[suspenseful music]
* *
- Now Steve-- - Roll 15, clip one.
- Are we turning the French off?
Roll 15, clip one.
Okay, they changed it. [indistinct]
[dramatic music]
* *
[indistinct speaking echoes]
High temp on Friday, 83.
That is your weather first. Now the big story--
[news jingle]
- And so she was everything that I could have ever wanted
in a wife, but it was all a lie,
every word.
- Many divorces end up in bitter court battles.
- But one local man is fighting his wife tooth and nail,
saying her secret double life
should prevent her from getting anything.
[suspenseful music]
- He said, shortly after their wedding,
he started to realize his stay-at-home wife
was hiding a very sexy secret.
* *
- I was head over heels, absolutely.
She was supposedly a stay-at-home mom,
family-oriented, just the kind of person, you know?
How would you feel if your wife
had completely duped you from the beginning?
When I found evidence that my wife was involved
with a multimillion-dollar crime ring,
I resolved right then and there
to bring down the whole damn ring.
* *
Paul T. Goldman.
This is the spot.
- An autopsy is being conducted--
Ah!
And it's all true.
It happened to me.
* *
[elegant music]
I am Paul T. Goldman.
I went through it,
and I went from wimp to warrior.
I have been asked countless times, "Is this for real?
Did this stuff actually happen?"
I couldn't make this up.
I'm a regular guy--
got caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
It's all been put in the book.
These experiences that I went through--
they are shocking. They are amazing.
They are incredible.
Nobody, nobody could make up this shit.
* *
2006, I was in Florida,
and I'm a single dad raising my son, Johnny,
from my first marriage.
You like that?
- I will admit proudly that I was Mr. Mom.
Every single day was a joy with him.
Raising him was the greatest thing to ever happen to me.
I had a business that was going just fantastic.
We painted newly constructed houses and townhomes.
I was making more money than I'd ever made in my life.
Of course, my social life was nonexistent,
but by this time, the Internet had come into full swing,
so they had actual dating sites on the Internet.
So it was a lot easier to meet people.
I was looking for not only a mate for myself,
but a person who would be a good mother for Johnny.
Then I came across a woman that had three children,
profile talked about being a family-oriented,
stay-at-home mom, and she was attractive.
So we started emailing each other, and then we met
at an outdoor mall in West Palm Beach, Florida.
[conclusive music note]
And action.
- "I always brought Johnny with me on my first dates.
"I thought it made us an attractive package,
"and it gave Johnny a glimpse of his prospective new mother.
"My eyes settled on a beautiful woman
"seated alone at a table.
[gentle music]
* *
[singing in French]
* *
Audrey?
Walk.
- [laughs] - That was great.
- All right. - Good job every--
[elegant music]
* *
After I wrote "Duplicity,"
I started writing the screenplay.
* *
And we're shooting the scenes from my story.
- You see how they fake the Sun with that light?
They put it right where the Sun was a few minutes ago.
Oh, wow!
* *
Well, I thought she went into the frame,
and I would say, "Hi, Audrey," and give her a hug
- or shake her hand... - Shake her hand.
- Like I'm actually first meeting her.
And then the waitress would come,
- and we're off and running. - Okay.
All right, so that's good.
And action!
Hi, Paul.
- Hi, Audrey. Nice to meet you.
- This is my son, Johnny. - Right.
- [phone vibrating] - Oh.
- Her cell phone rang almost immediately
after we arrived.
Not wanting to start things off on the wrong foot,
I pretended that the small disruption
didn't bother me at all.
Instead, I turned to the waitress,
a young woman who looked frazzled and anxious.
- May I start you off with something to drink?
She rambled.
Sure, what do you say, Johnny boy--
- chocolate milk? - Yes, Daddy.
Can I have chocolate milk?
- No problem. And Audrey,
- what would you like? - Um, I'll have an iced tea.
- So there you go, two iced teas
and a chocolate milk, please.
I have to tell you, Audrey.
You're the first person I've met who looks exactly
like their pictures.
- Is that okay? - Is it okay?
It's more than okay. It's great.
Most women-- they use their pictures
from their high school yearbooks.
- Not me, Paul. Only my current picture.
You'll find, as you get to know me,
honesty is so important.
- And of course, anybody who's lying, every line,
every word, every syllable,
they're gonna say how honest they are.
- Okay, good. - It's foreshadowing.
[chuckles]
- Uh, great. Well, let's keep going.
- Whoa! I liked Audrey right away.
Anyway, our first date went very well,
and so, to my surprise, there was a second date.
[indistinct chatter]
- Guys, let's lock it up, please, nice and quiet.
- One of the first things that struck me about Audrey
was, uh, what she ordered,
and she ordered octopus.
And it's like, I've never seen anybody order octopus before
in a restaurant.
We're on set, and action.
[instrumental music playing]
- So Audrey, how are things going with you
on this Jewish singles site that we're on?
- Oh, well, let's just say I have a lot of first dates.
[chuckles]
- Really? How come?
- Well, I always tell men right from the beginning
that I'm a-- I'm an old-fashioned girl.
I don't believe in sex before marriage.
- I took a moment to think about what she said
while I blew on my wonton soup to buy more time.
* *
- Usually, I tell a man that, and I never see him again.
- You know, Audrey, I'm not like most men.
I see no reason not to wait
until you and I have gotten to know each other a lot better.
So would you like to continue to see me?
Sure, you'll do.
I'll do?
What the hell did that mean?
* *
- Oh. [chuckles]
That was just my twisted attempt at humor.
I'm just kidding, Paul.
Well, I'm very much looking forward
to spending more time together.
- While we were dating, Audrey explained to me
that she could only see me
from Wednesday evenings to Saturday mornings.
The rest of the time, she said,
she was up in Cocoa Beach, couple hours' drive north,
caring for her 92-year-old,
Alzheimer's-ridden grandmother.
Part-time dating, would be able to just see me
a few days out of the week-- I accepted that.
Why?
For Johnny.
I really wanted Johnny to have a family.
I guess you could say I was spoiled by my childhood.
I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island,
middle class, loving, Jewish family.
I admired my parents' relationship.
My parents were married
for 35 years before my mom died.
Two brothers, one older, one younger.
Johnny didn't have any siblings,
and I really, really wanted him to have siblings.
And Audrey was lovely and pleasant.
It sounded pretty good to me,
and that's why I went for it.
After only three months, I was certain of my love
for her. I believed she would make me
eternally happy, and now
I was ready to make her my wife.
How 'bout some dessert, Audrey?
- Mm-mm. No, I've had enough.
- How 'bout some champagne, then?
Champagne?
How come?
Audrey, I'm in love with you,
and I want us to be together forever.
Will you marry me?
[piano note plays]
Yes, I will, Paul.
[romantic music]
That's great!
* *
Yeah, I was very happy.
Audrey kept on telling me that this was her forever marriage.
- This will be my forever marriage.
So we were married...
["Wedding March" by Felix Mendelssohn]
Under the condition that it was a part-time marriage.
- What is a "part-time marriage"?
I know what you're thinking:
"Who would accept a part-time marriage?"
[laughs] I would,
and I did. Why?
You know, a 92-year-old grandmother,
I knew that sooner or later,
it would become a full-time marriage.
I was looking long-term for the rest of my life.
Audrey kept on telling me that this was her forever marriage.
I knew that this was the right decision.
What could possibly be the downside?
[chuckles] To be continued with the downside.
- Let's clear the background, everybody, please.
Here's some lingo.
When you have to go to the restroom--
- Yep. - Say you're going 10-1.
- Oh... - Going 10-1.
- Okay, 10-1.
Melinda is playing dry and cold on the surface,
and yet, underneath, she's the sweetest girl.
She's so nice.
- And, uh-- - Paul.
- Yes? - Want some gum?
Oh, thanks.
[elegant music]
She's amazing.
- Do you have an Instagram account yet?
No, I don't have Instagram.
- [giggles] You probably will now.
[laughter]
- You know, in the last three months,
I've lost almost 15 pounds, knowing--
- That's a lot. - That this day was--
- Getting ready for this. - Knowing this day was coming.
[laughing]
- What? - Sorry.
[laughing]
- You know, that's a common reaction.
- [laughing] - Sorry.
[laughing]
So I was very happy.
I thought things were gonna finally come together,
that things were coming together in my life,
and for me, emotionally, and everything.
- And how long did that last? - [chuckles]
How long did that last?
Shortly after we were married, I had the idea to purchase
a house or a townhouse in California.
I wanted a place where Audrey, myself, and all the kids
could go during the hot summer months,
have a nice family trip.
It would be just fantastic.
So we fly to California, find a place.
It's beautiful,
and time to go back to Florida.
Okay, so I wanted to get some sandwiches,
uh, so we wouldn't have to eat the airplane food
on the flight.
From my time before, in California,
I loved Trader Joe's.
In the early '80s, I lived in Tustin,
and there was one Trader Joe's in all of Orange County,
in Santa Ana.
I think it was one of the first
and still owned by the actual guy
before he sold it to a big German conglomerate.
Anyway, I have very fond memories of Trader Joe's,
and I remembered that Trader Joe's
had sandwiches in their deli case...
* *
And cans of soda that were cold.
So we bought the sandwiches and sodas in Trader Joe's
and went back to the car to go to the airport,
and then she springs it on me.
- [car door shuts] - Paul, I wanna talk to you
about something.
Yeah?
- I no longer wanna have so much sex with you.
We've had sex two nights in a row,
and I think more than once a week is abnormal.
[shouts] What?
This scene is, pretty much verbatim, the way it happened.
- Really? - Yes, like,
almost every other word spoken in, uh--then.
- Wow, okay. - Yeah.
[laughs]
What?
- I'm sorry. That's just how I feel.
I think your sex drive is abnormal.
Is this a joke?
What do you mean abnormal?
I mean, geez, we only see each other three times a week.
[sighs] I love you.
I want to make love with you.
We are married.
How could you possibly say it's abnormal?
- I'm sorry. That is how I feel.
- I can't believe I'm hearing this.
Really, what the hell is going on?
I have nothing else to say.
- Well, I have something to say.
When we get back to Florida,
either we live as a normal husband and wife,
or you can go back to living with your parents
like you were when we were dating,
and we'll get a divorce.
[car skids]
And, uh, that was the end of the conversation on that day,
and a very quiet plane ride
back to Florida.
Well, that's what I thought at the time.
I had married a con artist and a gold digger.
However, when my lawyer subpoenaed her bank statements
and her phone logs,
well, a different story revealed itself, and--
- With Bob and-- - Yes.
- Oh, okay, all right, all right.
- Right. - And so, um--
- Can we get you inside the car, please?
[chuckles]
Ah, they're in the car.
All righty.
Came back to Florida,
and I don't see Audrey for days.
A few days later, I get an email from Audrey.
She was sorry about what happened,
and she wanted to get together.
- Dearest Paul, please consider this.
But with conditions.
[sighs]
What did you do?
- [keyboard keys clicking] - Great plan.
Okay, I know what you're thinking.
"You're an idiot." [laughs]
"Why did you accept those conditions?"
I accepted those conditions because I wanted a family.
Look at the alternatives.
You have to understand
how crappy it is
to be a single dad.
[sighs]
- It's all right. Get set.
Paul, you can be into it a little bit too.
You know, don't just stare coldly, right?
You could have your arms around her--
- Oh, okay. - Okay.
And action.
[grunts]
- Honey, I can't tell you how happy I am.
- All I ever wanted was to be one big, happy family.
Now, there's only one thing left to do,
and that's to share everything.
- Oh, I've been hoping for this moment,
hoping and waiting for you to emotionally open up to me.
- You need to put my name on your business
and, also, our two Florida houses.
[dramatic music]
* *
Now, I may have been weak,
but I'm not a complete moron.
Do I hear objections from the choir?
[chuckles] Anyway...
What?
* *
What?
Is this what you mean by sharing?
Yeah, it's only fair.
- Uh, no, not after four months of a part-time marriage.
Maybe after a few years of a full-time marriage.
- Well, I want it now, and that's it.
[sighs]
Well, if this is the real reason
why you married me, you can leave.
And cut.
- Kay. - Let's run it--okay, good.
[bell rings] We got that.
I said, "That's not acceptable to me,
and you can leave if that's the way you feel."
And she did.
And I changed the locks on the house
and called a lawyer.
Once again, I'm alone--
Johnny and I and Queenie.
There you go. Ah, ah, ah, ah.
Oh, well, that was close.
[scoffs]
So yeah, so I started writing emails to her,
suggesting that we get back together.
[keyboard keys clicking]
[mouse clicks] What she had to offer
was more than anyone that I was finding--
sweet, stay-at-home mom of three kids.
She waived her demands.
So we got back together.
And what happened?
Was when I realized
that my life was gonna change forever.
BCBS?
- That's correct. BCBS.
[dramatic music]
- As you can see, I'm in full stealth mode today.
Now... [chuckles]
as a condition of our reconciliation,
Audrey told me that she wanted me to pay about $7,000
towards what she said was health insurance
for herself and her kids that had gone unpaid
for the six months that we had been separated.
She told me the company was Blue Cross Blue Shield.
"Make the check out to BCBS,"
and she gave me an address to send it to.
Well, I paid it.
[cash register rings]
After three weeks, Audrey comes to me one day
- and says... - Paul, I need to talk to you
- for a second. - Be right back, buddy.
- Yeah, okay, bye. - What's up, honey?
- Um, I need another check for health insurance.
Another check?
What for?
- Well, I gotta have some female tests,
and they're not covered.
So I need $1,300.50 made out to BCBS,
sent to the same address as before.
Sure, honey, no problem.
Thanks.
Well, I was suspicious.
So this time, instead of "BCBS,"
I wrote the words "Blue Cross Blue Shield"
on the check.
I wrote the words "Blue Cross Blue Shield"
on the check
and mailed it. It was a Friday.
The next day, on a Saturday,
Audrey comes to me and says--
- Paul, I heard from the insurance company.
- "They won't process your check."
"They won't process your check."
- They won't process the check that you gave me.
- I go, "What do you mean they won't process my check?"
I said, "What do you mean they won't process the check?"
What do you mean, they won't process the check?
I just mailed it yesterday.
How could it get to the company in one day,
up into their mail room, up to underwriting,
to processing?
Besides, it was a Saturday. They don't work on Saturdays.
They don't even work on Saturdays.
- I don't know. I'm just telling you
what they told me. They said they can't process it
because it has to be made out to "BCBS."
- [scoffs] You're telling me
that Blue Cross Blue Shield won't accept a check
made out to Blue Cross Blue Shield?
- I am just telling you what they told me.
- You tell them to send me back my check,
and I'll write you another check, 'cause I don't
wanna have two checks floating around out there.
Fine.
* *
- The next day, Sunday, she comes to me with my check.
Well, that was really something,
and I write another check to BCBS for the $1,500.
But I had a plan.
- It's just a shame we're not doing
an actual movie, because that would mean Oscar.
We have to settle for Emmys and Golden Globe and--
- That's all right. - People's Choice
- and this and that-- - There's so much competition.
Those are harder than Oscars to get now.
- You're kidding? - No, I'm not kidding.
- Are they, like, almost at the prestige level
- of an Oscar? - So...
- Or are they still like, "Ah, it's just an Emmy"?
First thing, next day, Monday morning,
I drove up to talk with this insurance agent.
I wanted to ask this guy
why, if he's a Blue Cross Blue Shield agent,
he can't take a check made out to Blue Cross Blue Shield.
I had the address:
something, something Main Street, number 61,
thinking that I'm looking for an office park
and suite number 61, where this Blue Cross agent is.
Driving up Main Street, and I'm looking around,
and there's nothing.
And I make a U-turn, and on my way back,
I see that number...
[dramatic music]
And it's a trailer park.
* *
I drive into the trailer park. I start driving around.
* *
And I see trailer 58, trailer 59,
trailer 60,
trailer 61!
And it's got a sign on the window--
"For sale by owner, call"--
and it was Audrey's cell phone number.
* *
[indistinct chatter]
Jason.
- Yes, Jeanette? - Would I--
why would I give him this information so easily?
- Ah, well... - Paul, is this what happened?
- She did. - She did.
- She did? - Such is life.
- That's--so, she didn't care about, you know, protecting
the tenants or nothing?
Okay.
[laughter]
Whatever. [laughs]
[dramatic music]
* *
[sighs]
Hello, how are you today?
Yeah, what do you want?
- I was wondering if you'd tell me who lives in 61.
- That's, uh, Audrey Munson and her family.
- You know how long they've lived there?
About two years.
[sighs]
Okay, thanks.
Yeah, go fuck yourself.
[door closes]
* *
- It was quite a shocking moment
in a series of shocking moments,
which is this story. [laughing]
And it's all true.
It's all true, and yes, you can laugh at me.
I know. It's all right.
It's fine.
I understand. I laugh at me too.
[laughs]
Do you want me to talk to you or the camera?
Which looks better?
BCBS was a corporation that Audrey had set up
two months after we were married
to try to fleece me of my assets.
So I went home, and thank God for the Internet.
I put a stop payment on that check
over the Internet
and waited for Audrey to come home.
[door opens]
* *
She comes home.
Hi, Paul.
And I say to her...
Honey, your game is up.
You have two minutes to tell me what BCBS is.
Blue Cross Blue Shield.
- "Ooh, Blue Cross Blue Shield.
"Call 'em. Really, it's Blue Cross
Blue Shield." No, it's not.
The address you gave me to mail those checks to?
It's not an insurance agent. It's a trailer park.
It's your trailer park,
and I was at your trailer today.
* *
With that, she spins around,
gets back into the car, and drives off.
Changed the locks again.
* *
And called a divorce lawyer the next day.
[phone rings]
[phone beeps]
Hello?
Uh, is this Paul Goldman?
- Yes, it is. Who's this?
- Well, my name is Bob Thompson,
and I'm Aubrey Munson's second husband.
- Hey, how ya doin'? - Uh, fine, thanks.
Uh, Paul, there are a few things about Audrey
you might wanna know.
Would it be possible for us
to get together tomorrow morning for breakfast?
- [chuckles] Well, I'd like to,
but don't you live in New England?
Uh, no.
No. Is that what she told you?
I live about a mile from you.
- So the next day, I meet with Bob Thompson
at the local IHOP for breakfast.
[indistinct chatter]
- Okay, let's go again right away.
- Um, Paul-- - Yes?
- Uh, I think your impulse is to smile.
Yeah?
- I think this scene will play better without smiling at all,
because you're finding out shocking information.
- Okay. - So it's still playing
a little bit too light, I think.
- Could I have some more coffee?
- Unless you were smiling while you met him. But I feel like--
- I always pictured it-- - No, no, I don't think so, no.
- Yeah, so I would imagine you'd be kind of annoyed
- and upset and this stuff. - Okay.
- Let's try to do it very seriously.
- Okay. - Great.
So remember, Paul, very serious.
- [chuckles] - Look upset.
Action.
* *
It's good to meet you, Bob.
I wanted to ask you right off... [sighs]
How long were you married to Audrey?
- We were only married four months.
Four months?
- I couldn't take her lies anymore.
After two months of marriage,
she asked me to put her name on all my assets.
[bangs table]
[laughing] Oh, just--
sorry, sorry.
- You're smiling again, Paul. - [sighs]
- Just watch it. Just watch it.
And action.
That's just so unbelievable,
because that's exactly what happened to me.
* *
- Well, I, uh-- I should have known better.
There were constant arguments,
'cause I could never trust her.
As soon as we were living together,
things started going badly--
lies about where she'd been, her background,
and the stories kept changing.
After four months, I'd had enough.
- Geez, this is so unbelievable, Bob.
All right, one more question.
Was yours a part-time marriage too?
I mean, was Audrey caring for her grandmother
up in Cocoa Beach from Saturdays to Wednesdays
while you were married to her,
like she was when I was married to her?
Cocoa Beach?
I don't know how to tell you this, Paul,
but she wasn't in Cocoa Beach.
She's been here every Monday for years.
I've been bringing her son Tommy to her
every Monday morning.
* *
Paul,
I think you need to find out what your wife was really doing
from Saturdays to Wednesdays.
* *
You're smiling, Paul.
* *
- My story--
it was just beginning.
That started the discoveries of her secret double life.
What I found...
Holy shit!
Turned into a whole new level of criminality.
- She had a secret phone, and she had secret addresses,
and she had a whole secret life.
I see some bizarre things.
- Absolutely, not a doubt in my mind.
- Yeah, you see? It's true.
- I could no longer be the nice guy.
- In this story, every time you turn over a rock,
you'll find several more pebbles.
- Do you know a guy named Royce?
I am so sorry, Paul.
That's Royce Rocco.
- And then you gotta turn over those pebbles,
then you're gonna find more.
This is not a little ring.
I couldn't believe it.
But I had to believe it.
Next week, I went and paid a visit to the FBI.
Paul is not crazy.
- That's right from the head of Internal Affairs.
Multiple agencies don't get involved
if there's nothing there.
- And this case haunts me because it started off here,
and it just went here. It went off the rails.
Beam me up, Scotty.
I'm in the twilight zone.
Daddy!
Ah!
* *
- All right. - On your mark.
[indistinct chatter]
[upbeat music]
* *