A year ago,Vili Fualaaugrabbed national headlines when hefiled for legal separationfrom his wife, former school teacher and sex offenderMary Kay Letourneau.
But things aren’t over. The couple hasrepeatedly been spotted togetheraround the Seattle area. Sources close to them have told PEOPLE that they’re working on their marriage — and still in love.
While the couple themselves wouldn’t address it, their inner circle was given the green light to speak frankly about what went wrong in their notorious coupling.
“When the news came out that he filed for separation, people were stunned,” friend Anne Bremner told the show. “They’d been together all this time.”
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“I’m gonna tell you why she refuses to speak about it,” added longtime friend Mark Greenberg. “It’s because she doesn’t know the answer to it. She’s living in hope. Mary wants this relationship to work. Vili’s in his mid-30s, and Mary’s in her mid-50s, and you just have to relate it to anyone else you know and their relationship issues.”
“Mary’s hopeful,” Greenberg continued. “She loves Vili. There’s absolutely no question about that.”
David Gehrke, another friend, said the two are “in counseling” and still “living together.”
“They’re working on their problems,” he said. “Everybody wants a good love story, and generally when you’re caught up in this situation, there’s no way it can end up happy, even if it was love.”
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The endurance ofLetourneau’s connection to Fualaauis, to some outside observers, one improbable fact among many.
Letourneau was sent back to prison and was released in 2004. She twice became pregnant with Fualaau’s child when he was underage. The couple eventually married and raised their two daughters together.
OnAutobiographythis week, she eventually agreed to speak in generalities about the state of her marriage.
“There is a labor in love,” she said. “Anyone who’s making love work in a marriage knows it’s work.”
Mary Kay Letourneau: Autobiographyaired Tuesday and is available on demand and on A&E’s website. It will be rebroadcast throughout the month.
source: people.com
