Betrayal Weekly - No More Secrets | EP 8 | Stacey's Story

Episode Date: July 11, 2024

Justin receives his sentence for plotting to kill Tyler. With the legal proceedings in the rearview mirror, Stacey and Tyler look to the future and lean on their community.   If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at [e-mail]  If you’re a man who has experienced sexual abuse or assault, or you know someone who is seeking support, go to 1in6.org. Find a path to a happier, healthier future. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the, cat just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves.

We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe, on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern.

Two more men who'd been through the same thing. The lesbian. Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues,

Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lori Siegel, and this is mostly human, a tech podcast through a human lens. This week, an interview with OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman.

I think society is going to decide that creators of of AI products bear a tremendous amount of responsibility to the products we put out in the world. An in-depth conversation with a man who's shaping our future. My highest order bit is to not destroy the world with AI. Listen to mostly human on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hi, all, we have some exciting news to share. ABC News Studios has turned Ashley's story from Betrayal Season 2 into a docu series.

You will get to meet the people involved. You will hear from people who have never spoken before. And you get to see where the story took place. We are so proud and excited to share it with you all. You can start streaming it on Hulu on July 30th. Stacey has pulled herself out of a complete nightmare. I can't even imagine finding this out. If it would have been my son, my husband wouldn't be here.

It wouldn't have been no trial. I took care of him myself. I'm Andre Gunning, and this is betrayal. Season 3, Episode 8. No More Secrets. In 1931, the citizens of Reading, Pennsylvania, were upset because their courthouse, originally built in 1840, was going to be demolished. It was to be replaced by a new, more modern building, a huge granite and limestone structure with tall vertical windows. The budget for the new courthouse was $2 million, which is about $43 million in today's money. The building would be 19 stories high in both 16 courtrooms.

It was completed in 1932, and nearly 100 years later, that same Berks County Courthouse stands today. This is where Justin Rutherford would face the final chapter of justice. On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, he would be called to account for criminal solicitation to commit murder in the first degree. It was time to pay for the plot to kill Tyler. In the vastness of the courtroom, Justin looked small. He was dwarfed by the space and by the judge looking down on him from the bench above. It was a stark contrast to Justin's last appearance in court. There were no reporters and no crowds, just rows and rows of empty benches.

There were only four spectators. The prosecutor had irrefutable evidence for her case. A jailhouse informant had assisted law enforcement, and Justin was caught on tape, explaining the best time and method to kill Tyler. It's what one might call a slam dunk. The prosecutor had been hoping to reach a plea agreement, but it appeared that Justin wanted to go to trial. Based on the letters he had sent from jail

and the absurd speeches he had given during his sentencing, I can imagine the fantasy. He'd like a defense attorney to stand up like he's in a TV show and enumerate Justin's many wonderful qualities. He's a great dad. a good provider, loved by his patients. And the judge would say, this is a misunderstood man and a doctor, no less.

This is a miscarriage of justice. Maybe this time, someone would get it. He wanted a trial. He wanted someone to say the words, not guilty. So a few days before the trial, it was looking like he wasn't going to make a plea deal. Until he did. I still had to show up just in case at the last minute he would have threw a Hail Mary and said,

nope, I'm not signing this. I want a trial. The district attorney said that we would have went directly into one. So to my knowledge, all of the witnesses were there. The guy that was the informant, I think he was there. Based on the transcripts, we've reenacted some of the court proceedings from the hearing. Your Honor, we are here in the matter of. of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania versus Justin Rutherford docket 766.

We were listed for jury trial for today. However, the defendant has completed paperwork for a guilty plea today. Stacey, Michaela, and a victim advocate sat behind the prosecutor's table in courtroom 5A. A familiar person sat behind Justin. It was just nanny. She was the only one that went to the first case on his behalf, too. That's just kind of how she is.

I mean, when it comes to him, there's really nothing that she won't do for him. Justin sat in the far corner of the courtroom as prosecutor Meg McCallum laid out the details of the case. Between October 2nd of 2022 and January 17th of 2023, the defendant did solicit an inmate who was also in prison at the Berks County Jail system, who was going to be released from prison prior to the defendant being sentenced. He asked him to kill Tyler, a male juvenile, who is the victim at docket 3752 of 2021, where the defendant did plead guilty and was sentenced for rape of a child and other related offenses. The defendant did have discussions with the inmate describing Tyler and his family's schedules and when it would be best to kill Tyler and methods to kill Tyler.

The defendant provided Tyler's address and a diagram of the home where he lived with his mother and his other siblings. The defendant indicated to the inmate that after the murder was completed, that he should flee to Europe and that he and the defendant would meet up with each other after the defendant was released from prison after his sexual assault case was dismissed, and that the defendant would then provide the inmate with money from a secret bank account. Tyler did not attend this hearing. He had a job and didn't want to return to Pennsylvania and give Justin the satisfaction of seeing him again. Stacey was permitted to make a victim impact statement. She spoke directly to Justin. She let him know how strong her family was and that his crimes didn't break them. He appeared unmoved and vacant.

He looked right through her. Then the judge asked if there was anything the defendant wanted to say. There would be none of the wild statements from the last hearing. This time, Justin's lawyer spoke for him. Yes, Judge, good morning. Mr. Rutherford has written a lot. I'm going to try to read some verbatim and summarize some. His last sentencing kind of went off the rails a little bit.

And I want to try to focus on the sentencing as much as I can. I think this new lawyer was a little bit more sensible considering the first case. and knew that what he wrote up probably was really screwed up because Justin didn't read it. He is amongst probably the more educated defendants you'll find. He was a physician, Your Honor, and a lot of these are not excuses, more mitigation that I'm about to present. And not to excuse his behavior, but Mr. Rutherford was quite mentally ill in jail. The insanity defense is not a possibility, given the clandestine nature and some of the code and some of those things. This could have very well been a guilty but mentally ill sentence.

However, with the current sentence, it's not appropriate. He was on and off medications. And he, you know, did in his letter, and I'll try to read it verbatim. He does accept responsibility for his actions. His lawyer had the paper in front of him, and he kind of would skim over it and be like, yeah, we're not saying that, no. Justin's attorney then pulled out a letter. Justin had written for Stacey.

I read the letter, Judge. I believe it's appropriate. It put simply, what a rocky road. I'm sorry to have put you through this stress. I've allowed myself to be a product of my name. environment. You know that's not the real me. The man who was never violent at home, it's no excuse. I'm just trying to do what's right and what's honest. I know I made mistakes, lots of them, but I hope you will release that grudge. You hold against me. I still pray for you

every night. I'll never stop. Take care. Wish you the best. Justin said those words again. I was never violent at home. Several months in prison had done nothing to enlighten him to the fact that rape is violence. The idea that he was praying for Stacey revealed the arrogance he still possessed. He always has something to say. He always wants to make excuses for his behavior versus taking responsibility for what he did to Tyler. But legally, he had taken responsibility And that's what the prosecutor wanted. It would limit his ability to appeal or change his mind. Your Honor, the Commonwealth made this offer of five to ten years concurrent based on the length

of the sentence that the defendant received at docket 3752 of 2021. I believe that the defendant has now taken responsibility for this. It alleviated the necessity of a trial, which we all know, is often burdensome to everyone. and Miss Rutherford had indicated to me through our multiple discussions that she was okay with that. And so we are asking that your honor go by the agreed upon sentence to bring closure to this family and because he's serving a sentence of 26 years, 10 months at his minimum. He would not even be eligible for parole on his underlying sexual assault charges until he is close to 60. Five to 10 concurrent time meant he would get no.

additional prison time. The judge didn't have to agree to the plea deal. And he let everyone in the courtroom know the only reason he did was because of the length of Justin's sentence for rape and voyeurism convictions. The whole process took half an hour. When it had finished, Stacey asked to meet the informant, Justin's cellmate, who had come forward to report Justin's plan to kill Tyler. I just wanted to thank him for essentially saving my child's life. Had it not been for him coming forward, this would have never been possible. What his crimes were is irrelevant to me. What was relevant was that he saved my child's life.

The prosecutor declined to make that introduction, but she did promise to convey Stacey's gratitude to the informant. It would have to be enough. And with that, after three years, it was all over. They were finally, really done with Justin. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care.

So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network, It's Will Farrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, who. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like,

and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come, look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved.

And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. In 2023, Former Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth. You doctored this particular test twice in so much, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case.

I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian, Michael Marantini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap.

Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at Maricopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice has served in Arizona. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A silver 40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart podcasts and Best Case Studios.

This is Rorschach, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest. Both men were carrying concealed. weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Now everybody in the chamber duct. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots. Those are shots. Get down. A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a

weapon and I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flat down. That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Roershack, murder at City Hall, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. With the legal proceedings in the rearview mirror, Stacey and Tyler are holding their community close. And it might surprise you, some of those closest to them today are members of Justin's family. In previous series, I've seen examples where blood relations take sides. But that has not happened here. They support Stacey and accept that it's Justin who caused all the damage.

Here's Justin's aunt, Nancy. It is extremely hard to accept that the little baby, the little boy I knew, did something like that to another little boy. I just couldn't understand it, and I still can't understand it. Another relative who wishes to remain anonymous, will call her Susan, recalls finding out what happened. I actually threw up because I'm like, what is he doing? Not to mention the first thing, but I don't understand how he came to that point. You're born innocent. How in the world do you get so wired up where you want to kill somebody and playing it out?

He's so arrogant. He wants to actually see me for two hours straight to explain everything. He thinks I'm an idiot. I walk in there, he's going to look at me in eyes and tell me why. I wondered if Nancy thought about seeing Justin and what she would want to say to him. I would ask him why. Tyler's a great kid and I don't understand

why he did that to that little boy what was done to him was wrong I would ask Justin on what planet he thought that was even remotely right and then to hook up cameras what was he thinking I know in his mind

he's justifying this I was in love he was my boyfriend but you and I know that is just plain ass wrong Susan wrestles with going to see Justin in prison. He can't expect he's going to turn me on his side. I can't imagine Tyler lying all these years and then you want to kill him too?

No. I want to see him because I want to say goodbye before something happens to him. Both women have very strong feelings about justice. Stacey has pulled herself out of a complete, nightmare. I can't even imagine finding this out. If it had been my son, my husband wouldn't be here. It wouldn't have been no trial. I took care of him myself. Justin's Aunt Nancy admires Stacey's restraint. Stacey's a stronger person than me. I'd attack him. Yep, when I found out what he did to my child, it would have been all over. I'd have probably been the one in jail.

Susan loves Tyler and has been looking for signs that he's okay. Our last meeting, our last dinner, we have the kids. Me and him talked, and he literally, he got up and gave me a hug, and I said, this is the first time I've seen you smile. So he's going to help somebody. Somebody that's scared to death is going to hear this, and he's not going to be scared anymore, and he's going to think it's okay to go get some help. She is particularly concerned for Stacey's youngest daughter.

Justin's biological child. I'm really worried about her down the future because that's her dad. You're going to have dad and daughter dances. You're going to have school with them bringing their dads. That's going to torment her because someone's going to always ask, where's your dad? And that's going to really be harder as she gets older. But she knows, Stacey is on top of all of it. I'm really proud of Stacey.

She's just going to have a long road. When I visited Stacey and Tyler in West Virginia, I noticed how long it would take to travel a mile. The terrain was so different from what I normally see. My air and B&B was just a mile and a half away, yet it still took 25 minutes to reach Stacey's home. There were winding roads and out-of-the-way passes I had to drive through in the other direction. And I realized it was such a good metaphor for living with betrayal. And the aftermath rebuilding is a process. It takes you in different directions.

It's not linear. For Stacey and Tyler, it's been three years and they've made a lot of progress. But sometimes it doesn't feel like you've traveled very far at all. It's a reminder that when you're climbing a mountain of grief, it just takes time. What grounds you is taking stock of what's around you or in front of you. During those drives winding up and down across the mountain range, we would drive in and out of rainstorms. I would look far out to see light beaming onto the vast pastures in the valley. And I thought of Stacey, Tyler, and their family.

The love they have. The closeness they share. Their laughter and sense of humor. It's unique, beautiful, and rare. It radiates like the light shining down on the valley. Hope while navigating a mountain in a storm. I knew when we wrapped up this story that it wasn't finished. They aren't finished.

But they are going to be okay. I wanted to sit down. with each of them to reflect on the experience of putting their story out there. What was your main purpose for doing this? Just to help people and hopefully reach some man out there that felt like I did and felt alone and let him know he's not. And actually at the start, I mean, I was definitely a little nervous to talk about it. Yeah.

I think it'll always be hard to talk about somewhat, but it also feels relieving. Like you're breaking out of chains. Even Tyler's friends are seeing him differently in a good way. You know, the stigma around boys and how nothing serious. Like, I have this one friend who, when we're hanging out, he's always saying something stupid, doing something stupid. Goofball. Yeah, there we go, a goofball. He was like, you know, we joke around with each other.

But listening to that was crazy because I didn't understand, like, really how it was. So like I've had a few friends come to me and just really open up to me about like how appreciative they were that I did that. Tyler is grateful for the betrayal community. Thank you for listening. Thank everyone for listening. If they made it this far, because I hope if they made it this far, that means they liked it. And I'm glad they stuck to the end because I've even had some relatives tell me it was kind

of hard to listen to and they had to stop it. So I appreciate the people that. wanted to hear my story out and just listen. No one can ever find out my secret because it's not a secret. Stacey, when we first started and when you were thinking about why you would want to do this project, what were the reasons? Like, why did you want to do this? You know, it was really hard for me to find people to relate to. So I felt very much alone.

And when I heard the first two seasons, it, made me feel not so alone. And I wanted to be that for someone else. I also wanted Tyler to heal through this too. I knew that there would be a lot of healing in talking about this for our family and there absolutely has been. I've seen such a huge change in our interaction with each other and how we've handled things. And I wanted that for someone else. I have watched you and your family since we've started working together. And I definitely acknowledge this need and want from you to feel seen. And I think so much of your connection to Justin is this was a person that felt like he saw you.

He felt very seen in that relationship. And the grieving of not having that has been really difficult for you. but the one thing that I just want you to have is I want you to be able to see yourself as an incredible person the way that I see you. I left Boston being like, who wants a ready-made family? I do. I want to be part of Stacey's family. So we reached out to people who wrote in and they have some messages for us. Okay. I haven't heard these. So both of us are listening to this. for the first time.

My name is Anna. I was driving and just kind of going through the episodes. And my fiancé happened to be in the car with me. Tyler was talking about how he ended up coming forward and how he really, really didn't want to do it. And then he ended up deciding to be that voice. And my fiance, he made a comment like, you know, yeah, this happens a lot more than people think.

Later, I couldn't get it out of my mind, that comment he had made. And so we were getting ready for bed, and I asked him about it. I was like, have you ever experienced something like that? He was really, really quiet. And he goes, yeah, like when I was seven, an older cousin was at the house, and some sexual abuse transpired. sometimes something happens and it reminds you

and it all comes rushing back and he said that that was kind of a moment that he had after hearing Tyler tell his story. It was extremely, extremely emotional. I mean, I feel horrible that this person I love so much had to go through this,

but I know he said that talking about it after all this time was like a huge burden off of him. It just made me grateful that he ultimately told me about it. I'm glad that I know this about him and that it's something that

we can now speak about openly. You guys sharing your story truly is life-changing. Something as simple as riding in the car and just listening to it to pass the time. You never know what kind of conversations

it can spark. I just commend you so much for your strength and I cannot say thank you enough. After the break, A male listener shares how Tyler's story has helped him to confront his own past. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same name. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me?

The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. They said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings.

I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there.

Yeah. It would not be... Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In 2023, former bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years-long court battle to prove the truth.

You doctored this particular test twice in someone, correct? I doctored the test won. It took an army of internet detectives to crack the case. I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for. Sunlight's the greatest disinfected. They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alesspian and Michael Marantini.

My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news. at Ameriopa County as Laura Owens has been indicted on fraud charges. This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona.

Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A silver 40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart podcasts and Best Case Studios. This is Worshack, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest. Both men are carrying concealed weapons.

And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Now, everybody in the chambers ducked. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots. Those are shots. Get down. A charismatic politician.

You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a weapon. and I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flatdown. That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Rorschach, murder at City Hall,

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm with Stacey and Tyler for our final episode of Betrayal Season 3 and we're hearing some feedback from listeners. Okay, so here's another one. My name is Strachan. I am from the Houston, Texas area.

It wasn't until I got married, started having some issues, got addicted to pornography and stuff like that. I finally went to talk to a therapist and finally realized as a child that I was assaulted. Going back to when Tyler first opened up about what happened, took me back to when I first had discovered what the root of the problem was. It's uncanny how your memory just unlocks. You hear stories and you wonder, how can that be true? But when you hear it and then all of a sudden you're reliving it, wow, that happened to me.

Wow, he said that exact same thing. And then my wife and I were sitting there one evening and my daughter, who was just finished her junior year of high school, comes in crying. And that's what she told us that she had been assaulted by my father. I worshipped at me. You know, the rage I had, finding out that it happened to her, the anger came back and said,

I know exactly what you're going through, and she said, how? And I told her what happened to me. Tyler spoke to him in court, talking about how stone-faced he was. He decided to speak on the fly without having anything written down. That's kind of how I felt when they sentenced my dad. I was saying, I'm not going to speak because I'm afraid I'm going to jump over the wall and attack them. I said, no, I need to say something. I remember saying, you may have thought you broke her.

I guarantee you she's going to come back stronger than she's ever been. You've broken me more than you've broken her, but I'm not going to let you win. Tell Tyler I'm proud of him. I know it's not easy to come forward. It takes a lot of courage to do that. And Stacey, from a parent's perspective, it's not your fault. You know, we can blame ourselves and ask ourselves, what did we do wrong? Where did we go wrong?

How could we not have known? All we can do is love each other, help each other, be there for each other. As hard it is to listen to, it helps those of us who've been. been through it, find more ways to go, and lets us know that we're not the only ones out there. So thank you. I almost brought some tears of joy out or something. It's nice to hear more men talking, too, especially. Tyler has always just wanted to be that for somebody.

And I feel like this gives him that feeling of having a purpose and reaching people. that's been one of the most amazing things I think I've seen through this is see him realize that what happened to him was not his fault and that it does not define him or his success or his purpose. And I think it's just amazing to see that a man reached out. And there was one more. My name is Kristen and I am from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I basically almost experienced the same thing that Stacy did. My ex-husband committed a crime as well to my daughter.

I was two months pregnant when I found out. I really struggled with feeling like I should have known and how could I not know, but Stacey really talked about how she had no idea and there was no signs for her as well. And she talked about how well her husband, was as a father. That is something I have often said,

how I feel ashamed or guilty, that I miss what was so great about our relationship. And I hate that I feel that way. I don't want to think about it or miss him at all, but it made me feel a whole lot better that she feels the same way she understands. It definitely gave me some relief that I'm not bad for feeling that way.

The biggest reason I wanted to reach out, because I wanted to thank Stacey and Tyler for being brave enough to talk about their story. I feel like I've been hiding my story and I haven't wanted to talk to anybody about it because I feel so ashamed. But after hearing their story, I feel a whole lot better like I actually can talk about it, especially at night. It's hard to go to sleep and be in my thoughts, but my routine now was to constantly just turn on the podcast and listen to them and it was it felt like a form of therapy like I could talk to somebody else and not feel alone so I'm I'm very thankful for them sharing their story it has definitely helped me a lot you can beat yourself up about that kind of stuff but I choose to focus on the people out there

who are going to hear our voices and who are going to be set free from things because of Tyler and the braveness of sharing your story because it's it's not easy to put yourself out there for the world. It feels absolutely amazing to know that there's someone out there who doesn't feel so alone anymore because I know that feeling so well. Every time I've worked with, you know, when I've worked with Jen, when I've worked with Ashley, you know, just through getting to know them and their families, I've walked away with different takeaways of what I love and I adore about each individual person. And I just see really great women in really unfortunate circumstances. And for you, I just want you to give yourself some grace, and I want you to love yourself because you are so lovable.

Thank you. I'm proud of all the work you're doing. That means a lot. If you're a man who has experienced sexual abuse or assault or you know someone who is seeking support, go to one in six.org. That's the number one, I-N-6.org. find a path to a happier, healthier future. If you would like to reach out to the betrayal team, email us at BetrayalPod at Gmail.com. That's Betrayal P-O-D at Gmail.com.

Also, please be sure to follow us at Glass Podcasts on Instagram for all Betrayal content, news, and updates. 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 along. way. A 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 is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fasen. Posted and produced by me, Andrea Gunning, written and produced by

Carrie Hartman, also produced by Ben Federman and Trey Morgan. Associate producers are Kristen Mulcure and Caitlin Golden. Our IHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Kreinschuk, voice acting, by Trey Morgan and S.D. Miller. Special thanks to Stacey Rutherford, Tyler, and the rest of Stacey and Tyler's friends and family. Audio editing and mixing by Matt Zovecchio. Editing support from Nico Aruka, the Trails theme composed by Oliver Baines, music library provided by Mib Music. And for more podcasts from IHeart, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's. Will Ferrell. Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be. Right.

It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice in so much, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern.

Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lori Siegel, and this is mostly human, a tech podcast through a human lens. This week, an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. I think society is going to decide that creators of AI products bear a tremendous amount of responsibility to the products we put out in the world. An in-depth conversation with a man who's shaping our future. My highest order bit is to not destroy the world with AI. Listen to Mostly Human on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.