Is anyone watching Dirty John tonight? Betty Broderick's story

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Betty had an inflated sense of working hard. I guess for the time yeah she probably felt like she “worked hard” those early years but she was a sahm who worked part time jobs or if she worked full time a d had two kids so what? She was so upset that she “supported” Dan but meh, in today’s world what she did was so minimal.

And they were married for 14 years which is long but not that long. Maybe if it had been 20 or 25 years then I could understand.

She loved her lifestyle and the life she had created and she didn’t want to give it up. She couldn’t imagine moving on when it would have been so incredibly easy for her. She could have remarried some other rich guy and Dan would very likely have given her full custody and generous child support just so he could get on with his next phase of life. She was so incredibly short sighted!

Wow, way to minimize her contributions to the family. They were together for 18 years--close enough to 20 for you?

By all accounts she was an excellent mother to four children, all of whom did sports, music lessons and various other extracurriculars. She attended all their events and handled all aspects of their care. Dan was at work of course, rarely if ever present, including on family vacations which she usually handled solo. She entertained his clients and colleagues and basically devoted her life to their family, managing the household and supporting his career. He never had to cook, clean, or be involved in the kids' lives in any meaningful way. Do you really think she didn't work at least 40 hours a week doing all this? She was an asset in every way, other than getting older. And where is the evidence Dan was willing to give her full custody and equitable financial support?

No she continued to claim they were married even after they were separated and then divorced. Separated after 14 years of marriage, divorced final after 16 years.

And so what? Lots of moms today do all she did PLUS work a full time demanding job. She didn't do anything that spectacular. She didn't work full time and support Dan because it wasn't the norm and daycare was hard to find. She felt she "worked hard" in comparison to other sahm moms back then because she had to get a job outside the home which wasn't common and she was raised to believe that was not what she would need to do.

She was dumb. She could have had a repeat of her life with the next guy. She was attractive and guys liked her and Dan would have been happy for her to take the kids because he wanted to start over again. The one or two shrinks she saw should have just given her anti anxiety meds. She would have been better off.

The death of her baby was truly horrible. I am so sad that she didn't get a chance to name him and bury him. But back then they probably gave Dan the advice to just move on quickly and not think about it so that she would not be upset. That's how it was dealt with. It was terrible. He probably did think he was doing the right thing after all doctors were advising him to do it.

He owed her half of everything he earned during the marriage as a lump sum, plus child support and alimony until she could get a job or remarried. But that’s not what he did. He took everything, even her kids, and financially abused and controlled her through legal means. Keeping her wedding china, their furniture, which I am sure she picked out, in the home that he set up with his affair partner turned wife. What purpose could doing things like that serve except to torture and humiliate her? If he really wanted to just move on, he wouldn’t have done any of that.

Murder is never right, but we didn’t lose any good people in this situation. I do feel sorry for their kids.

The more I read about the case, the more all people involved seem horrible but Betty was definitely provoked. He did keep all the furniture she picked out, hid a ton of other joint assets, Linda wouldn't return her wedding china despite having selected her own, Linda bought the exact same "Mrs. Daniel Broderick III" stationary Betty had used for years, and even slept under the quilt Betty had purchased for her marital bed. Dan kept Betty's belongings in his garage and would occasionally dole out an item. He love the abusive control. It was sick!

I'm not sure any woman would have kept her cool under the circumstances, especially when he made sure she received the most paltry divorce settlement possible. 33K, are you kidding me? He made nearly 1.4 million in 1986 and maintained control over all of their joint assets including a massive amount of money he had hidden. In light of all of this, her request of 1/5 of his monthly income for ten years was really not unreasonable.

Also, how many of you know Dan ensured the divorce files were sealed and then they somehow, mysteriously, disappeared. Why do you think that is, hmm?

The files would have documented some of the financial shenanigans and also the times he lied to her about court dates, which resulted in at least one major ruling in his favor due to her no-show. There was a reason the divorce judge was invited to his second wedding(!) Of course her state of denial then decision to represent herself were foolish.

His proposal was to pay her 9K/month for one year, then 5K/month for five years, and that was it. And her legal fees had to be deducted from the 33K, so her settlement was a measly 28K. The man was a stone cold narcissist with no regard for the mother of his children, while he continued living very high on the hog with her young replacement. Of course she was enraged. The judge apparently did sympathize with her and awarded her the 16K/month against Dan's wishes, but Betty felt she hadn't gotten her fair share in terms of a settlement and also had no confidence the alimony would hold. At that point of course she should have accepted it and just worked towards getting her kids back (even Dan conceded they wanted to live with her), but she was pretty damaged by that point and just couldn't let it go. I still think if he had treated her with more dignity, he'd be alive today.

They continually poked and taunted the bear, psychologically abused her and appeared to get off on it. They called her bluff and it was a fatal mistake.

Don’t mess with crazy.

A war between three narcs, especially 2 on 1, is not going to end well.

[Anonymous]

^ when married people have affairs or you have an affair with a married person, you cannot control what a betrayed spouse will do. And a married AP cannot control what they’re jilted lover will do if they dump them.

Stupid thing it is to cheat in a marriage.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Both had personality disorders, but his behavior seemed downright sociopathic.

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/inside-the-psychological-battleground-that-pushed-san-diego-socialite-betty-broderick-to-commit-murder

Interesting that she keeps being denied parole.

I believe one of the requirements is to show remorse. She is not sorry at all. I knew a lady that had written her and she sent me a few of her letters. Very nice writing, and it was obvious she was well educated. Only once she mention Dan. She compared what she and Dan shared was something akin to creating Apple in your garage. Not sure exactly what she meant. Maybe once they were rich and famous it could no longer be controlled. Became too big, but she seemed to have a life in prison...or accepted it.

What she meant is that she and Dan were full partners in building a highly successful life together, and she was right. Like he could have accomplished a fraction of what he did without her holding down home and hearth with all those kids (nine pregnancies because he did not believe in birth control!) and being a professional asset on the moneyed social circuit.

Part of what was so galling for Betty was that she was the partner in the building phase, with as many lean years as good years, and then the young twit swoops in to enjoy the rewards without having done any of the hard work. And she and Dan were so callous, vicious even, toward the disposable "old and fat" wife. Ugh.

Betty did benefit from Dan’s career. She only had a degree in English Lit. Do you think she would have been able to blow $8K on a dress if she had been on her own? No, so stop pretending like Dan was a taker when Betty wasn’t indulgent as well. She had housekeeping help and being room mom isn’t hard hard work. She just couldn’t deal with being a divorcee.

Since you keep repeating the same overly simplistic point over and over, without absorbing any of the other more detailed and nuanced posts on this thread, you are not worth responding to moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone done enough digging to know how much of the Netflix series was exaggerated when it came to Dan and Linda taunting Betty?

[Anonymous]

Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done enough digging to know how much of the Netflix series was exaggerated when it came to Dan and Linda taunting Betty?

I did a deep dive into their adult kids’ social medias.

Kim the oldest put out a statement last summer saying they aren’t involved in the new series, aren’t willing to relive the worst time of their lives, and that no one is portrayed accurately.

They seem very close, especially Kim and the boys. Lee is around, but not on all the family visits. She’s also the only one without kids, but she still lives close to her siblings (no one is still in california).

They post both about their mom and dad. With big remembrances on St Patrick’s day, Father’s Day and even on the anniversary of his death. Betty is in contact with all kids and seven granddaughters. I’m sure their feelings are complicated, but they seem to have made peace with it as best they can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

Yes. That was the first series and where the concept of Dirty John came from (it’s the name of a podcast about Meehan and Newall). Thank god for her kids. I cannot imagine the trauma that the daughter who took him out feels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done enough digging to know how much of the Netflix series was exaggerated when it came to Dan and Linda taunting Betty?

I did a deep dive into their adult kids’ social medias.

Kim the oldest put out a statement last summer saying they aren’t involved in the new series, aren’t willing to relive the worst time of their lives, and that no one is portrayed accurately.

They seem very close, especially Kim and the boys. Lee is around, but not on all the family visits. She’s also the only one without kids, but she still lives close to her siblings (no one is still in california).

They post both about their mom and dad. With big remembrances on St Patrick’s day, Father’s Day and even on the anniversary of his death. Betty is in contact with all kids and seven granddaughters. I’m sure their feelings are complicated, but they seem to have made peace with it as best they can.

This is a good update on what happened to the kids, thank you.

Does anyone know why Dan left Lee out of his will? Seems like a strange thing to do to one of your children. I don't know how old Lee was but wondering what prompted that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

Yes. That was the first series and where the concept of Dirty John came from (it’s the name of a podcast about Meehan and Newall). Thank god for her kids. I cannot imagine the trauma that the daughter who took him out feels.

Thank you for telling me this! For some reason I saw the Betty Broderick one first and then this aired right after. I was hooked.

You're right; it must have been so traumatic for the daughter. I read that Debra Newell is dating once again but had the guy checked out first!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

That was more recent and really dumb. Debra Newall should have figured out from the start that the guy lied about being an MD when he was parading in scrubs and didn't have clothes or a car. Also, she could have just Googled his name to find out that he didnt own any properties. That series was more frustrating to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

Yes. That was the first series and where the concept of Dirty John came from (it’s the name of a podcast about Meehan and Newall). Thank god for her kids. I cannot imagine the trauma that the daughter who took him out feels.

Thank you for telling me this! For some reason I saw the Betty Broderick one first and then this aired right after. I was hooked.

You're right; it must have been so traumatic for the daughter. I read that Debra Newell is dating once again but had the guy checked out first!

What was strange was that the oldest daughters didn't actually take in the younger two brothers. They had to shuttle between relatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done enough digging to know how much of the Netflix series was exaggerated when it came to Dan and Linda taunting Betty?

I did a deep dive into their adult kids’ social medias.

Kim the oldest put out a statement last summer saying they aren’t involved in the new series, aren’t willing to relive the worst time of their lives, and that no one is portrayed accurately.

They seem very close, especially Kim and the boys. Lee is around, but not on all the family visits. She’s also the only one without kids, but she still lives close to her siblings (no one is still in california).

They post both about their mom and dad. With big remembrances on St Patrick’s day, Father’s Day and even on the anniversary of his death. Betty is in contact with all kids and seven granddaughters. I’m sure their feelings are complicated, but they seem to have made peace with it as best they can.

This is a good update on what happened to the kids, thank you.

Does anyone know why Dan left Lee out of his will? Seems like a strange thing to do to one of your children. I don't know how old Lee was but wondering what prompted that.

Apparently because he caught her smoking weed. Not like she was dealing with a traumatic family situation or anything (eye roll). Dan was a punishing control freak but his kids did not hate him. Too young to understand what Betty was going through, they did suffer from her erratic and maniacal behavior. (Still think Dan and Linda were scumbags).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone watch the next series of Dirty John? Also a true story about a guy named John Meehan and Debra Newall.

You'l think twice about going on an online date afterwards.

Yes. That was the first series and where the concept of Dirty John came from (it’s the name of a podcast about Meehan and Newall). Thank god for her kids. I cannot imagine the trauma that the daughter who took him out feels.

Thank you for telling me this! For some reason I saw the Betty Broderick one first and then this aired right after. I was hooked.

You're right; it must have been so traumatic for the daughter. I read that Debra Newell is dating once again but had the guy checked out first!

What was strange was that the oldest daughters didn't actually take in the younger two brothers. They had to shuttle between relatives.

They were still quite young when their parents died, 20ish I think, and probably not yet capable of taking on that responsibility. Especially since they were dealing with trauma themselves. At some point I believe Danny did go to live with the eldest, Kim.

[Anonymous]

Yes Betty has to be bipolar. The daughters testified about her outbursts and erratic behavior displayed to them as well. But no one cut her out of their lives.

Yes PP is correct, the boys went to Colorado to live with Dan’s brothers ex wife for quite awhile. The youngest gave an Oprah interview about it in the 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes Betty has to be bipolar. The daughters testified about her outbursts and erratic behavior displayed to them as well. But no one cut her out of their lives.

Yes PP is correct, the boys went to Colorado to live with Dan’s brothers ex wife for quite awhile. The youngest gave an Oprah interview about it in the 90s.

What is the evidence that she was bipolar?