. I was just an entity walking around.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
She emotionally disconnected from Ellie for weeks. To win her
back with grand gestures, the kind he'd made at the
beginning of their relationship.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
He promised me, I'll buy you an apartment in madri
let's move, let's do. He promised me the world.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
But all the money in the world wouldn't fix it.
Lucy couldn't be bought. It was too late. There was
no coming back from this.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I kicked him out of the house. For him was
a shock that I left him. He never thought I
was going to leave.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Then Lucy filed for divorce. When Ellie saw that she
was serious about leaving, it was like a switch flipped.
She saw it in his eyes and heard it in
his voice.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
He thought, I'm going to destroy this woman because she
left me and losing her when I'm going to destroy
her in the process.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
After she filed for divorce, Ellie became.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Vicious it being super mean to me, and he would
blame me on everything. He declared war.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
The man who promised her the world just a few
weeks earlier, began berating and insulting Lucy every chance he got.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
He told her, I don't even love you. If you
were the last woman that insisted in the world, I
wouldn't even get close to you. That's how much I
dislike you.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Lucy thought his cruel remarks were as low as he
would go, but he was about to take his retaliation
a step further. One day, they got into an argument
on Lucy's front lawn. Ellie was escalating, becoming increasingly agitated
and getting in her personal space.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And he started talking to me with his finger in
my face, and I pushed him because he was on
my face. He said, you want to play with me,
You're going to see what suffering is. He called nine
to one one, and nine one one came. They arrest
me for domestic violence.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Lucy remembers this moment vividly. Ellie watched unfazed as she
was being handcuffed.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
They took me to jail. I was in jail for
three days, two nights in jail.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
It was unbelievable, surrounded by strangers. She was too anxious
to eat or even use the bathroom. She waited there
until a friend was able to bail her out. Lucy
has since gotten the domestic violence charge expunged.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Narcissists I think that they enjoy making you suffer because
it makes them feel better. It makes them feel superior,
It makes him feel in control.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
It was easy for him to pose as the victim
and paint her as the villain, and he made it
clear he was willing to do it again. A few
months later, it was time for Anna and her husband
sentencing hearing. Lucy wanted to attend the hearing. She wrote
a victim impact statement.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
I prepare a statement explaining everything that has happened and
how he had affected my children.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
But Ellie told her she wasn't allowed to go to
the hearing. If she showed up there, he said he'd
have her arrested again.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And since I was in jail not too long before,
I just believed him because he was so convincing.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Ellie was doing whatever he could to control the situation
and keep Lucy in the dark. Not only did he
intimidate Lucy out of attending the hearing, Ellie didn't attend either.
He never went to present his testimony and he was
the only witness.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
He's a coward. He didn't want anything on record because
when you go to a court, everything is transcribed. So
June she never knew exactly what happened. They just said
in general, but nothing like the tragedy and all day implications,
the threatening, the impact on me and my kids. Did
(33:07):
judge never heard it. He didn't advocate for his family
for us. His reputation was more important. He didn't want
anybody to hear what he did.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
He couldn't face the shame of it because Ellie wasn't there.
The judge was very lenient with the sentencing. Anna's husband
was sentenced to fifteen months in jail, and Anna was
only given five. As for Lucy, she endured a much
longer sentence trying to put the pieces of her life
(33:42):
back together after Ellie's betrayal.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
I was a mess. I barely could move for a
year and a half. I was in bed, crying, crying, crying.
I would cry for days. I don't even remberd many days.
This guy destroyed my life in such a way that
he destroyed my soul.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
During their marriage, she and Ellie had cultivated a community
of close friends. After his betrayal, she needed someone to
turn to, but she'd stop getting replies or calls back
from friends. Then she found out that Ellie had been
telling everyone a very different story about their divorce, one
(34:29):
where Lucy was to blame.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I would receive calls from friends that would say, how
could you be unfaithful to your husband like that? I say,
what what are you talking about? He started saying that
I wasn't faithful to him with a Russian guy just
changed the story, making me the one that did everything
he did. It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
It was the definition of projection. But she couldn't stop
the rumors. Many of their friends took Ellie's side, and
she has a theory about.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Why Unfortunately, money talks. People respect people with money, even
if they are the devil in disguise. People want to
be close to success, to successful people, not two people
that are destroyed or a mess. I was a mess.
(35:22):
I took a few pills because I want to numb myself,
not because I want to die. I wanted to numb myself.
But maybe I took too many. I ended up in
the hospital in emergency, and they transferred me to a
psychiatric hospital.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
The doctors asked Lucy what was going on at home?
Speaker 2 (35:45):
When I told the psychiatric is my story, and she
thought I was making it up. She told me, you're delusional.
What a story.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Lucy stayed in the psychiatric hospital for a few days.
Elie brought their kids to visit her.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
He looked very calm and collected. He told my nineteen
year old son, listen, I think you should live alone
because your mother is not well, so you shouldn't be
with her. And he gave him an apartment. That was devastating.
He took advantage of my vulnerability that he would talk
(36:24):
about me like I was the crazy one. He keeps
the financial control of everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
It took five months for their divorce to be finalized.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
It cost him a fortune. It caused me my sanity.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Looking back now, Lucy sees how wealth enabled Ellie.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
The more money you get, the more powerful you feel.
He felt superior to everybody, and he's above everybody. He
thought he was untouchable.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
It's been almost ten years since she just covered Ellie's betrayal.
Not a day goes by that she doesn't think about it.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
I'm not sure if I forgive him, but if I don't,
it's okay, because you don't have to forgive everybody, especially
somebody that has been so prapousely mean to you and
your children. You know he doesn't deserve forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
The person she has forgiven is herself. She knows now
that none of this was her fault. It took her
a while to trust again, but when she did, it
was worth it. A few years ago, she met someone new.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
He made me be living life again. We got married
in twenty twenty three. We're happily married and he's an
amazing man and he brings me joy everything.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
She's rebuilt a life that feels authentically hers.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I just dedicate myself to what makes me happy. My
two dogs are my life, my husband is my life,
my children. I live a very quiet life. I love
to read, I love to watch my Netflix. I just
accept things for the way they are. I don't sweat
little things. Finally, I'm at peace.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
We end every weekly episode with the same question, why
do you want to share your story?
Speaker 2 (38:28):
What happened to me was minimized by many people around
me and the hurt. But I think that my story
was so extraordinary that it has to be heard. And
you know something. In a way, I want validation because
I have been strong. I went through hell for years,
(38:51):
not months, years, and I discovered that I'm stronger than
I think.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly, I remember everything
that man for so long had so much control over me.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
I cannot just stand by and do nothing. You will
not get away with this.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please
email Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That is Betrayal
Pod at gmail dot com. Please note that we are
not a mental health organization. If you are in crisis
or currently experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek
(39:50):
local help or dial nine to one.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
One.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Please contact organizations that offer immediate support in our show notes.
We've included a list of you US based resources. You
can follow us on Instagram at Betrayal pod or find
me at It's Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and
additional content, and to connect with the Betrayal community, join
our substack at Betrayal dot substack dot com. We're grateful
(40:17):
for your support. One way to show support is by
subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts and don't forget
to rate and review Betrayal. Five star reviews go a
long way. Big thank you to all of our listeners.
Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of
Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show
(40:38):
is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted
and produced by me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by
Olivia Hewitt. Our story editor is Monique Lebord, also produced
by Ben Fetterman. Our associate producer is Leah Jablow. Production
management by Kristin Melcurie, Booking support by Curry Richmond. Our
(41:00):
iHeart team is Ali Perry and Treessica Crime Check. Audio
editing by Tanner Robbins, with additional editing and mixing. By
Matt Delvecchio. Betrayals theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music library
provided by my Music and for more podcasts from iHeart,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
(41:20):
your podcasts
Host
Andrea Gunning
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.