When Mary Kay Letourneau, a former sixth-grade teacher, had an affair with her former student Vili Fualaau, it became a scandal heard around the world. The situation escalated when she became pregnant with his child.
While incarcerated, Mary spent a total of seven and a half years behind bars before being apprehended. At the time of her arrest, Vili, who was merely thirteen years old, found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. Mary, a married educator residing in Seattle, already had four children of her own and was thirty-four years old during that period.
When the relationship began, Vili was older than the two daughters they share, who are currently in their teenage years. The couple remains together and is on the verge of commemorating their 10th marriage ceremony. Mary is presently 53 years old while Vili is 31.
Vili and Mary sat down for an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters to discuss how they managed to stay together all these years, despite their forbidden and highly publicized relationship.
“If it wasn’t sufficiently robust in the beginning, it wouldn’t have endured through those years,” Mary informed Walters.
This interview is part of Barbara Walters’ upcoming new series on Discovery Investigation, which revisits some of the most famous American scandals.
They started an affair during the summer. She said they had bonded by the end of the school year. She began spending more and more time with Vili to help him develop, as she thought of him as a gift for drawing. During the interview, Mary described how her relationship with Vili moved from an emotional to a sexual one when he was in middle school.
Mary said, “It was a late night when the incident happened.” “I thought about it and didn’t expect it to happen.”
Mary wondered, “Why can’t it ever just be a simple kiss?” She loved him a lot and thought about how she would feel if he asked her if she felt disgusted or guilty for having an affair.
Mary was arrested, and the authorities were notified. Mary’s husband found a love letter written by Mary shortly after the new year in 1997. By the end of summer 1996, Mary, their first daughter, was expecting a child with Vili.
She received a prison sentence of 89 months on Friday, Nov. 14, 1997, for two charges of second-degree child rape. After three months, Mary admitted guilt in relation to the birth of her and Vili’s first child, Audrey, on May 29, 1997, which garnered significant public interest in the Seattle teacher-student sex scandal.
Mary’s husband filed for divorce and moved with their four children from Alaska to Georgia. While in prison, Mary gave birth to their second daughter, who was conceived with Vili. After being reinstated on parole, Mary ignored the court’s order and was sent back to prison. However, within a month of being paroled again, Mary was required to attend counseling sessions for sex offenders and to stay away from Vili. She served six months on parole before being released.
For Vili, the journey to get where he is today has not been easy. He said he battled depression over the years.
“I’m amazed that I’m still alive today,” Vili expressed. “I experienced a truly bleak period.”
When Vili began an affair with Mary after she became pregnant with his child, he said that he felt no support through the system to help him.
“I intend to say, due to the fact that we were all 14, 15,” he stated. “My acquaintances were unable to assist me since they had no understanding of what it was like to be a parent, I intend to say, from anyone, in general, from my relatives, the appropriate assistance behind me … The appropriate backing, I don’t feel like I had. It was an immense alteration in my life, without a doubt.”
Counselors said that because he was struggling, he wanted him to take medication antidepressant to ‘balance him out.’ However, Vili said that he had even had counseling sessions.
He expressed, “It was simply strange. I don’t believe the counselors were even aware of how to handle it.” They mentioned it was for the purpose of balancing your emotions so that they could engage in a dialogue with you, and they questioned, “‘Why is it necessary for me to take an antidepressant medication?'”. Over time, it continually bothered me.
Vili mentioned that it would have been beneficial for him to have the opportunity to converse with Mary while she was in prison, but he was prohibited from visiting her.
Vili expressed, “I really wanted to talk to her, but I can no longer have a conversation with her. Instead of saying ‘Oh,’ they should have given me more choices or options if they meant that I needed to talk to someone else, the only person I can think of.”
The couple got married at a lavish ceremony in a winery in Washington State, and Mary was released from prison in August 2004, 10 months later. Vili was 21 years old at that time.
He expressed that it was a tremendous relief to finally get married after going through all those years of not having answered many questions and having so many doubts.
Mary said that all four of her children remained a part of her family, because she and her husband Vili wanted to focus on getting their life back on track after their previous marriage. When she first lived with her husband in the same Seattle community where Mary stayed, Vili and Mary decided not to move.
“All of our trips were consistently enjoyed as a family,” she remarked. “And they possess a resilient connection with their siblings.”
But for Vili, who is only about a year and a half older than Mary’s oldest son, it has been more difficult.
“It’s a uncomfortable sensation, for certain, to be near in age with someone technically your stepson or stepdaughter,” he expressed.
“DJ Headline” is the moniker he goes by as a DJ, but his true enthusiasm lies in his nocturnal occupation as a disc jockey. Presently, Vili is employed at a home and garden store.
“I frequently work on weddings, private gatherings,” he mentioned. “In the long run, I aspire to delve into production.”
She is currently attempting to obtain her name removed from the registry, however, she is still registered as a sex offender. She has now started piano lessons and tutoring, but her teaching license was revoked during the scandal. Mary is currently working as a legal assistant and hopes to be able to return to teaching.
The girls, despite the controversial circumstances surrounding their family, appear unaffected. They have mentioned that their mother was limited in her visits to prison and they have been taught by their parents, who they met and knew differently. It is worth noting that both teenage girls are enrolled in the same district school where Mary used to teach.
Mary exclaimed, “This is the moment when we must have a conversation with our children regarding this matter. We never had a proper discussion before. Since they have been exposed to it from a young age, they already seem to be aware. ‘Wow, we really need to clarify’ is something we have never done before.”
He has warned his daughters against having boyfriends, and their parents are very protective, Vili said. Georgia is a cheerleader and a sophomore who sings in their high school choir. Audrey, who will be graduating from high school this coming June, will attend college in the fall and join the community.
“In the future, perhaps, you may not truly desire it. You believe you desired it in the past, something that had the potential to result in a relationship,” he stated. “Based on my own experiences, it was simply them informing me for a certain purpose,” he explained.
Vili and Mary both said they would be shocked and upset if their teacher was sleeping and they came home on day one, and they wondered what either of their girls did.
“I don’t support the concept of younger children getting married or being in a relationship with someone considerably older,” Vili stated. “I am opposed to it.”