Latest News: Vili Fualaau Takes Offense to May December Movie
Vili Fualaau says he is “offended by” May December, the 2023 Netflix movie at least partially based on his scandalous relationship with his former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, and questions why filmmakers didn’t consult him about the project. “I’m still alive and well. If they had reached out to me, we could have worked together on a masterpiece,” Fualaau, 40, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Instead, they chose to do a ripoff of my original story. I’m offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me—who lived through a real story and is still living it.”
According to screenwriter Samy Burch, the story of Fualaau and Letourneau merely served as a “jumping-off” point for the film. However, the characters of Gracie Atherton-Yoo and Joe Yoo, played respectively by Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, share multiple similarities to the real couple. Director Todd Haynes previously told Rolling Stone the movie’s production team made a conscious decision not to consult Fualaau based on legal discussions.
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Who Is Vili Fualaau?
Vili Fualaau is a former student and the ex-husband of the late Mary Kay Letourneau. When Fualaau was 12, he became sexually involved with Letourneau, his 34-year-old married schoolteacher. Their illegal relationship was discovered when Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau’s child in 1997, and she went to prison after pleading guilty to two counts of child rape. Fualaau and Letourneau eventually married in 2005 and had two children together before divorcing in 2019. The scandalous nature of their relationship received widespread attention and served as loose inspiration for the 2023 movie May December.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Vili Fualaau
BORN: June 26, 1983
SPOUSE: Mary Katherine Letourneau (2005-2019)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer
Early Life
Born June 26, 1983, as one of four children of Soona and Luaiva Fualaau, Vili Fualaau first met Mary Kay Letourneau while he was in second grade. She later became his sixth-grade teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Washington.
A popular teacher and a married mother of four, Letourneau initially took Fualaau under her wing and encouraged his artistic talents. He spent time at her house, and she encouraged a friendship between him and her oldest child, Steve, who was only a year younger than him.
According to some interviews, Fualaau has claimed to be the one that sought to change their friendship into a romantic relationship. He thought about what he could do to win her over, telling Dateline television news magazine that “I remember I used to like plan the next day, like ‘What I was gonna do, what was gonna say, what I was gonna like—what surprise I was gonna leave on her desk.’” Letourneau claimed that she saw him as more of a man than a young teenager.
Relationship with Mary Kay Letourneau
During the summer after sixth grade, Fualaau celebrated his 13th birthday. Just days prior, he became sexually involved with Letourneau. Both Fualaau and Letourneau were concerned with keeping the relationship a secret, however, Letourneau later said she didn’t understand that her involvement with the minor was legally considered rape.
The police did catch them together in her van once, parked at a local marina at night. They questioned Fualaau and Letourneau, who both denied any wrongdoing. The officers also called Fualaau’s mother, who said that it was okay for him to be there with her.
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In 1997, Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau’s child. Her husband learned about her relationship with Fualaau, and one of his family members tipped off the authorities. Soon after, Letourneau was arrested on statutory rape charges. She gave birth to daughter Audrey that May, making Fualaau a father for the first time at age 14. Fualaau’s mother received temporary custody of the child.
At first, Fualaau kept his identity hidden during the legal proceedings against Letourneau. He still gave comments to the press, explaining to Washington TV station KIRO that Letourneau’s pregnancy was no accident. “We made a plan. The only way to keep us together was to have a baby, so that baby would remind me of her,” he told a reporter. The family later sued the station for invasion of privacy.
Mary Kay Letourneau’s Incarceration
Letourneau later pled guilty to two counts of child rape and was given a sentence of six months to seven years in prison. Released into a sex offender treatment program after six months, Letourneau refused to stay away from Fualaau, despite a court order. The two were soon caught together by police in her car, and Letourneau went back to jail for the rest of her sentence in 1998.
During their brief time together, Letourneau became pregnant with their second child. Their daughter Georgia was born while Letourneau served her sentence. Once again, Fualaau’s mother stepped in to care for the couple’s new baby.
That same year, Fualaau went public by selling his story to television and news outlets. He and Letourneau tried to explain their unusual relationship in the 1999 book Un suel crime, l’amour (Only One Crime, Love), which was published in France. Going through a difficult time, Fualaau struggled with the notoriety surrounding the case. He did a lot of partying for a time and dropped out of school.
In 2002, Fualaau and his family sued the school district and the police for failing to stop the relationship. He claimed to be suffering emotionally as a result of his relationship with Letourneau and said he was no longer in love with the mother of his children. Apparently, the jury didn’t believe him; they ruled in favor of the defendants.
14-Year Marriage to Mary Kay Letourneau
Getty ImagesMary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau are seen together in May 2005 in Normandy Park, Washington.
Soon after Letourneau’s release from prison in 2004, Fualaau, then 21 years old, had the restraining order against Letourneau lifted. He and Letourneau soon got engaged. In May 2005, the couple married at a winery in Woodinville, Washington. They sold their wedding video to the press.
Eventually reunited with their children, Fualaau and Letourneau established a home in a suburb of Seattle. He began working as a DJ, and the couple hosted a series of “Hot for Teacher” nights at a local club in 2009.
Fualaau and Letourneau celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary in 2015, with famed interviewer Barbara Walters talking to the couple on an episode of 20/20. Letourneau later shared more details about their relationship with A&E in the two-hour documentary Mary Kay Letourneau: Autobiography, which aired in late May 2018.
Also in 2018, the couple gave a now infamous interview with 7NEWS Australia reporter Matt Doran. When Doran questioned Letourneau about the illicit nature of the start of their relationship, she turned to Fualaau and asked him: “Who was the boss? Who was the boss back then?” After several awkward silences, Fualaau eventually said that he “was the pursuer” in their relationship.
Meanwhile, the relationship was beginning to unravel. In May 2017, Fualaau legally separated from Letourneau, but according to an interview he allegedly gave Radar Online, it was a financial decision made by the couple due to his desire to start a marijuana business. “It’s not necessarily what you think,” he told the magazine about the separation filing. “When you want to get licensed, they do background checks on both parties. If I decide to be a part of it, I have to be licensed, and I have to be vetted, and so does a spouse. She has a past. She has a history.”
However, in August 2017, speaking through his lawyer, Fualaau claimed that he never gave an interview to Radar and that he was proceeding with the separation, despite Letourneau’s desire for reconciliation, as revealed in court documents. The couple eventually finalized their divorce in 2019.
DUI Arrests
In February 2018, Fualaau was arrested for drunk driving and subsequently hit two cars in Burien, Washington. When the police arrived, he was allegedly disoriented and slurring his speech. Reports claimed Letourneau arrived at the scene of the accident and told Fualaau not to take a sobriety test without their lawyer being present.
In September 2021, Fualaau was arrested again for a suspected DUI in Snohomish County, Washington. Fualaau was allegedly driving erratically and nearly struck a marked Seattle police car, according to state police. The case was eventually dropped.
Mary Kay Letourneau’s Death
Letourneau passed away from colon cancer on July 6, 2020. Despite their differences, Fualaau was by her side. “Vili moved back from California, gave up his life there, and for the last two months of Mary’s life he stood by her 24/7 taking care of her,” Letourneau’s attorney David Gehrke said. “So yes, they were divorced and they had their spats, but they were always in love with each other.”
Children
Fualaau has three children, including two daughters with Mary Kay Letourneau. Their older daughter, Audrey, was born in May 1997 when Fualaau was 14 years old. This younger daughter, Georgia, was born in October 1998.
In November 2022, Fualaau became a father for the third time with the birth of his daughter Sophia. Fualaau has kept the identity of Sophia’s mother private and doesn’t share personal details about his youngest child. According to People, Georgia publicly announced Sophia’s birth in an Instagram post. “Hi Sophia, I’m your big sister! You’re so beautiful, I can’t wait to watch you grow. I’ll be right here by your side no matter what!” she wrote.
In September 2023, Georgia confirmed that she was expecting her first child, which will soon make Fualaau a first-time grandfather. She said he is “very supportive,” accompanying her to medical appointments and helping her purchase baby supplies. “I just know that he’s going to be the greatest grandfather ever,” she told People.
Inspiration for May December
Fualaau, Letorneau, and the scandal surrounding their relationship served as loose inspiration for the 2023 movie May December, starring Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton.
In the movie, Moore plays Gracie Atherton, a woman who at age 36 began a sexual relationship with 13-year-old pet store employee Joe Yoo. Portman portrays an actor preparing to play Gracie—now married to Yoo and with three children together—in an upcoming film about their relationship.
Other Netflix Films Based on True Stories
Although May December’s screenwriter Samy Burch has said Fualaau and Letourneau’s story was only a “jumping-off point,” director Todd Haynes said details of their story helped inform the movie. “There were times when it became very, very helpful to get very specific about the research, and we learned things from that relationship,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
May December has received critical acclaim, with the film receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical or Comedy. Moore, Portman, and Melton were each nominated for their respective roles, as well. However, Fualaau has revealed he wasn’t consulted by filmmakers and said he was “offended by” the project. “I love movies—good movies. And I admire ones that capture the essence and complications of real-life events. You know, movies that allow you to see or realize something new every time you watch them,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2024. “Those kinds of writers and directors—someone who can do that—would be perfect to work with, because my story is not nearly as simple as this movie [portrays].”
Quotes
- I remember I used to like plan the next day, like ‘What I was gonna do, what was gonna say, what I was gonna like—what surprise I was gonna leave on her desk.’
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Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
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