Strange Love
Any followers of 90's tabloid fodder know the name of Mary Kay Letourneau. A 34-year old teacher outside of Seattle, Washington, Letourneau began an illicit affair with a 12-year old student name Vili Fualaau. After becoming impregnated by him, she was charged with two second degree counts of child rape. Strange Love catches up with these notorious figures more than twenty years later, and exposes a trauma and confusion that continues to resonate in their lives to this day.
Many viewers might be surprised to learn that Letourneau and Fualaau are now married with two beautiful daughters. In the early moments of the film, they are captured in scenarios not unlike any enjoyed by an all American family. But this family's baggage makes them entirely unique. This is a woman who was successfully seduced by a pre-teen, and he is now a grown man who feels conflicted over the events that shaped his young life, especially when he considers his hopes for his own children.
Through interviews with the central couple and the surrounding investigators and attorneys who worked their case, we gain a context for their criminal union, the bumpy journey that proceeded her release from prison, and the underlying complexities of the relationship they share today.
It's tempting to play armchair psychoanalyst as you watch the couple sitting side by side fielding difficult questions over their troubling beginnings. Their dynamic is fascinating; Letourneau strains a smile when confronted with concepts like regret or moral ineptitude while Fualaau comes across as genuinely reflective and clear-eyed about their unlawful transgressions. She seems determined to plead ignorance to her wrongdoing while he seems embroiled in an internal battle over what might have been lost from his childhood.
A series of tantalizing questions are raised along the way. Would the outcry and outcome been different if it were a male teacher seducing a female student? Can Faulaau truly allow himself to regret the relationship when it produced two healthy and centered children?
Perhaps most valuably, Strange Love shows the other side of infamy after the sensationalized, tabloid fire has long dimmed from public view.
pedophilia isn't a love
Can we not make pedophilia glamorous, please?
I think the saddest part of all this is in the space of time when these two began and up to now I see the same type of comments and it's always one of three - what's wrong with that, hope you die you f*#@*, or let's debate this issue like grown adults, that of course generates comments from #2. I have seen the harm to kids that this white-hot anger that gives no room for anything but the label monster.
Suck you mother dirty america. Nothing is wrong about that. It was a woman with a male. Which young boy wouldn't want to sex his teacher.
Let me tell you what is wrong. homosexuality, that is WRONG. A guy raping a boy gets less punishment in america. Satan country.
Again. Which boy wouldn't want sex from a big woman. If it was a girl that wrong. But a boy should get some pumpum. Natural.
This is so sad. She completely ruined everyone's lives she touched. Literally . Those poor kids all 6 of them. And the 1st husband.... Hope he is alive and well. You can see the sadness in his eyes. The abuse from his awkward silence and him dancing on eggshells. This isn't a story of love. The guy put in all of his life force from age 13 on. Bending his own will to keep the narrative going. A monster. Only god knows what happens behind those closed doors. May he find freedom. ?
I was pursued once by an 11 year old in a chat room...LOL yeah right. I told him to go outside and ride his bike and get out of the chat room. She's ridiculous.
Bizzare! Never really hear from the "boss". Would have been great to hear from him at least at 19:00.
Wonder how the society would have reacted if the sexes was turned around?
A person does not find love, it finds you. Sometimes it comes in the most unusual way and the feelings start. They continue to build; even if you fight it.....it does not matter. It is hard to stop a moving train with a lot of momentum. I know if I turned the clock back it would land me in the same situation. My husband now is 55 and I am 73. We have been together for almost thirty years. We are committed to our relationship, in the good days, or the bad days.....we don't have a choice because they do come. All the good memories keep us going. We are here for each other no matter what and it will be that way until one or the other dies. You can make it if both do the best they can for each other in life. So please don't judge, especially if you think your life is perfect. We are all different people and we will all do things differently......people are the good the bad and the ugly.....let's leave it at that......
WOW!! All I can say is WOW! Talk about arrested development!!
reincarnation
Yes, the children will be enshrouded in gossip about their "whore" mother who did those "awful" things.
Villi looks like he's being held hostage. Look at how she bullies him and the interviewer btw. That woman is very obviously personality disordered, most likely ASPD. Talk about crazy eyes, that woman is totally batshit.
When I was 38 I fell deeply in love with a 16 year old. I was married to a man 13 years older than myself and been very unhappy for a long time... We went through a really terrible time as anyone can imagine and ended up getting married on January 7th 1985... We were totally in love... No more children as we were enough for each other... We were totally together in mind body and spirit for 23 years when I saw the signs of needing more in him, so I let him go... We are both still single, I live alone, he lives 60 miles away and we are still really great friends...
When this first started I was horrified and didn't want it at all, we were born at the wrong times according to tradition, however we got through all the name calling and newspaper crap and neither of us would change a moment of those wonderful years...
So unless you find yourself in a situation of what is considered forbidden love do not criticise, just try to understand that love is the important issue here, not your personal spiteful opinion...
Don't try to get the rest of us on board with your crimes! Criminals use all sorts of excuses to try to cover up their sick abuse of children, love is usually a common excuse. You were a damaged 38 year old adult grooming a 16 yr old. The sheer fact that you had been on the planet over 2x longer than your victim puts the power dynamic in your favor-you must have felt like a very powerless person to go ahead & move forward with this crime. Are you seriously trying to convince rational adults that you don't gain more life experience as you age that gives you an advantage over children with no life experience? So you know the same amount of info about the world now as you did at 16?
Well, if that's the case then we should just hire 16 yr olds for all jobs, since their experience in life & associated power is the same as adults, right? Also, maybe you need a few science classes. The adolescent brain runs up until age 25. You are disgusting! YES, I am 100% judging you! My job is to protect children & stop people like you! Notice how everyone else here recognizes that this woman is mentally ill & controlling (at the very least), but you identify with her? Let's run a survey of how many adults think this is okay. Oh that's right "the whole world just doesn't understand you & your need to screw a teen", you are right & so misunderstood & the entire planet is wrong.
You're a pathetic criminal who more than likely couldn't get anyone your own age- I'm going to guess that there is also a desperate reason why you ended up with someone older-you are massively damaged! Don't for a second try to get healthy people on board with your predatory ways. At what point do you take responsibility for your inability to control yourself? I love how you call people upholding the law & protecting children from perverts like you spiteful. Name calling is an attempt to redirect people from your crime, it won't work. The people that rightfully called you out for your crimes back when it happened were 100% in the right. Where are you? London?
I'm assuming they have schools there where you can educate yourself on the different stages of human development. Do you know how much development happens in the adolescent brain between 16-20? Do you know why adolescents biologically need more sleep than adults? They are children & have different needs, you are either incredibly ignorant about why 16 yr olds are different than adults or you know why & are just a selfish criminal that didn't care-just like the pedophile in this documentary.
Very disturbing, what's next are we going to accept pedophiles now? And what about her other kids and family, I'm guessing they don't want to have anything to do with her now.
Move on dude and stop with the hysteria already. Fast forward to the present and realize that continued public persecution will have a detrimental effect to their children.
I think it was wrong and as a retired therapist, think they both have some unresolved issues that have diminished them as adults. But, just from this video, she seems to be controlling, in spite of her putting it all on him as the pursuer. She talks as if she had no choice, which is very dishonest. It's quite hard to imagine a person in their thirties..and a teacher not getting why this was not acceptable.
But, for WTF to say "are we going to accept pedophiles now?" is, I think, going a bridge too far. "Pedophiles" are not all the same but you'd think so from the way the U.S. deals with sex offenders. The laws re. people, mostly by far men, who commit sex offenses are criminal. Most people seem to care less. If you have any interest in justice:
@Bill so banging 12 year olds is ok now?