October 2, 2025 • 42 mins
Her father was a beloved local coach. At home, he was a different person.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Betrayal fans, I have exciting news to share. Season
three of Betrayal is now a docu series on Hulu.
It's the gripping story of Stacy Tyler and the doctor
who betrayed them. See the voices You've come to know
in Betrayal Under his Eye, streaming now on Hulu.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Within seconds, I get a Facebook message and he goes,
is this about your dad? And I got like a
chill down my back and I responded with yes, with
like a bunch of dots, and he immediately replied with
I know this because it happened to me too.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Trail, a show about
the people we trust the most and the deceptions that
change everything. Recently, a listener were calling, Taylor wrote into us.
She grew up with her two parents and her older
brother in a small Midwestern town.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Very small town feel. Everyone kind of knew each other
in some capacity. Had to drive about an hour to
a decent mall.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
That mall was a place Taylor and her mom would
go shopping together.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We were kind of attached to the hip. At one point.
She would always say that I had to go shopping
with her because I was the only one who knew
where she parked her car.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Growing up, Taylor's mom was her best friend.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
My mom was very demure, the trendy popular word to use.
She was quieter, and she was to stay at home
mom for most of our lives.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That gave her a lot of time to spend with Taylor.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
She was always the one that pick up drop off.
She was definitely the default parent. She was a self
proclaimed bookworm. We both enjoyed reading together, playing with dolls.
She taught me how to bake, She taught me how
to cook. We always did things together.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Taylor's dad was the head of the household. He was
beloved in their family and in their community.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Easy go lucky, wore Margueriteaville t shirt, always had a
smile on his face.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Taylor's parents had been together since they were young.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
My mom was pregnant when she was sixteen, he was twenty.
She dropped out of high school and he moved her
across the country to follow him to the Air Force.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
That military background became part of the family culture.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
It was a pretty strict household growing up. We definitely
grew up with rules, and one of the rules was
do everything you're asked.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Striving to be a good daughter was really important to Taylor.
She respected her parents. She even shared her dad's name.
My dad was Big Taylor and I was Taylor Lynn.
Big Taylor was a big sports guy. Some of my
happiest moments growing up revolver ond sports. I always played
a sport ever since I was five. She started with
(03:20):
her dad's sport, soccer. He was a well known soccer
coach in the area.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
My dad coached my brother, he coached me. He coached
beyond both of us.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Everyone in their small town adored Taylor's dad.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
He had the nickname of GC, which stood for a
goofy coach, because he kind of took the happy role
in the coaching situation, the good cop role. I did
not know a world that did not involve sports, but
I loved it. I got really involved in volleyball, especially
(03:57):
travel volleyball.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Quickly the sport became her entire life.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Being good at volleyball and trying to get a scholarship
or trying to get a spot on a college team
was my biggest objective in high school.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
She wanted to leave her small town and make it
to a big state school.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
If I would have stayed at home and maybe even
played at the community college. That was out of the question.
I didn't even want to talk to the community college coach.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Her dad could be hard on her, pushing her to
get better.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
On the court. My dad looked like he was the
most supportive dad in the world because he would come
watch my practices. But if he thought I didn't play
well enough, or if he thought I wasn't practicing hard enough,
I would get pulled aside to a place where no
one could hear, or in the car on the way
home or at home, and he would say how terrible
(04:52):
I was, and how I'm half assing things, and just
be so mad at me. He'd had this dart side
where he would just flip a switch where nothing could
get him out of it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
The pressure from her dad could be intense. By her
senior year of high school, Taylor had made it onto
one of the best volleyball teams in the area.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
We were really good. There wasn't a lot for my
dad to critique, so he kind of had to ease
up there.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Taylor's hard work paid off when she was accepted to
a liberal arts college on a volleyball scholarship. The school
was an hour away from her parents' house, so when
she started that fall, her dad came to every game.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
He was my biggest cheerleader. He was being so great
to me. He was being the dad that I always wanted.
He came to everything. He never critiqued how I played,
even when I didn't know the best game, which he
would have tore me apart when I was younger. For
some of that, and volleyball became like a happy space again.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
But that pressure to be the best didn't go away.
After every mistake or lost game, she heard her dad
dad's voice in her head.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I still wanted him to think I was the best,
so I still tried hard. I worked as hard as
I could. Every summer, I would do all of the
workouts plus more to try to be the best that
I could.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Her relationship with her dad had ups and downs, but
her connection with her mom was steady.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
We had those little moments where we felt like best
friends and people thought we were so fun together.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
They even worked together when Taylor was home from college.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
We both worked at Tjmax and it would be really
funny to page her from the fitting room and say, Mom,
you need to come clear out the fitting room.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
By the time Taylor graduated, she had developed a real
sense of self.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I was finally figuring out who I was, and it
took me all four years to do that. I came
out such a stronger, independent, hard working person who knew
that sports wasn't all that I was worth.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Once Taylor felt more secure in herself, she med a
really great guy, someone who truly valued her.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
He's a babe first and foremost. He's six foot five.
I'm the people person and he is more of the strong,
silent type. But we really balance each other out.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Taylor started a career in marketing and coach girls volleyball
on the side. She and her boyfriend shared the same interests.
Their lifestyles just aligned.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
We both worked really hard at our career. We both coached.
I coached girls volleyball, he coached girls basketball. We worked
out together.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They got engaged and started planning a wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Our wedding was great. My mom helped me get ready
with my bridesmaids. My dad helped walk me down the aisle,
had my father daughter dance.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Taylor talked to her dad on the phone almost every day,
and the family spent long weekends together as Taylor's husband
started spending more time with the family.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
My husband would always mention how thick my dad laid
it on with me. Man, he just gushes over you.
It's kind of weird, it's kind of gross. And I
would just be like, well, I'm the golden child, I'm
the best and kind of justified as that. And it
(08:22):
took a long time for me to understand my dad
was just laying it on thick because he knew what
he did to me.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Taylor and her husband were settling into married life and
beginning to plan and for a family of their own.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
In twenty sixteen, my husband and I were actively trying
to have a baby. We got a house together, and
just really getting excited for my professional career to really
take off, and life was pretty.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Great at the time. Taylor had just started a new
career in social media marketing.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I always had to keep in mind what trending topics
were and how the brand could maybe resonate in some
of those. The me too movement started trending in twenty seventeen,
and it wasn't just a one day trend. Every single
day there were new trending tweets with the me too
hashtag that showcased stories of abuse. Seeing these headlines just
(09:48):
really put me in a dark place and put a
dark cloud over my life.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Taylor's husband started noticing a change in her.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
He thought maybe there was something wrong in our marriage,
or it's something that he did to make me upset.
But I would go home from work and I just
wouldn't want to talk. I would just kind of try
to block everything out.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
After a few months, Taylor's husband encouraged her to start therapy.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
And it was through therapy that really helped me understand
why I was feeling so upset seeing the Me Too movement.
That was a major thing that happened to me that
was not normal. I found a therapist and I first
(10:37):
just started talking about my relationship with my husband. I
think halfway into our first session, she asked me about
my family life, and I just blurted it out that
my dad abused me growing up.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
It was a truth that she buried for years. She
knew it happened, but she kept those memories locked away
to protect herself. That was until the Me Too movement
brought them back into her conscious awareness.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It was so far back in my mind, the memories
and reminders would truly only come out every once in
a while in very weird situations, whether it be a
dream or when I was drinking with my friend, or
an episode of Law and Order SVU would just hit
way too close to what happened. I actually have to
(11:26):
stop watching that show.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
With the support of a licensed therapist, she began revisiting
the memories she tried so hard to forget. As a
note to listeners, Taylor is about to describe her experiences
of sexual abuse. If it's best for you not to
hear this, you can skip ahead two minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
The earliest time I can recall is around like three
or four years old, and I just remember being in
the dark with the TV on, laying next to my
dad and him pleasuring himself next to me. He referred
(12:13):
to it as helping him out, and so the phrase
ever since I can remember was Hey, I need you
to come help me out, or how about you help
me out? Or well I could probably convince your mom
to unground you if you come help me out. It
was his code word. I was crying like quietly, eyes shut,
(12:42):
gritting my teeth, silent, stiff as a board. As soon
as it would be over, I would get out of there,
out of that room as fast as I could, and
I would lock myself into my room.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
The sexual abuse was a constant threat she navigated every day.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I drew being home alone with him at any instance
my whole entire childhood. Anytime I could go to the
grocery store with my mom, I would go. Anytime I
could try to get out of the house, I would
get out of the house. I would even bring tons
of food and snacks from the pantry and hide them
in my room to try to avoid going in and
(13:22):
out of my room, because there would be times where
I would just walk past his room, and that's where
I would get the request to help him out. I
just knew growing up, the faster I could get it
over with, the faster I could leave.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
He manipulated and threatened her into staying silent. When she
started looking back on her childhood, her fixation with sports
started to make more sense. It wasn't just about getting
a scholarship. Volleyball gave her an escape from her dad
and her home.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Sports were also a great way to stay busy and
not be in the house, like I always try to
sign up for as much as I could and we
had to do a lot of traveling with that, so
the abuse wasn't as often, which was nice. It was
a nice break.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
But volleyball wasn't always a reprieve. The bad moods her
dad would get in after she lost a game were
used to control her.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
If I made a mistake. I was terrified what was
going to happen when I went home. The only way
for me to get out of trouble or not grounded
was to help him out. I would help him out,
and then everything would reset and we would be completely
back to normal. He would be an overly loving dad
(14:43):
for that time period, and I was just I would
go back to my room and be relieved, but at
the same time, I would be counting down the days
until I had to do this again.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Every time. She hoped it would be the last time,
but it went on right up until she left for college.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I get mad at myself sometimes, which is really hard
to deal with. I should have just called the police.
I should have told a teacher, but who knows if
they would have even taken me seriously because he was respected
in the community.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
As soon as Taylor left for college, she buried the
memories of her dad's abuse. It was a survival mechanism
because she depended on her parents, and despite it all,
she still wanted a connection with them.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I relied on my family for a lot of things,
and you know, they supported me and they helped me
buy my first car.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Through years of abuse, she had been taught that love
was conditional and that it was her responsibility to make
her parents happy with her. That pattern of thinking stayed
with her even after the abuse ended.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
So when a memory would come up, or when I'd
be in college and that definitely wasn't happy to me
and anymore, and I would think of something, I'm like, well, like,
you know, now, they're nice to me. Now, my dad
treats me like his best friend. And all those great
moments in my mind at that time outshadowed some stuff
(16:17):
in the past, because hey, that's done, that's over, and
look at how nice he is to me now. And again,
I would talk to my dad or my mom like
every other day, and never at a time where we'd
be talking would I be thinking about that, because I
was so focused on how good it was to have
(16:38):
a supporting dad or loving dad. It was definitely everything
that I was craving growing up, and I feel like
I was trying to take full advantage of that as
an adult.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
But as hard as she tried to keep it out
of her mind, those memories sometimes came back up.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
There would be time all throughout my life where I
would remember, like, oh, yeah, I remember that terrible stuff
you seda happen to you. I even remember this was
probably twenty fourteen, living in a different city, and my
friend and I were drinking, you know, just young twenties,
getting ready for a night on the town, and I
(17:22):
don't know what triggered it, but all of a sudden,
I just started crying. And I've never told anyone up
to that point, and I told her what had happened
to me, and she gave me the biggest hug and
we kind of just talked about it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
But back then Tiler wasn't ready to confront the reality
of what her father had done to her.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And the next day she was like, I remember what
you told me. If you ever needed to talk to me,
let me know. And I just kind of was embarrassed
that I even brought it up. I didn't want anyone
to look at me as a victim or think of
me like as gross you know, for that happened to
me as like damaged even my friends.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Taylor felt like if she came forward it would destroy
her family.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And I would quickly be like, well, your family's all
that you have. Do you want to blow up your
whole life? And I turned out okay, so it really
must have not done that bad. And if I'm going
to bring it up, then I'm just being a drama queen.
Or maybe people aren't even going to believe me, so
why would I even bring it up. So that's kind
of how I would talk myself out of it and
(18:26):
kind of push those memories back down.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
By twenty seventeen, when she saw other survivors coming forward
and being believed, something shifted for Taylor. She couldn't keep
the memories at bay anymore.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I would cry on my way to work sometimes out
of the blue, because I started having those memories that
were just unavoidable, and I couldn't really push them back
like I had been doing all those years.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
With the help of her therapist, she integrated those experiences
into the story of her life, but she still wasn't
ready to confront her parents. And then my husband and
I were trying to have our first child, and.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
The minute I found out I was pregnant, I just
wanted to keep this thing safe. I was getting very
protective over my future baby and really was having a
hard time and had to talk to my therapist about
do I wanted to have a relationship with my dad
knowing what happened to me. Finally, my therapist suggested, well,
(19:29):
have you ever talked to your mom or told your
mom about this? And that really opened the door to
I need to bring light to this or I don't
know what's going to happen next.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It was the last thing she wanted to do, but
now that she had a baby on the way, she
knew she couldn't interact with her parents without addressing her
dad's abuse. She hadn't told anyone except her college friend
and now her therapist. If she was going to confront
her parents, he needed to tell her husband first.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
My husband and I were driving a car and I
was still not mentally in a great place that I said, Okay,
do you want to know why I am in therapy?
And I said there was a family member that abused
me sexually abused me growing up. And then I was
able to tell him that it was my dad, and
(20:26):
he instantly wanted to drive two hours to go see
him and confront him. He was supportive a thousand percent
of the way. He is a fierce protector. He would
do anything for me.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
But she wanted to do this on her own. He
respected that and supported her as she made a plan.
But in the meantime she distanced herself.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I definitely became a little bit more distant to them,
you know, blamed like, oh, work is really busy, card
a lot going on. All my anger was directed at
my dad, not my mom.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
She knew her mom would be on her side. She
was her best friend. One time, when Taylor was young,
her mom even asked her if something was wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I remember I was five or six years old, and
she asked me if my dad ever touched me. And
I remember saying to her just because I was so
scared that I said no and just kind of let
it go.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
But now, as an adult, she was ready to answer
that question. Honestly. A few months into Taylor's pregnancy, her
mom invited her on a shopping trip. Taylor decided, this
was the time.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I took my mom to just a little cafe and
I said, I have something to tell you. It's really
hard for me growing up. Dad sexually abused me. I'm
now pregnant and I'm terrified that something's going to happen
to this kid, and I just need you to know.
(22:04):
And she immediately started crying, and I started crying, and
she said, you know, I really there was this one
time that he was holding you weird that I really
thought maybe, but you told me it wasn't happening. Why
didn't you ever tell me? Like? She just kept like
crying and asking me that, and I just kept telling
your dad told me not to like he said, I
(22:26):
would get in trouble if I told you. She was
just super upset, gave me all the hugs, told me
how sorry she was that that happened. And I went
home to where I lived at the time, and she
went home with the plan to confront my dad.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
It was a huge relief, but she knew that confrontation
would change her parents' relationship forever.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I was in hopes that she was going to leave him.
I offered her replace to live with us. We would
help so or her financially.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Taylor didn't hear anything from her parents for a few days.
The whole time she was Bracing for her dad's reaction,
she and her husband prepared for her mom to move in,
but Taylor was surprised when a few days later she
received a call from her dad.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
My dad then called me and asked me to meet
him at a halfway point in like a Walmart parking lot.
He said he wanted to talk and apologize. So it
wasn't even like an angry call. It was a we
need to talk. I'm just so sorry. Can we please
meet somewhere? Will you ever forgive me?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Taylor was hopeful that her dad would apologize, acknowledge the
impact of what he'd done, and get help.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
I thought maybe this could turn around into a story
that had some sort of reconciliation or some sort of
alternate ending. So I wanted to be a little bit
open there because I did love him.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
With that in mind, she agreed to meet him.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
So we meet at the Walmart parking lot.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
For her own protection, she decided to document the conversation.
I actually started recording with.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
My phone, and he just starts going off on how
sorry he is and he doesn't get those thoughts anymore,
and how good I turned out, and could I ever
forgive him? I didn't have an answer for him. If
I could forgive him, I said, I don't know, and
he goes, do you still love me? I said yes,
(24:40):
because that's my dad.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They sat in her car for an hour crying. His
apology felt genuine. It was the first time he ever
acknowledged what he'd done.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Once they parted ways, I immediately called my mom and said, hey,
I just met up with dad. He said he was
so sorry, Like, how did your conversation go? And this
is when she told me that he denied it, denied everything,
said I was crazy, said I was making it up
for attention, and she didn't know what to believe anymore.
(25:17):
And I said, mom, I have a recording of him apologizing,
and she goes, hold on, your father's calling me and
so hangs up, calls me back. Yeah, he just said,
you admitted that you were lying. The minute I got home,
I sent her all the recording. It was like an
hour long, and he never once in the recording said
(25:39):
I'm sorry for sexually abusing you as a child. But
he said, I am sorry. Can you forgive me? I
don't get these thoughts, And she said, well, he could
have been apologizing that anything. She just flipped the switch
completely to not believing me.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
After confiding in her mom about the abuse she experienced
as a child, Taylor's dad reached out. He said he
wanted to apologize, so she met him in person. To
her surprise, he took accountability and was apologetic. She recorded
the conversation on her phone, but when Taylor sent that
audio to her mom.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
She thought I manipulated the recording. She just flipped the
switch completely to not believing me. This began a painful
back and forth. Taylor was desperate to prove the truth
to her mom. I had multiple phone calls at lunch
break at work trying to convince her that yes, this
happened to me, sharing very specific instances or phrases that
(26:54):
he would use, like how do you not believe me?
This went on for months Throughout my whole pregnancy. My
mom was going back and forth with believing me or not,
which was extremely stressful for me because I wanted her
in my life. I wanted her to be my son's grandma.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
As she got closer to her due date, she tried
to have one final conversation with her parents together.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Probably halfway through my pregnancy. I did show up at
their house and they were both home. She stepped out
of the room and she's like, I need a minute.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
As soon as her mom left the room.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
My dad was acting so weird and definitely scared. He
went from remorseful to angry and said, I don't understand.
You turned out great. This wasn't a problem when we
bought you clothes, this wasn't a problem when we bought
you a car. And I freak out and start crying
and going. So that was supposed to make it okay.
(27:49):
My mom turns the corner, she goes, what's going on.
I'm like, he's just justifying it with all of these reasons,
and I left and at that point I quit trying.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
That was the moment she decided to cut her dad off.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I have not talked to him looked at him since
that moment when I fully understood that he does not
love me the way that he says he did.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Distress took a toll on her health and her pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I was thirty seven weeks and my ob was like, hey,
you don't really have a lot of fluid. You might
want to go to the hospital because they might want
to deliver the baby early. And this is my first kid,
and I was like, what My first instinct was to
go to my work and get my laptop for some reason,
and I just started like crying on the stairs at work,
(28:44):
and people at work were so nice, and I was like,
I'm not ready to be a mom, and they're like,
You're going to be great.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
She called her husband too, met her at the hospital.
They didn't even have their hospital backpacked. A few hours later,
their son was born.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Was born perfect, with blonde, curly hair and just adorable
and so loved. I had friends visit me in the hospital,
my in laws.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Her mom showed up too, but she was distant.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
The minute the baby was born, she gave my son
a kiss on the forehead and said that she was
leaving just extremely weird.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Taylor and her mom barely spoke for months. That was
until Taylor's grandma passed away.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I went to my grandmother's house to pick up some
things and help them move some stuff around. My mom
was bringing up like happy memories and trying to talk
to me about the baby and just trying to pretend
like everything was normal. That's when I had the conversation
with my mom, like stop skirting around this. I gave
(29:53):
her the ultimatum. I said, you either believe me and
stand by me and you are in this child's life,
or I can not have a relationship with you anymore.
She just finally straight up. Her reaction was I don't
believe you, and I go okay, and I locked and
that was the last time we've ever spoke, which was
(30:17):
probably the hardest thing, hardest conversation her and I ever had.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
For Taylor, this was the ultimate betrayal.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I truly believed after we talked in that cafe that
she believed me.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
It was also an incredible loss.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
It was very devastating to think of a world where
I just don't have a mom.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
But Taylor had to protect her child, even if that
meant cutting off her mom.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And I feel so sorry for her because to this day,
she's financially, emotionally, she's just everything is under the rule
of my dad. She has always been so controlled by
my father, could never have her own opinion. I never
saw her hang out with friends unless they were wives
(31:06):
of my dad's friends. While my dad was hanging out
with his friends. I truly think that there were times
where I was her only friend, and I definitely missed
that friendship, but I also have to do what's right
for my family. Sorry, that wouldn't hit me kind of hard.
(31:30):
It's funny I'm angry about my mom, but I'm just
I'm like mourning the loss of my mom and she's
not even dead. And I get so upset still when
I see my friends and their moms are so involved
with their kids. It's just not fair.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
For a while, this was something Taylor handled privately, but
over time, Taylor felt more empowered to share what happened
to her.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
One day, I was on Facebook and there was just
a post and it was kind of like a meme
style where it said reason number like three hundred and
blah blah blah why abuse victims don't come forward? And
all I did was hit share. I didn't say like, yep,
this happened to me. It was just like resharing a post.
(32:22):
Within seconds, I get a Facebook message and it is
from my older cousin. He's about ten years older than me.
He goes, hey, what's this about.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
It was a cousin she would see once or twice
a year at family events. We'll call him Henry. She
kept it big, told him it was something she was
working through.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
And he responds with, is this about your dad? I
got like a chill down my back and I responded
with yes, with like a bunch of dots, and he
immediately replied with I know this because it happened to
me too. It was like eleven o'clock at night. I'm
(33:09):
in my bedroom. I just start crying, and he proceeds
to tell me that when he was young, around five
years old, my dad sexually abused him, and the exact
same things that he used to say to me. He
said to my cousin, Henry of helping him out. My
(33:34):
cousin said he'd never told anyone because he was so afraid.
We started talking like every other day on the phone
and just sharing experiences and like support for one another.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
It was the first time she felt seen as.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Unfortunate as it was that it happened to both of us.
I felt like I had someone who fully understood what
I went through, believed me, and was equally as angry
as I was in the sense of how much innocence
that this person stole and that I just wasn't alone.
(34:09):
My cousin Henry told his kids, who are in their twenties,
and before he could even say what family member did
something to him. His daughter asked if it was Uncle Taylor,
because I apparently at a family event he had groped
her and told her not to tell me a one
and so this clearly is in an instance where it
(34:31):
was a one off with one kid or another kid,
there could be multiple victims out there.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Even though Taylor wasn't speaking to her mom, Henry took
it upon himself to message her.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
He Facebook messaged her probably a little over a year ago, saying,
when we were living in the Midwest, it was happening
to me my uncle Taylor. I thought it stopped once
we moved away and he wouldn't do it to any
other kid. But Taylor Lynne is not lying, and I
know this goes beyond just us. Never read it, never
(35:05):
responded to him. So there's definitely been attempts, even after
that moment to try to snap her out of it,
and nothing has worked, and I don't think anything will work.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Henry and Taylor took their information to authorities.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
He contacted the state where he lives because the groping
of his daughter happened in that state, and unfortunately they
haven't really paid much attention.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
So at first, she was told the abuse she suffered
would be classified as second degree criminal sexual misconduct and
in her state there's a statute of limitations for that.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And it's extremely frustrating, but I'm choosing to accept that.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Taylor and her cousin decided to do something together to
symbolize what they went through.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
I got Medusa tattoos recently, so Medusa. The lore is
she was seduced by Poseidon and raped by Poseidon in
Athena's temple, and Athena didn't believe her and chose to
make her a monster. And that definitely spoke to both
(36:21):
of us of just fear of not being believed and
where both in each other's corner, still being there for
each other when there are some dark days, or just
reassurance that it wasn't our fault.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Just recently, the district attorney has decided to re examine
the case. They are reclassifying her abuse as first degree
criminal's sexual misconduct and there are no statute of limitations.
Taylor and Henry hope they might see justice. In the meantime,
She's focused on moving forward and raising her kids in
a safe, happy environment.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I have a career, then I chasing. I don't have time,
nor like the desire at this moment to potentially chase
down a case that has anyone said that they don't
believe me when I know the truth. I also have
three beautiful voys that need all my attention, all of
(37:19):
my love. Right now. I have the best kids in
the world. They are fun, they're smart, they're goofy, and
I know I'm their mom, so I have to say
all of those things.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
She's sad that her mom doesn't get to see her
boys grow up.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I feel sorry for her in the sense that she's
never going to know them and know how amazing they are.
Last week, I got a message from my oldest son's teacher.
He's in first grade. It was interesting fact day and
my son all he knows about my parents is that
they are I just say, you know, they're not very
(37:57):
good people, and so that's why they're not in our lives.
And I haven't elaborated. And my oldest son told his
entire class that my parents are bank robbers and they
stole money from a bank and that's why he doesn't
know them. So I think it's kind of hilarious. The
little kids' minds just are so imaginative, so one day
(38:19):
I'll be able to tell them the real reason, but
for now, they just know that the people who are
in their lives are people who generally love them and
will protect them. And I refuse to have it any
other way.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Throughout this whole experience, She's had the support of her husband.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
I know I have such a great life partner. He
stood by me this entire time, and his family has
stood by me the entire time, and that just has
meant the whole world to me. And he's such a
good dad. He is so fully involved, and we are
building this little family from scratch and starting this new
(38:59):
life I see.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
We end every weekly episode with the same question, why
do you want to share your story?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
The first reason is I think this is a part
of my healing journey first and foremost, and provide myself
some additional closure. A second reason is when I found
out that my cousin Henry had this had happened to him,
there was this sense of I'm not alone, and if
I can give someone else this sense of them not
(39:31):
feeling alone, then I want to be able to do that,
and that's why I'd chosen to say something.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So we sat down and he was like, he doesn't
believe in NBA, so he's not going to ask for
one of them. And I was just like, what the
hell is going on here? Like what is happening? And
it was like, Oh, do you know what? I think?
I need to tell you a little bit about my
family history.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Before we end the episode. I have some exciting news Betrayal.
We'll be doing our first ever live show as part
of the Virgin Voyage's True Crime Cruise. We'll be answering
listener questions and discussing them live on stage with Stacey
and Tyler from Betrayal season three, as well as Caroline
from season four. So if you have a question for us,
(40:30):
please email us at Betrayalpod at gmail dot com with
the subject line listener question and if you want to
join us on the Caribbean cruise, there are still spots
available search Virgin Voyages dot com slash true crime. If
you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team
or want to tell us your Betrayal story, email us
(40:52):
at Betrayalpod at gmail dot com. That's Betrayal Pod at
gmail dot com, or follow us on Instagram at Betrayal pod.
You can also connect with me on Instagram at It's
Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter, view additional content, and
connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at Betrayal
(41:13):
dot substack dot com. We're grateful 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. A big
thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a
production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group
and partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced
(41:35):
by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by
Me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Monique Leboard, also
produced by Ben Fetterman. Associate producers are Caitlin Golden, Olivia Hewitt,
and Kristin Melcurie. Casting support from Curry Richmond. Our iHeart
team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krincheck. Audio editing and
(41:58):
mixing by Matt Delvecchio. Additional audio editing by Tanner Robbins.
Betrayal's theme composed by Oliver Baines Music Library provided by
mybe Music. And for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, Betrayal fans, I have exciting news to share. Season
three of Betrayal is now a docu series on Hulu.
It's the gripping story of Stacy Tyler and the doctor
who betrayed them. See the voices You've come to know
in Betrayal Under his Eye, streaming now on Hulu.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Within seconds, I get a Facebook message and he goes,
is this about your dad? And I got like a
chill down my back and I responded with yes, with
like a bunch of dots, and he immediately replied with
I know this because it happened to me too.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Trail, a show about
the people we trust the most and the deceptions that
change everything. Recently, a listener were calling, Taylor wrote into us.
She grew up with her two parents and her older
brother in a small Midwestern town.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Very small town feel. Everyone kind of knew each other
in some capacity. Had to drive about an hour to
a decent mall.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
That mall was a place Taylor and her mom would
go shopping together.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We were kind of attached to the hip. At one point.
She would always say that I had to go shopping
with her because I was the only one who knew
where she parked her car.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Growing up, Taylor's mom was her best friend.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
My mom was very demure, the trendy popular word to use.
She was quieter, and she was to stay at home
mom for most of our lives.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That gave her a lot of time to spend with Taylor.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
She was always the one that pick up drop off.
She was definitely the default parent. She was a self
proclaimed bookworm. We both enjoyed reading together, playing with dolls.
She taught me how to bake, She taught me how
to cook. We always did things together.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Taylor's dad was the head of the household. He was
beloved in their family and in their community.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Easy go lucky, wore Margueriteaville t shirt, always had a
smile on his face.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Taylor's parents had been together since they were young.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
My mom was pregnant when she was sixteen, he was twenty.
She dropped out of high school and he moved her
across the country to follow him to the Air Force.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
That military background became part of the family culture.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
It was a pretty strict household growing up. We definitely
grew up with rules, and one of the rules was
do everything you're asked.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Striving to be a good daughter was really important to Taylor.
She respected her parents. She even shared her dad's name.
My dad was Big Taylor and I was Taylor Lynn.
Big Taylor was a big sports guy. Some of my
happiest moments growing up revolver ond sports. I always played
a sport ever since I was five. She started with
(03:20):
her dad's sport, soccer. He was a well known soccer
coach in the area.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
My dad coached my brother, he coached me. He coached
beyond both of us.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Everyone in their small town adored Taylor's dad.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
He had the nickname of GC, which stood for a
goofy coach, because he kind of took the happy role
in the coaching situation, the good cop role. I did
not know a world that did not involve sports, but
I loved it. I got really involved in volleyball, especially
(03:57):
travel volleyball.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Quickly the sport became her entire life.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Being good at volleyball and trying to get a scholarship
or trying to get a spot on a college team
was my biggest objective in high school.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
She wanted to leave her small town and make it
to a big state school.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
If I would have stayed at home and maybe even
played at the community college. That was out of the question.
I didn't even want to talk to the community college coach.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Her dad could be hard on her, pushing her to
get better.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
On the court. My dad looked like he was the
most supportive dad in the world because he would come
watch my practices. But if he thought I didn't play
well enough, or if he thought I wasn't practicing hard enough,
I would get pulled aside to a place where no
one could hear, or in the car on the way
home or at home, and he would say how terrible
(04:52):
I was, and how I'm half assing things, and just
be so mad at me. He'd had this dart side
where he would just flip a switch where nothing could
get him out of it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
The pressure from her dad could be intense. By her
senior year of high school, Taylor had made it onto
one of the best volleyball teams in the area.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
We were really good. There wasn't a lot for my
dad to critique, so he kind of had to ease
up there.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Taylor's hard work paid off when she was accepted to
a liberal arts college on a volleyball scholarship. The school
was an hour away from her parents' house, so when
she started that fall, her dad came to every game.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
He was my biggest cheerleader. He was being so great
to me. He was being the dad that I always wanted.
He came to everything. He never critiqued how I played,
even when I didn't know the best game, which he
would have tore me apart when I was younger. For
some of that, and volleyball became like a happy space again.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
But that pressure to be the best didn't go away.
After every mistake or lost game, she heard her dad
dad's voice in her head.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I still wanted him to think I was the best,
so I still tried hard. I worked as hard as
I could. Every summer, I would do all of the
workouts plus more to try to be the best that
I could.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Her relationship with her dad had ups and downs, but
her connection with her mom was steady.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
We had those little moments where we felt like best
friends and people thought we were so fun together.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
They even worked together when Taylor was home from college.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
We both worked at Tjmax and it would be really
funny to page her from the fitting room and say, Mom,
you need to come clear out the fitting room.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
By the time Taylor graduated, she had developed a real
sense of self.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I was finally figuring out who I was, and it
took me all four years to do that. I came
out such a stronger, independent, hard working person who knew
that sports wasn't all that I was worth.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Once Taylor felt more secure in herself, she med a
really great guy, someone who truly valued her.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
He's a babe first and foremost. He's six foot five.
I'm the people person and he is more of the strong,
silent type. But we really balance each other out.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Taylor started a career in marketing and coach girls volleyball
on the side. She and her boyfriend shared the same interests.
Their lifestyles just aligned.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
We both worked really hard at our career. We both coached.
I coached girls volleyball, he coached girls basketball. We worked
out together.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
They got engaged and started planning a wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Our wedding was great. My mom helped me get ready
with my bridesmaids. My dad helped walk me down the aisle,
had my father daughter dance.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Taylor talked to her dad on the phone almost every day,
and the family spent long weekends together as Taylor's husband
started spending more time with the family.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
My husband would always mention how thick my dad laid
it on with me. Man, he just gushes over you.
It's kind of weird, it's kind of gross. And I
would just be like, well, I'm the golden child, I'm
the best and kind of justified as that. And it
(08:22):
took a long time for me to understand my dad
was just laying it on thick because he knew what
he did to me.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Taylor and her husband were settling into married life and
beginning to plan and for a family of their own.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
In twenty sixteen, my husband and I were actively trying
to have a baby. We got a house together, and
just really getting excited for my professional career to really
take off, and life was pretty.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Great at the time. Taylor had just started a new
career in social media marketing.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I always had to keep in mind what trending topics
were and how the brand could maybe resonate in some
of those. The me too movement started trending in twenty seventeen,
and it wasn't just a one day trend. Every single
day there were new trending tweets with the me too
hashtag that showcased stories of abuse. Seeing these headlines just
(09:48):
really put me in a dark place and put a
dark cloud over my life.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Taylor's husband started noticing a change in her.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
He thought maybe there was something wrong in our marriage,
or it's something that he did to make me upset.
But I would go home from work and I just
wouldn't want to talk. I would just kind of try
to block everything out.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
After a few months, Taylor's husband encouraged her to start therapy.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
And it was through therapy that really helped me understand
why I was feeling so upset seeing the Me Too movement.
That was a major thing that happened to me that
was not normal. I found a therapist and I first
(10:37):
just started talking about my relationship with my husband. I
think halfway into our first session, she asked me about
my family life, and I just blurted it out that
my dad abused me growing up.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
It was a truth that she buried for years. She
knew it happened, but she kept those memories locked away
to protect herself. That was until the Me Too movement
brought them back into her conscious awareness.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It was so far back in my mind, the memories
and reminders would truly only come out every once in
a while in very weird situations, whether it be a
dream or when I was drinking with my friend, or
an episode of Law and Order SVU would just hit
way too close to what happened. I actually have to
(11:26):
stop watching that show.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
With the support of a licensed therapist, she began revisiting
the memories she tried so hard to forget. As a
note to listeners, Taylor is about to describe her experiences
of sexual abuse. If it's best for you not to
hear this, you can skip ahead two minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
The earliest time I can recall is around like three
or four years old, and I just remember being in
the dark with the TV on, laying next to my
dad and him pleasuring himself next to me. He referred
(12:13):
to it as helping him out, and so the phrase
ever since I can remember was Hey, I need you
to come help me out, or how about you help
me out? Or well I could probably convince your mom
to unground you if you come help me out. It
was his code word. I was crying like quietly, eyes shut,
(12:42):
gritting my teeth, silent, stiff as a board. As soon
as it would be over, I would get out of there,
out of that room as fast as I could, and
I would lock myself into my room.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
The sexual abuse was a constant threat she navigated every day.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I drew being home alone with him at any instance
my whole entire childhood. Anytime I could go to the
grocery store with my mom, I would go. Anytime I
could try to get out of the house, I would
get out of the house. I would even bring tons
of food and snacks from the pantry and hide them
in my room to try to avoid going in and
(13:22):
out of my room, because there would be times where
I would just walk past his room, and that's where
I would get the request to help him out. I
just knew growing up, the faster I could get it
over with, the faster I could leave.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
He manipulated and threatened her into staying silent. When she
started looking back on her childhood, her fixation with sports
started to make more sense. It wasn't just about getting
a scholarship. Volleyball gave her an escape from her dad
and her home.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Sports were also a great way to stay busy and
not be in the house, like I always try to
sign up for as much as I could and we
had to do a lot of traveling with that, so
the abuse wasn't as often, which was nice. It was
a nice break.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
But volleyball wasn't always a reprieve. The bad moods her
dad would get in after she lost a game were
used to control her.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
If I made a mistake. I was terrified what was
going to happen when I went home. The only way
for me to get out of trouble or not grounded
was to help him out. I would help him out,
and then everything would reset and we would be completely
back to normal. He would be an overly loving dad
(14:43):
for that time period, and I was just I would
go back to my room and be relieved, but at
the same time, I would be counting down the days
until I had to do this again.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Every time. She hoped it would be the last time,
but it went on right up until she left for college.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I get mad at myself sometimes, which is really hard
to deal with. I should have just called the police.
I should have told a teacher, but who knows if
they would have even taken me seriously because he was respected
in the community.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
As soon as Taylor left for college, she buried the
memories of her dad's abuse. It was a survival mechanism
because she depended on her parents, and despite it all,
she still wanted a connection with them.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I relied on my family for a lot of things,
and you know, they supported me and they helped me
buy my first car.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Through years of abuse, she had been taught that love
was conditional and that it was her responsibility to make
her parents happy with her. That pattern of thinking stayed
with her even after the abuse ended.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
So when a memory would come up, or when I'd
be in college and that definitely wasn't happy to me
and anymore, and I would think of something, I'm like, well, like,
you know, now, they're nice to me. Now, my dad
treats me like his best friend. And all those great
moments in my mind at that time outshadowed some stuff
(16:17):
in the past, because hey, that's done, that's over, and
look at how nice he is to me now. And again,
I would talk to my dad or my mom like
every other day, and never at a time where we'd
be talking would I be thinking about that, because I
was so focused on how good it was to have
(16:38):
a supporting dad or loving dad. It was definitely everything
that I was craving growing up, and I feel like
I was trying to take full advantage of that as
an adult.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
But as hard as she tried to keep it out
of her mind, those memories sometimes came back up.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
There would be time all throughout my life where I
would remember, like, oh, yeah, I remember that terrible stuff
you seda happen to you. I even remember this was
probably twenty fourteen, living in a different city, and my
friend and I were drinking, you know, just young twenties,
getting ready for a night on the town, and I
(17:22):
don't know what triggered it, but all of a sudden,
I just started crying. And I've never told anyone up
to that point, and I told her what had happened
to me, and she gave me the biggest hug and
we kind of just talked about it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
But back then Tiler wasn't ready to confront the reality
of what her father had done to her.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And the next day she was like, I remember what
you told me. If you ever needed to talk to me,
let me know. And I just kind of was embarrassed
that I even brought it up. I didn't want anyone
to look at me as a victim or think of
me like as gross you know, for that happened to
me as like damaged even my friends.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Taylor felt like if she came forward it would destroy
her family.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And I would quickly be like, well, your family's all
that you have. Do you want to blow up your
whole life? And I turned out okay, so it really
must have not done that bad. And if I'm going
to bring it up, then I'm just being a drama queen.
Or maybe people aren't even going to believe me, so
why would I even bring it up. So that's kind
of how I would talk myself out of it and
(18:26):
kind of push those memories back down.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
By twenty seventeen, when she saw other survivors coming forward
and being believed, something shifted for Taylor. She couldn't keep
the memories at bay anymore.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I would cry on my way to work sometimes out
of the blue, because I started having those memories that
were just unavoidable, and I couldn't really push them back
like I had been doing all those years.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
With the help of her therapist, she integrated those experiences
into the story of her life, but she still wasn't
ready to confront her parents. And then my husband and
I were trying to have our first child, and.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
The minute I found out I was pregnant, I just
wanted to keep this thing safe. I was getting very
protective over my future baby and really was having a
hard time and had to talk to my therapist about
do I wanted to have a relationship with my dad
knowing what happened to me. Finally, my therapist suggested, well,
(19:29):
have you ever talked to your mom or told your
mom about this? And that really opened the door to
I need to bring light to this or I don't
know what's going to happen next.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
It was the last thing she wanted to do, but
now that she had a baby on the way, she
knew she couldn't interact with her parents without addressing her
dad's abuse. She hadn't told anyone except her college friend
and now her therapist. If she was going to confront
her parents, he needed to tell her husband first.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
My husband and I were driving a car and I
was still not mentally in a great place that I said, Okay,
do you want to know why I am in therapy?
And I said there was a family member that abused
me sexually abused me growing up. And then I was
able to tell him that it was my dad, and
(20:26):
he instantly wanted to drive two hours to go see
him and confront him. He was supportive a thousand percent
of the way. He is a fierce protector. He would
do anything for me.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
But she wanted to do this on her own. He
respected that and supported her as she made a plan.
But in the meantime she distanced herself.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I definitely became a little bit more distant to them,
you know, blamed like, oh, work is really busy, card
a lot going on. All my anger was directed at
my dad, not my mom.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
She knew her mom would be on her side. She
was her best friend. One time, when Taylor was young,
her mom even asked her if something was wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
I remember I was five or six years old, and
she asked me if my dad ever touched me. And
I remember saying to her just because I was so
scared that I said no and just kind of let
it go.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
But now, as an adult, she was ready to answer
that question. Honestly. A few months into Taylor's pregnancy, her
mom invited her on a shopping trip. Taylor decided, this
was the time.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
I took my mom to just a little cafe and
I said, I have something to tell you. It's really
hard for me growing up. Dad sexually abused me. I'm
now pregnant and I'm terrified that something's going to happen
to this kid, and I just need you to know.
(22:04):
And she immediately started crying, and I started crying, and
she said, you know, I really there was this one
time that he was holding you weird that I really
thought maybe, but you told me it wasn't happening. Why
didn't you ever tell me? Like? She just kept like
crying and asking me that, and I just kept telling
your dad told me not to like he said, I
(22:26):
would get in trouble if I told you. She was
just super upset, gave me all the hugs, told me
how sorry she was that that happened. And I went
home to where I lived at the time, and she
went home with the plan to confront my dad.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
It was a huge relief, but she knew that confrontation
would change her parents' relationship forever.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I was in hopes that she was going to leave him.
I offered her replace to live with us. We would
help so or her financially.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Taylor didn't hear anything from her parents for a few days.
The whole time she was Bracing for her dad's reaction,
she and her husband prepared for her mom to move in,
but Taylor was surprised when a few days later she
received a call from her dad.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
My dad then called me and asked me to meet
him at a halfway point in like a Walmart parking lot.
He said he wanted to talk and apologize. So it
wasn't even like an angry call. It was a we
need to talk. I'm just so sorry. Can we please
meet somewhere? Will you ever forgive me?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Taylor was hopeful that her dad would apologize, acknowledge the
impact of what he'd done, and get help.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
I thought maybe this could turn around into a story
that had some sort of reconciliation or some sort of
alternate ending. So I wanted to be a little bit
open there because I did love him.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
With that in mind, she agreed to meet him.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
So we meet at the Walmart parking lot.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
For her own protection, she decided to document the conversation.
I actually started recording with.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
My phone, and he just starts going off on how
sorry he is and he doesn't get those thoughts anymore,
and how good I turned out, and could I ever
forgive him? I didn't have an answer for him. If
I could forgive him, I said, I don't know, and
he goes, do you still love me? I said yes,
(24:40):
because that's my dad.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They sat in her car for an hour crying. His
apology felt genuine. It was the first time he ever
acknowledged what he'd done.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Once they parted ways, I immediately called my mom and said, hey,
I just met up with dad. He said he was
so sorry, Like, how did your conversation go? And this
is when she told me that he denied it, denied everything,
said I was crazy, said I was making it up
for attention, and she didn't know what to believe anymore.
(25:17):
And I said, mom, I have a recording of him apologizing,
and she goes, hold on, your father's calling me and
so hangs up, calls me back. Yeah, he just said,
you admitted that you were lying. The minute I got home,
I sent her all the recording. It was like an
hour long, and he never once in the recording said
(25:39):
I'm sorry for sexually abusing you as a child. But
he said, I am sorry. Can you forgive me? I
don't get these thoughts, And she said, well, he could
have been apologizing that anything. She just flipped the switch
completely to not believing me.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
After confiding in her mom about the abuse she experienced
as a child, Taylor's dad reached out. He said he
wanted to apologize, so she met him in person. To
her surprise, he took accountability and was apologetic. She recorded
the conversation on her phone, but when Taylor sent that
audio to her mom.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
She thought I manipulated the recording. She just flipped the
switch completely to not believing me. This began a painful
back and forth. Taylor was desperate to prove the truth
to her mom. I had multiple phone calls at lunch
break at work trying to convince her that yes, this
happened to me, sharing very specific instances or phrases that
(26:54):
he would use, like how do you not believe me?
This went on for months Throughout my whole pregnancy. My
mom was going back and forth with believing me or not,
which was extremely stressful for me because I wanted her
in my life. I wanted her to be my son's grandma.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
As she got closer to her due date, she tried
to have one final conversation with her parents together.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Probably halfway through my pregnancy. I did show up at
their house and they were both home. She stepped out
of the room and she's like, I need a minute.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
As soon as her mom left the room.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
My dad was acting so weird and definitely scared. He
went from remorseful to angry and said, I don't understand.
You turned out great. This wasn't a problem when we
bought you clothes, this wasn't a problem when we bought
you a car. And I freak out and start crying
and going. So that was supposed to make it okay.
(27:49):
My mom turns the corner, she goes, what's going on.
I'm like, he's just justifying it with all of these reasons,
and I left and at that point I quit trying.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
That was the moment she decided to cut her dad off.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I have not talked to him looked at him since
that moment when I fully understood that he does not
love me the way that he says he did.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Distress took a toll on her health and her pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I was thirty seven weeks and my ob was like, hey,
you don't really have a lot of fluid. You might
want to go to the hospital because they might want
to deliver the baby early. And this is my first kid,
and I was like, what My first instinct was to
go to my work and get my laptop for some reason,
and I just started like crying on the stairs at work,
(28:44):
and people at work were so nice, and I was like,
I'm not ready to be a mom, and they're like,
You're going to be great.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
She called her husband too, met her at the hospital.
They didn't even have their hospital backpacked. A few hours later,
their son was born.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Was born perfect, with blonde, curly hair and just adorable
and so loved. I had friends visit me in the hospital,
my in laws.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Her mom showed up too, but she was distant.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
The minute the baby was born, she gave my son
a kiss on the forehead and said that she was
leaving just extremely weird.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Taylor and her mom barely spoke for months. That was
until Taylor's grandma passed away.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I went to my grandmother's house to pick up some
things and help them move some stuff around. My mom
was bringing up like happy memories and trying to talk
to me about the baby and just trying to pretend
like everything was normal. That's when I had the conversation
with my mom, like stop skirting around this. I gave
(29:53):
her the ultimatum. I said, you either believe me and
stand by me and you are in this child's life,
or I can not have a relationship with you anymore.
She just finally straight up. Her reaction was I don't
believe you, and I go okay, and I locked and
that was the last time we've ever spoke, which was
(30:17):
probably the hardest thing, hardest conversation her and I ever had.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
For Taylor, this was the ultimate betrayal.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
I truly believed after we talked in that cafe that
she believed me.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
It was also an incredible loss.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
It was very devastating to think of a world where
I just don't have a mom.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
But Taylor had to protect her child, even if that
meant cutting off her mom.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
And I feel so sorry for her because to this day,
she's financially, emotionally, she's just everything is under the rule
of my dad. She has always been so controlled by
my father, could never have her own opinion. I never
saw her hang out with friends unless they were wives
(31:06):
of my dad's friends. While my dad was hanging out
with his friends. I truly think that there were times
where I was her only friend, and I definitely missed
that friendship, but I also have to do what's right
for my family. Sorry, that wouldn't hit me kind of hard.
(31:30):
It's funny I'm angry about my mom, but I'm just
I'm like mourning the loss of my mom and she's
not even dead. And I get so upset still when
I see my friends and their moms are so involved
with their kids. It's just not fair.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
For a while, this was something Taylor handled privately, but
over time, Taylor felt more empowered to share what happened
to her.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
One day, I was on Facebook and there was just
a post and it was kind of like a meme
style where it said reason number like three hundred and
blah blah blah why abuse victims don't come forward? And
all I did was hit share. I didn't say like, yep,
this happened to me. It was just like resharing a post.
(32:22):
Within seconds, I get a Facebook message and it is
from my older cousin. He's about ten years older than me.
He goes, hey, what's this about.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
It was a cousin she would see once or twice
a year at family events. We'll call him Henry. She
kept it big, told him it was something she was
working through.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
And he responds with, is this about your dad? I
got like a chill down my back and I responded
with yes, with like a bunch of dots, and he
immediately replied with I know this because it happened to
me too. It was like eleven o'clock at night. I'm
(33:09):
in my bedroom. I just start crying, and he proceeds
to tell me that when he was young, around five
years old, my dad sexually abused him, and the exact
same things that he used to say to me. He
said to my cousin, Henry of helping him out. My
(33:34):
cousin said he'd never told anyone because he was so afraid.
We started talking like every other day on the phone
and just sharing experiences and like support for one another.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
It was the first time she felt seen as.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Unfortunate as it was that it happened to both of us.
I felt like I had someone who fully understood what
I went through, believed me, and was equally as angry
as I was in the sense of how much innocence
that this person stole and that I just wasn't alone.
(34:09):
My cousin Henry told his kids, who are in their twenties,
and before he could even say what family member did
something to him. His daughter asked if it was Uncle Taylor,
because I apparently at a family event he had groped
her and told her not to tell me a one
and so this clearly is in an instance where it
(34:31):
was a one off with one kid or another kid,
there could be multiple victims out there.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Even though Taylor wasn't speaking to her mom, Henry took
it upon himself to message her.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
He Facebook messaged her probably a little over a year ago, saying,
when we were living in the Midwest, it was happening
to me my uncle Taylor. I thought it stopped once
we moved away and he wouldn't do it to any
other kid. But Taylor Lynne is not lying, and I
know this goes beyond just us. Never read it, never
(35:05):
responded to him. So there's definitely been attempts, even after
that moment to try to snap her out of it,
and nothing has worked, and I don't think anything will work.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Henry and Taylor took their information to authorities.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
He contacted the state where he lives because the groping
of his daughter happened in that state, and unfortunately they
haven't really paid much attention.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
So at first, she was told the abuse she suffered
would be classified as second degree criminal sexual misconduct and
in her state there's a statute of limitations for that.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
And it's extremely frustrating, but I'm choosing to accept that.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Taylor and her cousin decided to do something together to
symbolize what they went through.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
I got Medusa tattoos recently, so Medusa. The lore is
she was seduced by Poseidon and raped by Poseidon in
Athena's temple, and Athena didn't believe her and chose to
make her a monster. And that definitely spoke to both
(36:21):
of us of just fear of not being believed and
where both in each other's corner, still being there for
each other when there are some dark days, or just
reassurance that it wasn't our fault.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Just recently, the district attorney has decided to re examine
the case. They are reclassifying her abuse as first degree
criminal's sexual misconduct and there are no statute of limitations.
Taylor and Henry hope they might see justice. In the meantime,
She's focused on moving forward and raising her kids in
a safe, happy environment.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I have a career, then I chasing. I don't have time,
nor like the desire at this moment to potentially chase
down a case that has anyone said that they don't
believe me when I know the truth. I also have
three beautiful voys that need all my attention, all of
(37:19):
my love. Right now. I have the best kids in
the world. They are fun, they're smart, they're goofy, and
I know I'm their mom, so I have to say
all of those things.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
She's sad that her mom doesn't get to see her
boys grow up.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I feel sorry for her in the sense that she's
never going to know them and know how amazing they are.
Last week, I got a message from my oldest son's teacher.
He's in first grade. It was interesting fact day and
my son all he knows about my parents is that
they are I just say, you know, they're not very
(37:57):
good people, and so that's why they're not in our lives.
And I haven't elaborated. And my oldest son told his
entire class that my parents are bank robbers and they
stole money from a bank and that's why he doesn't
know them. So I think it's kind of hilarious. The
little kids' minds just are so imaginative, so one day
(38:19):
I'll be able to tell them the real reason, but
for now, they just know that the people who are
in their lives are people who generally love them and
will protect them. And I refuse to have it any
other way.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Throughout this whole experience, She's had the support of her husband.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
I know I have such a great life partner. He
stood by me this entire time, and his family has
stood by me the entire time, and that just has
meant the whole world to me. And he's such a
good dad. He is so fully involved, and we are
building this little family from scratch and starting this new
(38:59):
life I see.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
We end every weekly episode with the same question, why
do you want to share your story?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
The first reason is I think this is a part
of my healing journey first and foremost, and provide myself
some additional closure. A second reason is when I found
out that my cousin Henry had this had happened to him,
there was this sense of I'm not alone, and if
I can give someone else this sense of them not
(39:31):
feeling alone, then I want to be able to do that,
and that's why I'd chosen to say something.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
On the next episode of Betrayal Weekly.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
So we sat down and he was like, he doesn't
believe in NBA, so he's not going to ask for
one of them. And I was just like, what the
hell is going on here? Like what is happening? And
it was like, Oh, do you know what? I think?
I need to tell you a little bit about my
family history.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Before we end the episode. I have some exciting news Betrayal.
We'll be doing our first ever live show as part
of the Virgin Voyage's True Crime Cruise. We'll be answering
listener questions and discussing them live on stage with Stacey
and Tyler from Betrayal season three, as well as Caroline
from season four. So if you have a question for us,
(40:30):
please email us at Betrayalpod at gmail dot com with
the subject line listener question and if you want to
join us on the Caribbean cruise, there are still spots
available search Virgin Voyages dot com slash true crime. If
you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team
or want to tell us your Betrayal story, email us
(40:52):
at Betrayalpod at gmail dot com. That's Betrayal Pod at
gmail dot com, or follow us on Instagram at Betrayal pod.
You can also connect with me on Instagram at It's
Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter, view additional content, and
connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at Betrayal
(41:13):
dot substack dot com. We're grateful 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. A big
thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a
production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group
and partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced
(41:35):
by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by
Me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Monique Leboard, also
produced by Ben Fetterman. Associate producers are Caitlin Golden, Olivia Hewitt,
and Kristin Melcurie. Casting support from Curry Richmond. Our iHeart
team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krincheck. Audio editing and
(41:58):
mixing by Matt Delvecchio. Additional audio editing by Tanner Robbins.
Betrayal's theme composed by Oliver Baines Music Library provided by
mybe Music. And for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Andrea Gunning
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