Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and Vili Fualaau are infamous for having one of the most scandalous and scrutinized relationships in recent years. It has now been over two decades since Mary Kay first started a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student. Can you believe that? She served a 7 and a half yearlong jail sentence before she was released. She quickly married her lover and now the couple has two teenage daughters who are all grown up. Want to know what happened and what their daughters think about it all? Read on to find out:
First Encounter
Mary Kay Letourneau Faulaau was married with 4 kids when she first met her previous student, Vili Fualaau. He was just one of the students in her second-grade class in Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Washington. Faulaau was born in 1983.
First Encounter
It Started Slow
Mary Kay stated in an interview, “While he was a student, there wasn’t any relationship between us that was crossing any lines, at least not on my part.” She continued to explain, “I do remember I felt he was crossing a line. I could tell he was looking at me, I said, ‘I’m not meeting those eyes, those are scary right?’ Oh no, that can never be acknowledged.”
It Started Slow
Wrong Timing
Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau proceeded with caution. While she had strong feelings for Vili, she held back until he “cornered” her and expressed his love. She recalled, “I said, can you hold that for a long, long, long time? Can you hold that?” She wanted to make sure it was just as real for him as it was for her. “And I guess what I meant was that, I kinda like you too. But it’s not OK right now. I thought I said the right thing. I guess not.”
Wrong Timing
Tight Bond
So, Mary was Vili’s sixth-grade teacher back in 1996 and by the end of the school year, the two formed a tight bond. Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau was 34 years old and married with four kids while Vili was just 12.
Tight Bond
First Kiss
The story doesn’t stop there of course. In the summer of 1996, both Mary Kay and Vili attended the same community college. They began spending more and more time together. Vili stated, “We went out to eat and then after we ate, we were in the car and all I could think about was kissing her.” He continued, “I asked her, ‘What would you do if I came over and gave you a kiss?’ She said something like only a coward would ask. That was my green light to give her a kiss and that’s what I did.”
First Kiss
Not Holding Back Anymore
Mary shamefully admitted, “Back in the day, I accepted the kiss. I did.” She explained, “But he wasn’t my student when that happened. For some reason, the kiss seemed very right. Maybe I am just naive in that area of life. Maybe it could have stayed just a kiss. I always thought, what if it could have.”
Not Holding Back Anymore
They Became Intimate
The two then became intimate with each other in Mary Kay’s home when her husband, Steve, was out of town. “We were watching a movie and everyone had gone to bed and I asked if she could stay with me until I fall asleep,” Vili said. “We’ve already had kissed, on the couch cuddling and one thing kind of led to another and that was that. I had never had actual intercourse before. That was my actual first.”
Mary And Her First Husband Steve
Caught Cheating
The two developed a strong connection and began a controversial romantic affair. Everything came crashing down when Mary Kay’s first husband, Steve Letourneau, found out. Can you even imagine?
Caught Cheating
Confrontation Ensued
When Steve Letourneau first found out about the affair, he threatened Vili. “He came to my house and confronted me about it and told me if I don’t want my mom knowing about this or anyone knowing about this, it was going to end,” Vili explained in an interview. “I was worried about everything, about Mary, myself and I said OK, I don’t want this to get out anywhere. The fear of my mom’s reaction and the thought of everyone being affected by it was one of my biggest fears, so I said, for the better of everyone, OK. It was kind of devastating.”
Confrontation Ensued
Steve Filed For Divorce
Steve Letourneau was angry, shocked, and disgusted. He quickly met with a divorce attorney for advice. Mary recalls him saying, “I just met with our divorce attorney and guess what, you can be charged with a crime, did you know that?'” She remembers replying, “I said there’s just no way, no, its not possible.”
Steve Filed For Divorce
Criminal Behavior
Unfortunately, it was a crime. She was arrested in March of 1997 after a relative of Steve reported the incident to the police. It was impossible to hide or deny any accusations because Mary Kay was pregnant.
Criminal Behavior
She Pled Guilty
Mary Kay Letourneau pled guilty and was quickly convicted of two counts of second-degree child rape. She gave birth to her first child with Vili while awaiting the conclusion of her trial. It was a girl.
She Pled Guilty
Audrey
The two decided to name their first daughter Audrey. Mary was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 3 years of sex offender rehabilitation after pleading guilty to two counts of child rape.
Audrey
Plea Bargain
Mary Kay Letourneau negotiated a plea bargain and only spent 80 days in bars. As part of her plea deal, she agreed to totally stay away from Vili. She didn’t.
Plea Bargain
Arrested…Again
Mary Kay was arrested again in February 1998 after the two were caught together in a car. Mary was the one who initiated contact again. “Of course I wanted to see him, he’s the father of my newborn child. I love him and he was waiting for my call,” she explained.
Arrested…Again
Another Child
But it wasn’t just Mary Kay that wanted to keep the flame burning. “He just really insisted — he’s an insistent person, he certainly is,” she said. Before she was arrested again, Mary Kay became pregnant with their second child.
Another Child
Caught Red Handed
Vili recalls, “I was pretty upset that I didn’t get to say goodbye.” “She was going away for a long time and I didn’t know if I was going to ever see her again,” he continued. The police found baby clothes, passports, and $6,200 in cash inside the car.
Caught Red Handed
7 & 1/2 Years
After being caught in a car together while she was on parole, Mary Kay Letourneau was sentenced to seven and a half years for violating the terms of her probation. “They said, what about prison, is it horrible? Of course, it’s supposed to be,” she stated. “It’s supposed to be a deprivation place. My children call it the far away place, ‘Mommy’s at the far away place.’ It’s not a good place to be for a woman. You really have to have the discipline to stay entirely healthy, but it’s a community in there. Inside those walls.”
7 A Half Years
Secret Messages
While Vili and Mary Kay were supposed to cease communication, they continued their relationship. They found sneaky ways to stay connected while Mary Kay was behind bars. Vili said with a laugh, “I got some good behavior time … I lost some time too, apparently for sending messages out on breastmilk bottles.” He added, “She communicated with codes that we had shared with each other on breastmilk … little number codes.”
Secret Messages
Georgia
While serving her sentence, Letourneau gave birth to her second daughter with Vili. Georgia Letourneau was born in October of 1998.
Georgia
Only One Crime, Love
The same year that Georgia was born, Vili and Mary Kay decided to co-author a book called “Only One Crime, Love.” It was published and first released in France in 1998. The two released a second book in 1999.
Only One Crime Love
They Made It Official
Mary Kay Letourneau was released from jail in 2004 and tied the knot pretty quickly with Vili. She said, “Probably why I looked so forward to getting married is because I already knew what kind of father he was … just knowing his personality and how invested he was in being a father.” The two were married on May 20, 2005. Vili was now 21 years old. The ceremony was held in Woodinville, Washington at the Columbia Winery. The couple allowed Entertainment Tonight to have exclusive access to their wedding.
They Made It Official
Barbara Walters Interview
The scandalous couple was interviewed as a part of a TV series Barbara Walters hosted called “American Scandals” in 2015. Barbara Walters interviewed the couple about their relationship, legal battles, and their two now-teenage daughters. Mary Kay raised some eyebrows in the interview by stating she wants to be taken off the sex offender registry and teach children again. She told Barbara Walters, “Recently I said, ‘It’s been 10 years, why don’t I lift that?'” She continued, “There’s a process, there’s a form, you take it to court and then they grant it if it looks like it should be granted.”
Barbara Walters Interview
Trouble In Paradise
While Vili and Mary appear to have no issues and a solid relationship, Vili did file for separation in May of 2017 after 12 years of marriage. He refused to comment about it and actually withdrew the separation filing a few days later. The two underwent counseling and worked out their problems. Mary stated openly, “There is a labor in love, just saying.” She continued, “Anyone that’s making love work in a marriage, it’s work.”
Trouble In Paradise
13th Anniversary
Mary Kay is now 56, and Vili is 34. The two are still together, married, and are about to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary. Their two daughters are now older than Vili was when the infamous affair began. Their oldest daughter, Audrey, just celebrated her 24th birthday on May 29th. Georgia will turn 23 in October. How time flies!
13th Anniversary
A Family Affair
“Mary and I both told them the story probably once a year,” Vili said in an interview. “I don’t think they understood at the time, they just looked at us both as that’s mommy, that’s daddy. I don’t think they clearly understood why there were cameras around. But now that they are of age, they graduated, they got a clear picture of what happened.”
A Family Affair
All Grown Up
Mary Kay and Vili’s daughters are all grown up and absolutely stunning. Vili has no hesitation about giving them dating advice. He doesn’t want them to date when they are too young. “The reason for me telling them [not to have boyfriends] was just from, out of experience,” Vili stated. “A relationship could lead to something that you think you wanted back then. You don’t really want it, maybe, years later.”
All Grown Up
So, Where Are They Now?
Vili Fualaau is currently working as a DJ and hopes to go back to school and May Kay isn’t currently working. Her children from her first marriage are in their late 20s and early 30s. Vili has been open that he feels little weird having stepchildren so close to his age. He said in the 2015 interview with Barbara Walters, “It’s an awkward feeling, for sure, to be close in age with someone [who is] technically your stepson or stepdaughter.”
So Where Are They Now@
Still Making It Work
Vili and Mary Kay are still living together and married. A friend close to them stated they believe they will stay together but are “working on their problems.” The friend also said, “Mary’s hopeful. She loves Vili. There’s absolutely no question about that.”
Still Making It Work
What About Mary’s First Husband?
Mary’s husband, Steve, was the first one to find out about the affair back in 1997. He quickly filed for divorce and got custody of their four children. He is currently working for Alaskan Airlines and may be planning to marry his current girlfriend. A source told Radar Online, “He has little communication with Mary Kay. But he’s gotten on with his life and everything is positive. He is a wonderful man and father. None of the kids have turned out bad and he did it all on his own. Steven is a wonderful, hardworking man. He’s always provided and care for his family.” When he was questioned about Mary Kay and Vili, he told PEOPLE magazine, “I’ve moved on and I have nothing to say.”
What About Marys First Husband@