September 10th 2023.
They looked the perfect family. Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau, married for 10 years, sat with their grown daughters as they recounted their "extraordinary" relationship in a 2015 exclusive interview with American TV titan Barbara Walters.
The couple's relationship was extraordinary for all the wrong reasons. They had grown close when Vili was just 12 and Mary Kay was in her thirties, teaching him in the sixth grade. Within months they had embarked on a sexual relationship.
News of the Washington state-based scandal shocked the world, leaving people reeling at the thought that a 34-year-old, middle-class, married mother-of-four was capable of committing such a horrific crime.
Rewind to September 1996 and Vili's sixth-grade classroom at Shorewood Elementary School in Washington, where Mary Kay was his teacher. She had already taught him as an eight-year-old, and remembered a special connection between them.
‘There was a respect, an insight, a spirit, and understanding between us that grew over time,’ Mary Kay told The Seattle Times in July 1997.
In their sixth-grade year, Mary Kay noticed Vili was a gifted artist and began spending time with him outside the classroom to develop his skills. Vili even visited her home, becoming friendly with her husband Steve and four children. He was especially close with her eldest son, Steven Jr., who was only a year younger than him.
When the school year ended, the teacher and student went to dinner and had sex for the first time, even though Mary Kay had promised herself 'it wouldn’t happen before her divorce' with then-husband Steve.
The incident was late at night, and 'it didn’t stop with a kiss', Mary Kay recalled in the 2015 interview with Walters.
In the summer of 1996, police discovered Vili and Mary Kay in a minivan, but they were released after claiming there was no improper conduct.
Little did they know that Mary Kay was pregnant with the schoolboy’s baby. She broke the news to her best friend, Michelle Lobdell, over the phone.
‘I have some news and this is difficult, I’m pregnant and it’s not Steve’s,’ she told her friend.
Soon after, Steve found love letters between his wife and her student, and threatened to tell Vili’s family about their relationship if he didn’t end it.
On 4 March, 1997, Mary Kay was arrested for second-degree child rape, and released on bail. She went on to have her daughter Audrey in May with Vili as the father.
At her trial three months after the birth, Mary Kay pled guilty to child rape in exchange for a three-month jail sentence and probation.
At her 1998 hearing in Seattle, she was re-sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail for violating her parole, saying ‘It was wrong, and I am sorry’. Her request was approved, with the condition Mary Kay had no further contact with Vili.
Despite Mary Kay going to jail for second-degree child rape and giving birth behind bars, the couple steadfastly refused to give up on their relationship.
Vili, now 40, is set to become a grandparent for the first time, after the couple’s youngest daughter, Georgia, posted on Instagram about expecting a baby boy in January. Vili also had a third daughter, Sophia, in 2022.
The couple’s eldest daughter Audrey has also just announced she is going to have a baby.
But through all these extraordinary twists and turns, it is clear that Mary Kay and Vili's story of love and resilience is far from over.
They looked the perfect family. Married for 10 years and sat with their grown daughters, Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau smiled as they recounted their ‘extraordinary’ relationship, in a 2015 widely-watched exclusive with American TV titan Barbara Walters.
However, the couple’s relationship was extraordinary for all the wrong reasons. They had become close when Vili was just 12, and Mary Kay, then in her thirties, was his teacher. Within months they had embarked on a sexual relationship.
Rewind to September 1996. A 12-year-old Vili entered his sixth-grade classroom at Shorewood Elementary School in Washington, settling in for a year of learning. He recognized Mary Kay, as she had also taught him in second grade, when he was just eight.
‘There was a respect, an insight, a spirit, and understanding between us that grew over time,’ she told The Seattle Times in July 1997, as she recalled that first time teaching him. ‘It was the kind of feeling you have with a brother or sister – a feeling that they’re part of your life forever.’
As she once again tutored Vili four years later, Mary Kay clocked that the boy was a gifted artist, and began spending time with him outside of the classroom to develop his skills. Vili even visited her home, becoming friendly with Mary Kay’s husband Steve and four children. He became especially close with her eldest son, Steven Jr., who was only a year younger than him.
When the school year ended, the teacher and student had gone to dinner when the pair first had sex, even though in a book the pair authored, Mary Kay wrote she had ‘promised’ herself ‘it wouldn’t happen before her divorce with then-husband Steve.’
Mary Kay broke the news of her pregnancy to her best friend, Michelle Lobdell on the phone. ‘I have some news and this is difficult,’ she told her friend. ‘I’m pregnant and it’s not Steve’s.’ Lobdell said in an interview with the New York Post that it ‘was a shocking moment’ and that Mary Kay made it out that the father was a college-aged student. ‘She didn’t tell me he was 12.’
Steve Letourneau, Mary Kay’s then-husband was rifling through papers in early 1997 when he found love letters between his wife and her student. Confronting the teenager over them, he threatened to tell Vili’s family about their sordid relationship if he didn’t end it.
In the autumn of 1996, Mary Kay found out she was pregnant with the schoolboy’s baby. She was arrested in 1997 after she became pregnant with Vili’s child. She later pleaded guilty to second-degree child rape.
At her trial three months after the birth, Mary Kay pled guilty to child rape in exchange for a three-month jail sentence and probation. However, at the teacher’s 1998 hearing in Seattle, she was re-sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail for violating her parole.
‘It was wrong, and I am sorry,’ she said in the hearing. ‘I give you my word it will not happen again.’
Despite Mary Kay going to jail for second-degree child rape – and giving birth behind bars – the couple steadfastly refused to give up on their relationship. Now the family – and their story – are back in the news again, after the couple’s youngest daughter, Georgia, has posted on Instagram about expecting a baby boy in January. Vili, 40, who had a third daughter, Sophia, in 2022, is set to become a grandparent for the first time – but without Mary Kay by his side. The couple’s eldest daughter Audrey has just announced she is going to have a baby.
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