This is Not Just a Terrible Story

In 2005, Stacie Love's life was turned upside down by a knock on the door. Twenty years later, she discovers the truth about her marriage to her former teacher and a culture of complicity that protected predators for decades. Not Just A Terrible Story is one woman's search for answers. Reach out to our team at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].

• 0:00Speaker 00

  There is no way in hell I'm going to the high school reunion. That would be the most embarrassing thing to go and be like, "Oh, hey, remember? I'm the one that married the teacher," and then he turned out to be a total creep.

• 0:13Speaker 01

  He was this all-American kid that went out and got his education and came back to the school to teach. I mean, everybody thought he was a great teacher.

• 0:23Speaker 02

  We all just loved Brett. Very student-centered, very supportive.

• 0:28Speaker 03

  This isn't just the story of how Stacy married her former English teacher. It's about the place where it happened and the community that watched it unfold.

• 0:38Speaker 01

  It almost was like normal. Not quite normal, but, "Oh, we've seen this before."

• 0:43Speaker 04

  The other teachers must have known he was married to a former student if we all knew.

• 0:48Speaker 05

  And there were things that were rumored to have happened, and the teacher stayed. There was this good old boys' culture as a tenement during this time.

• 0:55Speaker 03

  But what happened in high school was actually just the beginning of Stacy's story.

• 1:00Speaker 06

  He never made me feel any better about who I suspected he was.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  And I remember saying at the time, "Get out. There's red flags here. You need to listen to your intuition. Something is not right."

• 1:14Speaker 07

  And then there was a knock at the door. I just kept thinking, "Please don't let it be another student."

• 1:23Speaker 03

  It was federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security.

• 1:26Speaker 06

  Jim and I both were tundrid of these kind of cases. We didn't miss very often.

• 1:34Speaker 03

  Stacy didn't really know why they knocked on her door that day. And she wouldn't for another two decades.

• 1:40Speaker 07

  What is this?

• 1:41Speaker 00

  This is the investigation file from the Teachers' Gender Practice Commission.

• 1:48Speaker 07

  Wow, that's insane. Had I known the truth, I think I would have made very different decisions. I don't want this to be my story. I really don't. I don't want this to be my life.

• 2:03Speaker 03

  But this is not just a terrible story.

• 2:07Speaker 07

  And now I can say I was a victim. And so were my friends. And so were many other people in that classroom and in that school district and in that school.

• 2:23Speaker 03

  I'm Sydney Gladu. Subscribe to Not Just a Terrible Story on your podcast listening app. Episodes 1 and 2 release September 15.

• 2:35Speaker 05

  Um, wow. Go Eagles!