Summary
- May December is based on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau, who met him when he was her student in school.
- Letourneau was convicted for sexually assaulting Fualaau, but they resumed their relationship after she got out.
- She also had two kids with Faulaau and got married after her prison sentence ended. She later died in 2022 at age 58.
Facts become stranger than fiction in Todd Haynes’ bone-chilling new drama May December based on the real-life story of Mary Kay Letourneau.
The film is screening in select theatres worldwide and will premiere on Netflix on December 1, 2023. May December is a portrayal of the twisted love affair between Letourneau and her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau.
Letourneau made national headlines in 1990 when she was arrested for being a pedophilic sex offender. However, she continued her amorous delusions toward Fualaau after getting released from prison.
May December boasts a carousel of stars led by Natalie Portman and Juliana Moore. Moore plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, the fictionalized version of Letourneau, while Charles Melton plays Joe Yoo, the film’s version of Vili Fualaau.
Portman portrays a highly trained actor named Elizabeth Berry, who is hell-bent on uncovering the bits and pieces of Gracie’s life for her upcoming film.
In this article, we will dissect the dark lives of Letorneau and Fualaau and find the staggering parallels between fiction and reality. Needless to say, the depictions will be violent and full of disturbing content. So, stop reading now if you are feeling uncomfortable or triggered.
1. Mary Kay Letourneau was Arrested for Committing Second-Degree Rape of 12-Year-Old Vili Fualaau
The horrifying case of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau started in the summer of 1996. Mary was Vili’s teacher in the second and sixth grades, which was when their sexual relationship began.
The story started when the police found them together in a car in Burien, Washington. According to reports, Mary Kay shifted to the front seat when she realized the police were approaching, and Vili pretended to be asleep.
Mary and Vili provided false statements, and Vili claimed that he was 18 years old. Mary Kay Letourneau was eventually arrested on March 4, 1997, after being convicted of second-degree child rape.
However, her six-and-a-half-year sentence was cut short to only three months because of a plea arranged by her lawyer. Additionally, she was instructed to complete three years at a sex offender rehabilitation program.
Astonishingly, just two weeks after the end of her sentence, Mary Kay would go to see Vili Fualaau again.
2. Mary Kay Letourneau Gave Birth to Vili Fualaau’s Daughter in 1997
In May 1997, Mary Kay gave birth to her first child with Vili named Audrey while waiting for a prison sentence.
It was at this time that Mary Kay Letourneau made international headlines and was shamed throughout the world. This led to her deteriorating mental health, and she was reportedly in severe depression.
However, that didn’t stop her from frequenting her teenage student on several occasions.
It was at this time that the police found her again with Vili in a car’s backseat, along with thousands of dollars, baby clothes and a passport. She was arrested for the second time.
3. Letourneau Gave Birth to Vili Fualaau’s Second Child while in Prison
After her second arrest, the judge revoked the terms of Mary’s previous agreement and gave her a maximum prison time of seven and a half years.
During this time, she gave birth to her second child, Georgia, in 1998. This indicates that Vili Fualaau impregnated her in the tiny window of freedom following her three-month sentence.
Elsewhere, the international media had sensationalized her story, and she was getting attention from all corners of the world. During this time, Mary Kay wrote two books while imprisoned. The first book was called “Only Crime, Love” and was published in 1998, and the second one, titled “If Loving You Is Wrong”, was released a year later.
Letourneau’s life in prison was far from smooth. She spent several months in solitary confinement at the Washington Corrections Center for Women after the officials’ intercepted letters that she’d intended to send to Fualaau.
That was yet another testament to her unwavering, self-destructive motivation to connect to the then 14-year-old.
4. Tying the Knot in 2005 Before Separating in 2019
Right after completing her prison sentence, Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau got married in 2005.
Although Mary was branded with the tag of a sex offender for life, her determination to be with Vili remained unperturbed. Meanwhile, Vili Fualaau convinced the court to terminate their no-contact clause so they could marry.
It was reported that Vili dropped out of school and took care of Georgia and Audrey while Mary was in prison, and the entire saga affected his mental health catastrophically.
However, the marriage wasn’t permanent, and the two separated in 2019 after fourteen years of being together.
Despite the taboo nature of their dynamic, Vili has always claimed that he was never a victim in their relationship and was not ashamed of his love for Mary Kay.
5. Mary Kay Letourneau’s Demise in 2020
Mary Kay Letourneau died in 2020, aged 58, due to colorectal cancer. Despite their divorce, she left most of her earthly possessions to Vili Fualaau.
The 2000 A&E TV movie All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story was the only film or TV adaptation of Letourneau’s scandalous story until Todd Haynes’ 2023 Netflix film May December.
With such disturbing and intriguing content, the Oscar-winning director has much potential to explore in the upcoming Netflix film.
What do you think about this scandalous testament of love? Write your thoughts in the comment section down below.
6. About May December
May December is a 2023 American drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik.
Loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the film follows an actress (Natalie Portman) who travels to Georgia to meet and study the life of the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film – the woman being infamous for her 23-year-old relationship with her husband (Charles Melton) whom she first met as a minor.
The film was announced in June 2021, with Portman and Moore joining the cast. Filming took place in mid-2022 around Savannah, Georgia. It premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023, where the North American distribution rights were bought by Netflix.
May December was released in select theaters in the United States on November 17, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on December 1. It received widespread acclaim from critics.
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