Inside Vili Fualaau's Life After The Mary Kay Letourneau Scandal
Mary Kay Letourneau was an elementary school teacher who became the subject of headlines in 1997 when it was revealed that she had been having sexual relations with one of her students, 12-year-old Vili Fualaau. Letourneau was 34 and had a husband, Steve Letourneau, and four children. The affair had been going on for a while before Steve found out about it after finding love letters his wife had written to her student, as reported by Biography. It was a relative of Steve's who reported Mary Kay to the authorities.
Mary Kay was arrested for second-degree child rape and was sentenced to seven years in prison, but her sentence was later changed to six months, in addition to receiving treatment, as well as ceasing all contact with Fualaau, per History Link. However, she continued seeing Fualaau and as a result, she was ordered to complete her original sentence. She was released from prison in 2004.
They had 2 children
Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau's sexual relations bore two children. In fact, Letourneau was pregnant with their first child when she was arrested in 1997. When the scandal was reported, the two insisted that they were in love and Fualaau said that their sexual relations were consensual. However, as noted by Rolling Stone, the law states that minors can't legally consent to sex, therefore Letourneau having sex with Faulaau, even with his consent, was considered rape.
Their second daughter was born in 1998 in prison when Letourneau was ordered to complete her sentence after violating the condition of staying away from Fualaau. It was also during that time when Steve Letourneau filed for divorce from Mary Kay, as reported by In Touch Weekly. By 15 years old, Fualaau already had two daughters, and while Letourneau was incarcerated, he had help from his mother, Soona Vili, in raising his kids.
Vili Fualaau and his family sued for negligence
In 2002, while Mary Kay Letourneau was still serving her sentence, Vili Fualaau and his family sued the Des Moines Police Department and the Highline School District for neglecting to investigate and stop the relationship between the teacher and student. As reported by The Seattle Times, Fualaau claimed that he suffered from the incident as a result. He had been using drugs and alcohol to cope with the ridicule he faced after the scandal. In addition, his lawyer said that he was unable to find a job. Fualaau asked for almost $2 million as compensation.
The 12-person jury deliberated for three days. In the end, the jury decided 10 to 2 that the Des Moines Police Department was not liable and 10 to 1 that the school district did what it can in the case. Only 10 votes were needed for the verdict, and the defendants won the case. During the trial, Fualaau said that he no longer felt the same way for Letourneau. "I loved her. At least I thought I loved her," he stated (via Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
Vili Fulaau and Mary Kay Letourneau married
Mary Kay Letourneau was released from prison in 2004, and once again, was ordered to stay away from Vili Fualaau. However, Fualaau, who was 21 years old then, filed a motion to vacate the order. He argued that he was no longer a minor and was of sound mind to pursue a relationship with the mother of his two children. As reported by CBS News, Fualaau's attorney also argued that the charges against Letourneau were solely based on Fualaau's age at the time of the incident, which was no longer applicable, as he was already an adult. A judge ruled in favor of Fualaau, and the no-contact order was lifted.
Fualaau and Letourneau married in 2005 when she was 43 and he was 22. Their two daughters served as flower girls during the ceremony, and two of Letourneau's children from her first marriage attended (via Biography). They lived in Seattle and raised their two children together, and they made it a point to have a date night every Saturday, according to People. Throughout the years, however, their relationship deteriorated. In an interview in 2015, Fualaau said that the union wasn't always smooth — just like any relationship — and that they had their fair share of problems.
They eventually went their separate ways
In May 2017, Vili Fualaau filed for legal separation from Mary Kay Letourneau. They didn't publicly disclose the reason for the split, but a source told People that they tried their best to save the relationship but they had issues that they couldn't resolve. Despite their separation, Fualaau and Letourneau continued living together for a while for the sake of their daughters. They were officially divorced in 2019.
Fualaau and Letourneau had an amicable split and a source close to the couple said that they have no animosity toward each other. In 2020, Letourneau died of cancer at the age of 58. As reported by Today, Fualaau spent the last two months of Letourneau's life taking care of her. He moved from California to Seattle to be with his ex-wife. Fualaau was by her side when she took her last breath, and he was the one who turned off the machine that was helping her breathe, he said in an emotional interview with Dr. Oz.
Life after Mary Kay Letourneau's death
After Mary Kay Letourneau's death, Vili Fualaau appeared on the Dr. Oz Show and talked about his relationship with his ex-wife, who he called his best friend. Dr. Oz asked Fualaau what he would do if he found himself attracted to a minor, to which he replied that he would probably seek help. He also said that he never thought he would fall in love with someone more than 20 years his senior, but it happened. A source told People that Fualaau gained perspective about his relationship after the separation. "He sees things clearly now, and realizes that this wasn't a healthy relationship from the start," the source revealed.
In 2021, Fualaau was arrested for a DUI. According to the New York Post, he was caught in Seattle after almost crashing into a police car at 4 a.m. Fualaau was subjected to a sobriety test and was taken to the county jail.
In happier news, in 2022 Fualaau became a father for the third time. It's unclear who the mother is, but according to People, one of his now-adult daughters with Letourneau announced the arrival of her new baby sister, Sophia, on her private Instagram page.