Latest / Legally Brunette / Killer Thriller: Jana Kramer Life Imitates Art - A Relationship Turned Violent, Shocking Betrayals and Gaslighting.

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Killer Thriller: Jana Kramer Life Imitates Art - A Relationship Turned Violent, Shocking Betrayals and Gaslighting. · Legally Brunette

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Amy Roboc and TJ.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Holmes present Killer Thriller with your host Alisa Donovan. Hey, everyone,
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Alisa Donovan here, and this is Killer Thriller Today. We're
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: talking about a true story that is absolutely chilling because
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: it starts in a place where many people naturally feel safe,
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: inside a marriage gas lit by my husband. The Morgan
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Metzer's Story tells the real life story of Morgan Metz Her,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: a woman whose husband began abusing her both physically and mentally,
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: and refused to let go even after she left him,
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: faked cancer, threatening messages, psychological warfare, and then in the
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: middle of the night, a masked intruder breaks into her home,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: beats her, sexually assaults her, and leaves her tied up.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Outside the twist. Police would eventually.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Discover that the terrified stranger Morgan feared was allegedly her
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: own ex husband.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: All along, It is a doozy.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Jana Kramer stars as Morgan in the film and is
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: also an executive producer on the project.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Jana, thank you so much for being here today with me.
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, of course, I just love you so
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: thank you for having me.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: I am a very big fan of yours also, And
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: this movie is it's very very very powerful, and it's
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: very very very well done. So I really appreciate you
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: spending this time today to talk about it. So this
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: story is so upsetting for every reason, but especially because
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: it's not just about this one attack in this one event.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: It's long.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: It's a long, twisted psychological campaign that this man did
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: to his wife. So what was your first reaction when
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: you read what Morgan's husband allegedly put her through.
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I love working with Lifetime, and I
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: started to find my voice in some of the conversations
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: and then telling them the kind of movies that I
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: want to make, the movies that I relate to, that
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: I'm passionate about. And you know, I said, I'm a
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: DV survivor and I would like to work and do
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: movies around that and empowering women, helping helping other women
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: find their voice in these situations. And I remember the
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: President saying of Lifetime at the time, she's like, we
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: actually came across a story that is wild and it's
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: very big on gaslighting and not knowing your reality. And
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: she's like, you know, I'm going to send you the script,
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: and I remember reading it just being like seeing the
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: similarities too, and not just within my story, but in
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: all the you know, victims survivor stories that I've heard,
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: you know, just it has that same note of am
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: I the crazy one? And do I deserve this? I
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: must deserve this, And it's just kind of you know,
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: reading the script and then you know, speaking to Morgan
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: as well, hearing more of her story, and then just
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: the years of abuse, and that's the piece too. It's like, yes,
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: the physical abuse is terrible and it's awful, but it's
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: the years of the mental abuse that just breaks down
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: you know that woman sometimes men as well, but of
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: just really not knowing your reality and then being kind
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: of stuck in the like losing your voice in it.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: And it's just wild. I mean, to have your own
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: husband stage this, you know, abuse and then coming to
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: the rescue like the hero baking cancer. I mean, just
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: all of it is just so sick.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: It's it's fiercely sick.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: And that part to the title gas Lit by my
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Husband obviously refers to all of that, how she questions
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: her own reality and how you know, he blames her
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: for everything that happens in her marriage and can you
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: do you know how long that she went through that
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: and how long she was putting up with fit before
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: she yeah said I want out.
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: I mean she they were high school sweethearts, and you
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: know they talked a little bit on that, but you know,
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: she would say there were signs along the way.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Of course, rightly.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: I think that's one of the things that's hard is
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: we see the signs, but we go, oh, that's just
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: them maybe having too much to drink, or we make
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: excuses for their behavior.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: I mean we all can fall into that paturn very easily.
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: And with her, you know, losing Kevin their their child,
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: and that's something too. I actually just texted her because
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: I'm like, girl, we made it, you know, to number
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: three and the movies on Netflix, and she's just like, oh,
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: my gosh, this is amazing. She's like, Kevin actually would
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: have been fifteen today. So you know, I was like,
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: oh Kevin, my gosh, I know, sweet Kevin. So it's
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: just you know, when you lose I've never lost a baby,
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: so I I don't know this piece, and I pray
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: I never have to feel this piece. But there's that strain,
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: and you know, she said that also affected him too,
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: you know, and so things progressively got worse within that
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: and but really it is the words that kept getting
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: worse and worse. And that's where the doubting of like
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: am I crazy? What is wrong with me? And then
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: you know, once you become a mom, it's really hard
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: to get out.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Yes, you know, it's difficult.
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: That's the moment where you're just and that's you know,
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: so many people are like, oh, he's treating you this way,
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: how come you can't get out? It's like, what, I
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: have to protect my kids too in this, and you
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: want to.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Maintain some ormalcy for them, the family unit, and yeah,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: all of those like there the separate getting out of
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: something like that is so complicated, even when there isn't
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: something violent happening, even if it's just not working, you know,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: it's it's so complex.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but it's a slow burn with men like that,
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: you know. And then that's what just makes the woman
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: go crazy.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Right, So do you speak to her often?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Then?
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: You guys just were texting, I love this well.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: I just wanted to congratulate her. But also it's you know,
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: she shared a very this is her, this is her
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: true life, you know, this is her life and this
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: is sr true story. So I remember speaking to her
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: before filming the movie because there was a few pieces
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: that I wanted to make sure, you know, I wanted
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: to know how, you know, how she acted in this
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: or how she felt in this, so I could bring
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: pieces of that of her into the movie. And one
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: of the pieces that I didn't do, though, was the
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: court room scene. She said that she didn't shed one
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: tear and that she just stayed really strong, which is amazing.
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: And I told the director, I said, hey, I talked
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: to Morgan about the courtroom scene, and I said, I'm
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: going to have a really hard time not crying because
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: I never got to speak to my abuser in court.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: When we went to our like hearing, I was on
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: the stand and I said my piece, but I never
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: got to speak directly to him. And I said, you know,
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: I've there's a piece of me that needs that. I
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: wish I would have had that healing moment. I said, So,
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: I'm really I want to honor Morgan and I want
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: to not cry and be really strong ago but my
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: own past is coming up and I don't know how
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: I'm going to be able to not like have that
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: emotion because so much of this story and being abused
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: and TV it's like, you know, again, I'm trying to
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: really like keep it Morgan, but unfortunately this there's pieces
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: in my past. And the director was like, she goes,
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: She's like, don't. She's like, it's sweet that you want
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: to honor Morgan in this piece of it. She's like,
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: but I need you to go up there and just feel, however,
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: like you would feel in this moment.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: So that's where it was like, we did one take
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: and it was she was like, that's that's it. And
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: so that was the one part where I got so
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: much healing selfishly in that moment too. And so you know,
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: I did text Morgan after that. We texted after the
• 8:27
  Speaker 4: movie premiered on Lifetime and then with it going number
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: three on the you know, top ten of Netflix, I
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: just text her and I said, Hey, I'm really proud
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: of you for sharing your story. You know, congrats, you know,
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: for being top three. I said, I know this is
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: probably a painful lens again to have it spotlight spotlighted,
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: but I said at the same time, I said, you're
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: helping so many women maybe see the crazy making in
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: their own relationship and so just you know, to try
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: to highlight, congratulate and say I'm sorry and be like,
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: but you're helping people.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like, you know, so much of what
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: happens on this podcast is obviously talking about very difficult
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: things and traumatic things that have happened to people, to
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: real human beings.
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: And I'm always so moved by.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: People's ability to turn their trauma into something that is useful,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: you know, like we can't. We don't often get to
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: choose some things that happen to us, but we do
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: get to choose what we do with them. And I
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: think it's so courageous for with that both of you
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: doing this and you know, giving voice and not hiding
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: these things because there's still you know, I think people
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: need to understand how difficult that is. And you know,
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: I really admire that you are able to talk about
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: your past and would you mind just sharing what your
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: experience was, what happened to you?
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah? Sure?
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: And you know, and she said, well, when I texted her,
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: there was this is she goes, it's so crazy, this
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: is insane. I actually rewatched it last night. I've only
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: seen it twice now. It was a little emotional, but
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: also very inspiring, and then I just said, how are
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: your kids? But yeah, then she said Kevin would have
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: been fifteen yesterday. So it's just crazy too, like on
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: his birthday they released it on Netflix. I don't know,
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: it's just there's so many threads in that too, you know,
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: yeah wild. But yeah, So for me, I met my
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: abuser when I was nineteen in Los Angeles and he
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: was a lot older than I was, but he was
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: the most charming man, and I really I just got
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: stuck in such an unhealthy relationship. I made a really
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: stupid mistake. I went to Vegas and married him after
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: only two weeks of knowing him, and I didn't then
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: know how to get out of that. You know, he
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: had disappeared for a while. He said his dad died.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: His dad never died. I was doing a movie in Romania.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: I got really sick. He took care of me once
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: he you know, came back from his dad dying, which
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: again he didn't never died. And you know, I was like, okay,
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: let's just kind of table the marriage thing. Let me
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: just just date. I'd like to get to know you,
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: and and from there it was. It started with a
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: lot of body comments. I was over I was not overweight.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: I was heavier than I was. I was about thirty
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: pounds heavier, and he would, you know, call me fat,
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: and he would. He started to really just kind of
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: tear my confidence down. And then it was a push
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: to a shove, to choking, to alienating me from friends.
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: He kicked me out of the place we were living
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: in a lot of choking, a lot of hitting, and
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: I just did not know how to get out. I
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: was too ashamed to tell anyone that I married this man.
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: And how could I tell my family that I married
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: some man I didn't even know at the time. You know,
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: he said he was influential in the entertainment world. He
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: said he would ruin my career, and I didn't want
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: that to happen. So I just continued to stay in
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: this abusive pattern. And but it was always my fault.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: It was because I you know, I remember I got
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: beat up because I bought milk and we didn't have
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: enough money to buy milk. Or it was that I
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: had bought tilan a because I had a headache, and
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: you know, he would beat me for that, and the
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: stairwell of the arch Stone apartments because I bought tilan all,
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: but it was always a well you were bad and
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: you know you deserve this right, and then yeah, it
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: was I mean it was awful. And that went on
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: for a little over a year, and then, you know,
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: one of the nights he tried to he said he
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: was going to kill me. He was going to get
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: his gun and kill me. I ended up hiding, going
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: to a neighbor's house, calling the cops. But I he'd
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: sent me a picture of my dogs on the four
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: or five freeway and he said, if you don't come home,
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: I'm an to release the dogs on the expressway or
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: on the freeway. And so I went back to you
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: know the place, said I was sorry, was with him
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: that night, like you know, intimate with it. I mean,
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: it's just wild, how you know, the they just make
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: you feel like it's all your faults. And I was pleading,
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: I'm so sorry. And then a couple of weeks later,
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: it happened again and he said he was gonna kill me,
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: and then he left. I thought he had gone, and
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: then I just like screamed for my friend that was
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: in the guest room and or the guest house, and
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: then I ran out and I saw him he had
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: his hand behind his back, and I was like, oh
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: my god, he's going to kill me.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: This is it.
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: And I just started like pleading like please, no, please
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: know and he put a rock in front of the
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: gate and threw me under the ground started beating me up.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: And then he had put his hand to my temple
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: and I realized it was just his hand, that it
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: wasn't a gun. So I'm like, okay, he doesn't have
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: a gun, but it was I mean, just choking. I
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: was trying to like gouge his eyes or just try
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: to like, you know, I had one like free arm.
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: I've got scrapes on my arm. I have a little
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: dent on my left shoulder from trying to get out
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: from under this man. And and yeah, and he I
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: just remember seeing I screamed out. One time I had
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: was able to like breathe. I just had my mom
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: like please know my mom, and he was you know
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: this is actually in the police recording, but he was
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: like your mom.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: And I just saw my funeral.
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: I saw my grandpa, I saw who's dead where I
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: prayed to him. I said, please make it so bad
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: that I have to leave, you know, because I just
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: didn't know how to get out. I was like, please
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: just make it so bad that I have no choice
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: but to leave. And yeah, and then he the next thing,
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: I know, like I so I had like, was there
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: no one around? You were in This was like three
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: in the morning. It was a house and wooden net
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: cut off of one net cut in Woodland Hills, Oh okay,
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: and my best friend Lisa was like in the guest house.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: But at this point, I mean I could was a
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: barely could scream, you know, and every time I could,
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: I'm like down the driveway and it was a really
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: long driveway and and yeah, and then he was just
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: choking me. And I believe that I just kind of
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: like lost like consciousness in that moment, and he probably
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: thought that I died or something, but I think I
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: just from like the hyperventilating, like passed out. And then
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: when I was gone, he was he was away. I
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: called nine one one, and that's when the cops came,
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: and they put out a warrant for his rest. They
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: saw all the text messages, you know, saying that he
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: was going to kill me and the whole thing, and
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: then they put out a warrant for his arrest.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: So oh, my god.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: First of all, I just I'm incredibly sorry that that
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: happened to you, and I'm really really so glad to
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: see you sitting here today and healthy and away from him. So,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: but doing this movie must have been I mean, there
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: are so many parallels. It was so many things like
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: how was that for you?
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: It was really hard.
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: I talked to my therapist about it, and I said,
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: I said, I have two fears. I said, the one
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: fear is I said, I've been dealing with this and
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: doing therapy and post traumatic stress, you know, all the
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: things ZMDR. I have movements like taking medication because I
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: couldn't leave. I was so afraid to be out in
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: public because I was afraid I was he was going
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: to be there, even though I knew he was in prison,
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: but I was still always afraid of him. And you know,
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: so I numbed myself on Zola for a long time
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: just because that was the only way that I was
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: able to like get out of the house. And then
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: I was on lexipro and then you know, but for
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: this movie, I said, I'm afraid, what if I have
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: no emotion because I've just completely boxed it away. Yeah,
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: and then I said, and then what if I can't
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: control my emotion too, you know where it's just comes
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: back and then it retriggers everything in my body and
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: it's like I don't know what to do. And I
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: I remember the attack scene and I told Austin, and
• 17:28
  Speaker 4: I'm so glad it was Austin because I love him
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: like he is. He was my scene partner in One
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: Tree Hill, and I just like I felt so protected
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: in him. But it was the moment when he was
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: on top of me, and that's like in any instance,
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: like if someone's like too on top of me, I
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: get that, like get the thought like I'm like get
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: off of me, like and I got that. And there
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: was a scene where he put the pillow over my
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: over my face and I felt like I couldn't breathe
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: again and I I lost it. I mean I I
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: and I pushed him off me so and he was like,
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: I'm so sorry, and I was like no, and then
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: but I went outside and I just started bawling in
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: the director and I was like, I'm sorry. It just
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: like it hit the chord and it was too close
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: to home, like I just need a minute. And it
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: was so it was really tough and you know, I'm
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: thankful that my very healthy, supportive husband was you know,
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: there with me, and it was just an amazing support
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: for the movie. My therapist, you know, I had a
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: few calls with her, but I kept circling back to
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: why am I telling the story? And through it? You know,
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: I told Morgan this too. I said, through your story,
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: I was able to get so much healing that I
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: didn't even know I needed to heal from. I thought
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: all the years of therapy was enough, and I said,
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: but it wasn't until I finished this because I found
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: my voice again through it, I was able to fight
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: Austin back, and you know, like he was like I
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: got to fight back, get power and then stand in
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: front of him and go no, like like I'm I
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: am stronger in this moment. And that's where that courtroom
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: scene I said, thank you. It was my thank you
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: to him, being like you didn't kill my soul, Like,
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: thank you for giving me a purpose you know in this.
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: You know we didn't have kids together, but he gave
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: me this purpose to be able to help other people
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: through it. And that was that was the silver lining
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: of it. And that was though the A taxing was
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: really difficult. It was the end I got to I
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: found my voice through it, and I got I got
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: to take the power back and something that I didn't
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: even know I needed.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: That is incredible.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: You know. I I always not to get to you
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: know wu wu, but as actors, I really feel like
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: one of the most important. From the time I started
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: doing this, I felt like it is such a it
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: can be such a noble craft, and you can really
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: do things that are much bigger than the actual you know,
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: it just it's on another level, and this certainly feels
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: like one of those experiences. It's really powerful, and you
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: know your work is just extraordinary in it.
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: It's very You're so good and as the whole.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Austin as well. I love him. He's just the best.
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: That's I mus must have made things easier. Did you
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: bring him on?
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Did you?
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: They had given me a list of dudes, and I said,
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: please get Austin, just because I really wanted someone safe
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: sure in that with me, you know, if I didn't
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: really know the person, and in Austin, you know, we've
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: been in scenes where I've cried before, and you know,
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: the emotional stuff, and so it was just really and
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: we're friends you know, we're still friends to this day.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: We're still working on we're trying to work on a
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: comedy at the moment, like we need to do something
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: a little lighter. This was like get a Christmas movie,
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: I know, so you know, but that was you know,
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: I'm so grateful. And then you know, I got to
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: have the hair and naked people that I love and
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: you know, like this the people that I'm this is possible.
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, so that's what I loved. And then of
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: course my family came. My daughter was in the movie.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: You know, so she played my daughter. Oh really yeah, yeah,
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: so that's my daughter, and so you know that also
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: made it, you know, nice to have her in it.
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: So but it was great, and I just I'm so
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: thankful because you know, even getting the messages now obviously
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: Netflix brings a whole set of new eyes, and it's
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: so many women going like that was my story and
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: I got out and this is and not many women
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: get to get out of those situations. You know, there's
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: whether they don't, there's still lack of resources, and so
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: I'm just I'm grateful that stories like this are being
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: told because if they're not able to get out. Now
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: hopefully they can see the pattern and which is not right.
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: Right, and that it's not going to change the battery.
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: And you're going to end up like a hopefully not
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: like a Gabby or you know, and that's where it
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: comes doing. I was just on a call where I said,
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: because people don't understand why you don't leave, and I'm
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: like you, they make you feel like it is you.
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: So's you're going to leave, either from them killing you
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: or you know, you're going to stay in it. Unfortunately
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: until you get that moment, and that's some people don't
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: get that moment.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: This case really also gets at how domestic abuse can
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: keep escalating even after the woman leaves.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: That control from that man. You know, like he wanted
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: to control her. He did not like that she was
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: free and that she was confident, and he when a
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: man like that loses control, I mean, look at the
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: lengths that he went to say I have cancer, I'm dying,
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: you know, I'm a hero.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's diabolical. And then at the same time
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: not covering one of the things that I thought was
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: so interesting and so either shortsighted or narcissistic that some
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: of the footage of him when he's buying the the
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: handcuff this what are they called? Yeah, but what he
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: makes that, you know, fashions handcuffs out of everyone in
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: the store is wearing a mask because it's.
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: COVID except for him. So they have this like.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: Very obvious evidence of this man walking into a Low's
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: and purchasing the things.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: That he will then abuse his wife with.
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: Like it's just he clearly does those crime shows, because
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: I mean, don't you know there are cameras everywhere like Amazon,
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: it bro or something.
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, oh my god.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: So one other thing that's in the I was don't
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: asked specifically about.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: So one of the points in the film, they show
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: how Ronnie spent a lot of time trying to turn
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: the kids against Morgan, and then there's a moment when
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: they really say, no, it's your fault, dad.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: Do you know if that's true? Is that accurate?
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: It is accurate?
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, because I think too when kids start to see
• 24:04
  Speaker 4: they're at that age they were starting to also witness
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: like no, no, no, you know, like this isn't this
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: isn't right, and that it's so dangerous too, and being
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: in a separated a separation the parents talking to the
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: kids and trying to manipulate that relationship, even within divorce
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: stories is awful and it's like one of the worst
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: way forms of manipulation. And to do it to the
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: kids is another another level.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: It really is. It's heartbreaking. And then you see that's
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: how these cycles continue. Then kids view that if they
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: don't start to understand what's wrong, like it just continues
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: that abusive idea, or they think, oh, that's how married
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: people act. That's that's the sort of uh, you know,
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: reflection that I have of what a marriage is.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: It's just of a state. Yeah, So what do you
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: hope that.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: The movie changes about how people think about that specific period,
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: like the danger period between after the separation or the divorce, Like,
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: what do you hope people understand better?
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: It's a good question because I don't.
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: I don't even think that I did anything to I mean, yeah,
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: I had a restraining order, But to me, I'm always like,
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: that's a piece of paper. They can easily, you know,
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: show up if they're going to show up, you know
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: what I mean. Like, I still always say get a
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: restraining order if you feel because some people aren't as
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: crazy just to do that, you know.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: But I don't know even no.
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: I mean she she had a gun, she had you know,
• 25:47
  Speaker 4: she had ways to protect herself. I would probably say
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: in that situation. But again, you don't think that your
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: ex husband's going to come and kill you too, you know,
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: making sure someone's with you on the exchanges of kids days.
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: I mean, I'm just being really aware that these things.
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: I guess it's this. It's being aware that things like
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: this can happen. It's not just out of a movie, like, yes,
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: this is a movie, and it's also real life and
• 26:12
  Speaker 4: it could happen to you too, if the man is
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: still if you have to parent with an abuser, and
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: that is the hardest, that is very hard.
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: We have a very dear friend who had to do
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: that and he took the child's life and then his own.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: So I know very deeply how this can go very wrong.
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: Well, and this is the piece and I'm so sorry
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: to hear that. And this is something that I've been
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: trying to advocate for women, is that they don't really
• 26:44
  Speaker 4: take into account abuse when it comes to court, and
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: then they still say that the children should be with
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: the father even when there's in the clear abuse And
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: it's I understand the courts wanting their fathers to be
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: in their lives, but when they are abusive, there needs
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: to be some sort of another person with the child
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: at the time. If there is registered and there's actual
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: proof that they have abused the parent, they're their partner.
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: Because things like this happen and it's not okay. So
• 27:21
  Speaker 4: to advocate for I think it's I don't know if
• 27:24
  Speaker 4: that's called supervision, supervised visits.
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: I think yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 27:29
  Speaker 4: Because that because there are that awful stories like that,
• 27:33
  Speaker 4: And that's just where I'm like, why are the courts
• 27:36
  Speaker 4: not protecting these children because they're not. They can go
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: after their wife, they can go after someone something that
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: they love to like their children.
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: Yes, right, and that's that's what it is to try
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: to hurt her further.
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: Oh, I'm so sorry. That is devastating.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I am too so to this to that, Like,
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: what what do you think was most important for you
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: to get right about Morgan to sort of do her.
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: Justice and the situation? What what was most important for you?
• 28:25
  Speaker 4: I would say it was to just really show her
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: her love for her kids, you know, and that she
• 28:35
  Speaker 4: even with the loss of Kevin and even with you know,
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: the things that she had to go through. She still
• 28:42
  Speaker 4: showed compassion and love even towards Rodney. Even post divorce,
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: she still was like put a smile. She was she
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: was still resilient, she was still loving. And I think
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: that's a beautiful thing. When you know, you have children
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: and you're still trying to make something work and when
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: someone was so ugly to you right right and just
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: showing her strength in that.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: There is something incredibly powerful and beautiful about that. And
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: you know, it's like taking back the power from that person.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: You know, in forgiveness can really be that. I'm I'm
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: sort of in awe of that whole idea.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, like letting him sleep on the couch, like we're not,
• 29:29
  Speaker 4: but you can sleep on my couch, you know if
• 29:31
  Speaker 4: you need a play, you know, if you like this
• 29:35
  Speaker 4: is okay and that shows love like someone that can
• 29:37
  Speaker 4: abuse you and then you go, you can sleep on
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: my couch Like that's a beautiful woman.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Well, what do you hope that women watching this movie?
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: We talked a little bit about this, but what do
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: you hope that they take from her story? Especially if
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: there's something that feels off, not right, manipulative, you know,
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: he said in the beginning, we all as women are like,
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: well it's okay. We sort of give people the benefit
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: of the doubt or kind of let things slide, Like
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: what what do you want them to take away from
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: this story?
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: Like, listen to your friends, listen to your instincts.
• 30:14
  Speaker 4: It's always listened to yourself and if you have to,
• 30:16
  Speaker 4: if they're making you question your own reality and going
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: wait did I did I do that? Like that is
• 30:23
  Speaker 4: a problem because you know what you like, you know
• 30:27
  Speaker 4: like it's and it's when they are making you question
• 30:31
  Speaker 4: your reality that is a red flag.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: Yep.
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: You can look at yourself and go, Okay, maybe I
• 30:36
  Speaker 4: was being a little bit cheap. Fine, they can, like
• 30:38
  Speaker 4: they can call you up for those things. But the
• 30:40
  Speaker 4: reality of a when they're really going at you and
• 30:43
  Speaker 4: you know in your gut and your core who you are,
• 30:46
  Speaker 4: what you are, and how you are, and they're trying
• 30:49
  Speaker 4: to doubt.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Have you doubt that? That's a reality check?
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: Right, It's so so important. Well, I am super honored
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: to have spoken with you and to now know you,
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: and thank you for making this movie. Thank you for
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: speaking out as much as you do and helping women.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: It's it's we uh we are all grateful to you
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: for that.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Thanks.
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: So gas Lit by My Husband is streaming on Netflix
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: and Lifetime, and Jenna also hosts wine Down with Janna
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: Kramer right here on iHeart so you can listen to
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: her there. And the movie is really wonderful. So congratulations,
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: Thank you friends. Let's do a movie together now, yeah,
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: let's yeah.
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: I would love that.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: Awesome.
• 31:45
  Speaker 4: Thank you for shedding light in for you know, doing
• 31:48
  Speaker 4: your podcast and bringing these stories to help others.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you,