01x06 - Latter Day Lies

[bunniefuu]

[soft music]

- They had a very idyllic life.

ANDREA MERRIMAN:
What are you doing, Shawn?

- Relaxing.

- I used to lay in bed at night
and go, our life is so perfect.

- But that came at a cost.

- He starts to see
the writing on the wall.

- He destroyed my universe.

- A warning tonight
to be careful who you trust.

MERRIMAN: He told me, the
whole time we've been married,

I've been living
a secret double life.

[suspenseful music]

- It doesn't feel real.

SHAWN:
I'm Shawn Merriman.

- My husband's a dark,
horrible, greedy criminal.

- Life is ripped out
from under you.

- Nobody can believe this.

MERRIMAN: A neighbor was
so angry with Shawn.

He had a g*n.

- It was
a terrifying situation.

MERRIMAN:
Everything is racing.

The end was near.

♪ ♪

ANDREA GUNNING: I'm Andrea
Gunning, and this is Betrayal,

a show about the people
we trust the most

and the deceptions
that change everything.

[suspenseful music]

Andrea Merriman fell in love

with a charming
and ambitious man

who made her family rich
in more ways than one.

But a shocking confession
reveals that everything

she thought she knew
about her husband

was a lie.

Andrea, it's so good
to see you again.

- It's good
to chat with you again.

- How would you define the
betrayal that happened to you?

- The ultimate betrayal
on every front.

The man I married turned out
to be capable of things

I could never
have comprehended.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

I grew up mostly in
Grand Junction, Colorado.

I'm the oldest of five.

KIM:
We had an amazing childhood.

We grew up with lots
of opportunities

and wonderful parents.

MERRIMAN:
We were a household of faith.

We belonged to the Church
of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints.

So when I was going to
college, I was accepted

to Brigham Young University.

I worked part time in the
office at the apartment complex

that we lived in
as college students.

And one day, a boy
named Shawn Merriman

showed up to pay his rent.

He had a reputation
of being a very nice guy,

a successful guy.

He drove a BMW.

He shopped at the best stores.

He had the finest shoes.

I just thought he was
a very nice person,

but I also thought
he was really intelligent.

And that was attractive to me.

But also, my faith is
something very important to me,

so I was totally happy that
Shawn was a man of God.

♪ ♪

GUNNING: Andrea was raised
her whole life

in the Mormon church,
and they put a huge emphasis

on community and shared values.

So it was important to her
to find someone

that was in the church as well.

MERRIMAN: He would make fun,
friendly comments

when he came into the office.

And then he started
asking me out.

He took me to concerts,

took me
to really amazing restaurants.

He took me to do everything
he knew I loved.

KIM: Andrea introduced me
to Shawn

when we were both in college.

I was very happy for her.

They seemed to work well.

They seemed to have
similar desires.

They seemed to have
similar ambitions.

And there was nothing
to dislike about Shawn.

He seemed to have
her well-being

forefront of his mind.

MERRIMAN: Shawn proposed to me
in California on a beach

because he knew the beach
is my favorite place.

I didn't take a lot of time
to think about it.

Our wedding took place
in the Jordan River Temple

of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.

I was preparing
to have a happy life,

and I felt like
the future was ours.

Prior to dating Shawn,
my goals were strong.

I had gone to school
with the idea

that I would then
go to law school.

But after we got married,
I decided

to stop at a bachelor's degree
and focus on supporting him.

We moved to Denver, Colorado,
for his career.

He went to work
at an investment firm.

And he had a lot
of success at it.

He worked just the last quarter
of 1990 as a stockbroker,

and he made about 50 grand
in that last three months.

GUNNING:
The $200,000 that Shawn made

in his first year alone
would be the equivalent

of nearly a half a million
dollars today.

That number is an astonishing
amount for someone

so new in the investment world.

MERRIMAN: Here's Shawn, who's
really happy because he just

landed another big client.
[laughs]

Let's zoom in on that smile.

GUNNING: Shawn's reputation
was growing,

and he was getting lucrative
job offers from other firms.

MERRIMAN: He moved around to
a couple of different firms,

and he would always get
a large signing bonus.

Getting ready for a meeting.

I love this shirt on him.

Having a healthy breakfast.
[laughs]

One company would give him
$50,000 or $60,000 or $70,000

to go work for them.

- h*, h*, h*.

- And then
he'd be there a year,

and another one would
pay him another big bonus

to go and work for them,
so he was making a good living.

GUNNING: With the success
of Shawn's job,

the couple felt ready
to start a family.

MERRIMAN: When we married,
we talked about

that we wanted a large family.

So when our first baby was
born, I thought I had it all.

Hi, pumpkin.

Here is Sarah.

She's just about
two months old.

How are you?
What are you doing?

- I was really excited for her.

I was having children
at the same time,

and so our kids were friends.

Andy, what are you doing?

- I'm playing with Sarah.

KIM:
Oh, how nice.

It seemed like they had
a very idyllic life.

There's Andy. Wave, Andy.

GUNNING:
They had four children.

KIM:
Hi.

- Andrea just really loved
being with her family

and spending time together.

SHAWN:
Tick, tock.

What time is it, Andy?

Tick.

- But the thing that really
stands out was the traveling.

- We definitely got to go
to some fun places.

SHAWN: Where are you?
SARAH: Zurich.

SHAWN: In what country?
- Africa.

SHAWN: Switzerland.

- My mom always thought
it was important to learn

about different cultures.

In the limo, going out for
a night on the town in Vegas.

Shawn's happy and content.

- They traveled a lot,
and they accumulated things

that most wealthy people do.

He started
to collect art, cars,

and toys for entertainment.

MERRIMAN: Eventually, he came
to me one day and said,

you know, maybe I ought
to start my own company.

He started his own
investment company

that he named
Market Street Advisors.

As he starts
his investment firm,

he upgrades our house
to another home.

He said, I'm going to
be working from home.

This will give me
the space to eventually

build an office outside
the house but on our property.

- The couple moved
to a community

called Stage Run in Aurora.

♪ ♪

JILL: The Merrimans lived
in our same neighborhood.

And their house was amazing.

[exciting music]

They had the biggest lot
in the neighborhood,

3 or 4 acres.

One thing I remembered
about Andrea's house

is that she had a grand piano
right when you walked in,

and she could
play it beautifully.

[soft piano music]

♪ ♪

She loved the sun shining in.

It was beautiful and bright.

It was probably the nicest
house in our neighborhood.

GUNNING: Even though
Shawn's working from home,

he still had to build
his list of clients,

which meant that
he had to travel

and be away from his family.

MERRIMAN: At first,
Shawn traveled a lot

for old car clubs.

And then he would go
on these golf trips

with wealthy golfers.

He was networking
and making friends.

A lot of them
were older people

that would be able
to invest money with him.

He also started and ran
his own investment club.

SHAWN:
Hi, I'm Shawn Merriman.

I'm getting ready
to go whitetail hunting.

[grunting bird call]

MERRIMAN:
He also started hunting

and started doing it intensely.

[g*nsh*t]

SHAWN: Here we are
in Kamchatka, Russia,

with my first ever moose.

MERRIMAN: He would travel
to South Africa,

to Zambia, to Namibia,

wherever there were
trophy animals

that he wanted to hunt.

And he would always say,
wealthy people

can afford to do this,

so I will be there with them
for a few weeks.

I'll get to know them, and I
will get their money to invest.

[suspenseful music]

- Last chance to make
any money here, buddy.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

MERRIMAN: One trip that
stands out in my mind,

he was traveling in Tanzania.

He came back, and he talked
about how he'd been hunting.

And they were
on a mountainside,

and it was a very narrow trail
with a drop-off.

One of the local trackers
that was guiding him slipped

and was going to plunge off
the side of this mountain

to his death.

Shawn grabbed his hand,
grabbed his arm,

pulled him to safety,
saved his life,

and he was the hero in Africa.

But then the very
first thing he did

when he got home was,
he went straight to a doctor

to be tested.

Saying, well,
you know, I cut myself up

when I was saving this man.

Looking back,
I have reason to believe

that, when he was in Africa,
he was doing more

than trying to save a tracker.

And that was why he returned
home and got tested.

GUNNING: After one of
Shawn's hunting trips,

he tells Andrea this
wild story of how

he saved a local
hunting guide's life

from tumbling down a cliff.

But Andrea had her suspicions.

- He wasn't a superhero.

- Andrea thinks
that this heroic story

is really just a coverup

for some
extracurricular activities.

MERRIMAN: Looking back, it
should have been a red flag.

The wild stories never actually
happened when I was with him.

But I just believed him
because I was married to him.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Is Dad wearing your same hat?

So Shawn was always
busy working,

or he's got
church stuff at night

as bishop of our local
church congregation.

That's similar to a pastor.

But he was very supportive
to help our kids

develop their talents.

ANNOUNCER:
In sixth place...

- For example, our oldest son
played on a baseball team.

Here's Andy in his first
championship baseball game.

Shawn had bought a pitching
machine and batting cage.

And not just
any pitching machine,

the same pitching machine that
the Colorado Rockies used

so that our son could
practice batting.

ANDY: There is the game ball
I got in baseball.

GUNNING:
So they have everything

that they need in the world.

But to Andrea,
at this point in her life,

the one thing that
she wants is for her family

to own their home outright.

MERRIMAN: He would say, what
do you want for your birthday?

What do you want
for Christmas?

And I kept saying,
I want my house paid off

so that I know
I always have a home.

[soft upbeat music]

And so he did.

He paid off my house.

And that was
a huge moment for me.

GUNNING:
Shawn built a big structure

in the back of his house
for his office,

but also as like a museum
to all of his collectibles.

It was pretty incredible.

SKIP: He had his own
little man cave

before man caves
got to be real big.

And I always remember thinking,
golly, how cool is this?

I would spend
all my time down here.

MERRIMAN: It was
a 4,800-square-foot building

that had a second story
on top.

The second story was his
Market Street Advisors office.

And then, if you went down,
there was a wood shop.

Then he had an auto shop.

He had an art collection
worth $6 to $7 million.

SKIP: He started collecting
all the religious etchings

that Rembrandt ever did.

I think at one time
he owned almost all of them.

- Then he had
what he called the showroom.

And in that were
his fancy cars lined up.

TIM:
He had baseball memorabilia.

I was in this house one time,
and he showed me a baseball

signed by Babe Ruth.

- And on the far side
were literally

hundreds of trophy animals.

- I usually would
not go down there.

It was not a fun place
for a little kid to go.

GUNNING: Shawn was loving
his new man cave,

and he was spending
all of his time there.

But it came at a cost.

[suspenseful music]

JILL: Andrea took care
of the kids,

but they weren't allowed
back there.

That was his place.

He had to be serious
about his work.

- Shawn only made time
to be present

for five or ten minutes a day
with our family.

- We just didn't
spend a lot of time together

like we would before.

When we did, there would be
stories about trades he made,

like, his success.

- Even though Andrea was
appreciative of everything

that Shawn has done
for the family financially,

she started to think,
was it all worth it?

- I went to him and said,
we don't need any more money.

We need a dad at home.

And he's like, I can't.

I felt like that was crazy.

I was totally happy
living one reality,

not realizing
there might be another

taking place at the same time.

♪ ♪

GUNNING:
Shawn is fully immersed

in building his business,

and that took a tremendous time
away from Andrea and the kids.

But for Shawn, more clients
meant more money.

MERRIMAN: When Shawn
started his business,

he wanted high-value clients

that could invest

But over time, people from
the church or family members

that didn't have as much money
approached him about investing.

[pensive music]

- I met Shawn Merriman
through the

Auburn Cord Duesenberg
Car Club.

And I found out that
a couple of the club members

joined his investment club.

And they said,
this guy is great, man.

You should get in with him.
Minimum investment was $25,000.

MERRIMAN: Shawn with Matthew
watching hunting videos.

All of my siblings, my two
sisters, my two brothers

had invested money with him.

KIM: He always handled
my mom's money,

and she was always
very happy with it.

I had a little stash that
I called my Europe money.

I was gonna go
on a trip to Europe.

So I thought, invest that

so it's not just
sitting in the bank.

- Over time, I started
little savings accounts

for each of my kids,
and I would build them up.

And he'd say,
can I borrow those accounts?

I wanna invest it for them.

And I would
turn it over to him.

When my mom passed away...

MERRIMAN:
I had a small inheritance

that I invested with him
as well.

TIM: Every month,
we got a statement.

And we're doing very well.

Don't know what he's doing,

but he's doing
something right.

KIM: When I would get
the statements,

I was gaining
almost $1,000 a month.

It was crazy to me.

Wow, my money is
doing something.

This is investing.

GUNNING:
Everything is going great.

Shawn is making a lot of money
for his clients,

and he's also making a lot
of money for his family.

And then the economy
starts to change.

TIM: Now, this is
right around when

the housing crisis
started around 2008,

and the market's tanking.

REPORTER: The National
Association of Realtors

reported the worst
month-to-month drop

in existing home sales

since they started
keeping track in the late '90s.

- The ripple effects
from the housing slump

is, in fact, taking its toll
on the U.S. economy.

- By that time,
we probably had put maybe

$50,000, $75,000 in with him.

Well, he kept making money,

according to
the monthly statements.

[suspenseful music]

We were at a Christmas party
for the classic car club.

[soft festive music]

♪ ♪

And another investor
came up to me.

He says, Tim,
what do you think about Shawn?

The market is tanking,
and we're still making money

hand over fist, you know?

And I says, yeah,
it's kind of questionable.

And another investor came up
to us at the same party,

and he says, no way.

I mean, Shawn is
a bishop in the church.

We put a lot of money in.
It was doing very well.

So we're staying with him.

And we left it there.

GUNNING: While Shawn's clients
are convinced

that he's managing
their investments well,

the financial market
begins to freefall.

- Wall Street today took
a nosedive sharp enough

to make investors' ears pop.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We are in the midst

of a serious financial crisis.

Our entire economy
is in danger.

- My name is Dave Neueswander.

I'm a securities investor
for the state of Utah.

And my job is to investigate
and prevent fraud.

What happened with
the stock market in 2008,

everything dropped.

It didn't really matter
what you were invested in.

Shawn starts to see
the writing on the wall.

I would imagine
the same thing was

happening to Shawn's clients.

They were calling, saying,
hey, get me out of the market.

Send me a check.
I need my money back.

MERRIMAN:
March 18, 2009,

I got the kids off to school,
and my phone rings.

[phone rings]

And it's Shawn.

And he said, Andrea,
I need you to come home.

[ominous music]

That was really
uncharacteristic of him.

I drive home. I went in.

And he kind of looked at me.

And he said, I've been
living a secret double life.

♪ ♪

GUNNING: Shawn was managing
investments for clients,

friends, and family
for nearly 15 years,

and everyone was
thrilled with the results

until the financial crisis
of 2008.

[suspenseful music]

- Shawn said, my company,
Market Street Advisors,

is a sham.

I was running a Ponzi scheme.

♪ ♪

I am floored.

It was never a moment I
expected to happen in my life.

This man, who I believe
is a good man,

an honest man,
a God-fearing man,

an upstanding member
of the community.

In reality,
he's a dark, awful, horrible,

greedy criminal.

It was just surreal.

- A Ponzi scheme basically
is where someone gives you

their money to invest,

but then this money is then
going out the back door

to pay for someone else
who is invested as well.

So it's a continual process.

You need to bring in new money

so that you can go
and take care of people

who want their money back.

GUNNING: Ponzi schemes
can operate for years,

as long as there are
a stream of new investors

to keep the money flowing.

But once withdrawals
exceed the contributions,

the entire structure collapses,
leaving investors with nothing.

CHRIS:
During that era,

there was
a rash of Ponzi schemes.

Shawn Merriman's case
came to light

in the same general time frame
as Bernie Madoff,

one of the most famous
Ponzi schemes.

REPORTER: Fixture on
Wall Street Bernie Madoff,

arrested by the FBI.

- It was just shocking
and overwhelming.

My mind was just reeling.

Then he said,
I hired an attorney.

I went and met him and told
him what I'd been doing.

And we went and met
with representatives

of the federal government
and revealed my crimes to them.

He destroyed my universe.

- After the first $400,000,
he never invested a dime.

He just spent the money.

And he knew that there was
just no defense to that.

So he confessed.

- But he didn't get arrested
right away.

The investigators needed time

to collect evidence
and build a case.

So it would be weeks
before he would be charged

and months before
he would be sentenced.

MERRIMAN: I didn't know
what I was gonna do,

and I couldn't
comprehend anything.

Everything is racing.

But I remember saying to him,

well, at least the house
is paid off.

So the kids and I would
have a place to live.

And he said, no,
you don't understand.

The house is gone.
The cars are gone.

The savings are gone.
The investments are gone.

Everything of value is frozen
and scheduled for seizure

by the federal government.

And that was the worst moment.

♪ ♪

I just felt like I had fallen
into the center of the Earth,

and there was not
gonna be any way out.

And in that moment,
I just thought, I gotta run.

I have to get out of here.

And I ran to my car and picked
up the phone to call for help.

My first call
was to my sister.

KIM: I was so stunned.
I just sat there.

I sat there for so long that
she thought I hung up on her.

Wow, that means he was
going to go to prison,

and she would probably
lose everything.

And that is when I just--

I was so, so blown away.

Sorry, I didn't even think
I'd get emotional about it.

And I think in hindsight now,

I see how devastating
it was and...

how scary that would be,
as a mother of four kids,

to find out
all that was happening

and that
your whole life is being

ripped out from under you.

GUNNING: And there were other
innocent victims at home.

Their children
were ages 3 to 16.

And as hard as this
conversation was going to be,

they needed to understand
what was about to unfold.

MERRIMAN: That night,
we're all in our family room.

♪ ♪

And he said, well,
I need to tell you

that I've made
a little mistake.

And I'm over there
from the other side going,

you have lied not just once,
but many times.

And then he says,
I have stolen some money.

And I'm over there going,
$20 million?

And I'll be going away
for a little while.

And I'm over there saying, to
federal prison for many years.

Like, I just felt like
he was minimizing all of it.

The kids were
shocked and stunned.

They all were crying.

And then my
nine-year-old said, wait,

does this mean
you're going to divorce Dad?

- When you're nine years old,
you don't really

understand things like that.

You go from just
being a normal kid,

thinking life is life
to confusion.

It doesn't feel real when
something like that happens.

MERRIMAN:
That's how crime is.

It is a mess, and the fallout
is always so much more.

It's a ripple effect,
and it doesn't just hurt you.

It destroys marriages,
families,

lives, friendships,
relationships,

sometimes for all time.

- It didn't take long for
Shawn's investors to find out

that they were victims

of a multimillion dollar
Ponzi scheme.

[suspenseful music]

TIM: I had just flown into
the airport from New York,

and I was on my way home
in my car.

And I got a call
from another investor.

He said, hey, Tim,
it's all a Ponzi scheme.

We lost all our money.

MATT:
He did wreck a lot of lives.

He stole a lot of money
from investors,

stole a of money from family.

- In situations like this,
people can lose their minds.

And a lot of dangerous
things can happen.

[tense music]

One night, a neighbor, who lost
a substantial sum of money,

he was so angry with Shawn,
and he had a g*n.

And he came over to our house,
climbed the steps

of the front porch,
made it to our front door,

ready to blow someone away.

[tense music]

GUNNING: Over the 15 years

that Shawn ran
this Ponzi scheme,

he had dozens of investors
that invested

a million dollars or more,
and now it was all gone.

SKIP:
Initially, there's this shock.

Nobody can believe
what's happening.

Then there's this anger
that comes,

and the anger gets kind of
directed at the whole family.

[knocking on door]

♪ ♪

GUNNING:
For one investor,

who was actually
a neighbor of theirs,

the loss was too great
to bear.

So he went over to
the Merriman home with a g*n.

MERRIMAN: I remember thinking
to myself, the end was near.

I am there
with kids looking at me.

- None of us had any idea
of what was happening.

GUNNING: It was
a terrifying situation.

Luckily, this man eventually
came to his senses,

put the g*n down,
and walked away.

SKIP: To me, I was like,
this is craziness.

I don't understand this at all.

And I remember thinking
that the whole thing is ugly.

- I've had a chance
to go and listen

to some of the victims,
and it's heart-wrenching

to hear them.

This was their life savings.

They have no more retirement.

In my experience,
a lot of people

never really get over it.

TIM: Our friend,
they said, we trusted him.

You know, Mormon bishop
and all this other stuff,

we trusted him with all this
money, and now we lost it all.

GUNNING: Word of Shawn's
crimes started to spread,

and news media started
to take interest in the story.

- Among the swindled investors
are even some

of Merriman's own neighbors.

Some lost
their retirement savings.

We're told,
in at least one case,

a man is going to lose
his home.

- Very sad.

The people who had invested
with him, I think, really

trusted him and thought that
they were friends with him.

MERRIMAN: I remember feeling
complete humiliation

that everything related
to the demise of my family

was playing out
on national television.

The media dubbed Shawn
"The Mormon Madoff."

That was a combo
of his religion

and the infamous Ponzi schemer,
Bernie Madoff.

- A few weeks later,
federal agents

show up at Andrea's home.

MERRIMAN:
They just went through

every room of the house,
looking for things of value.

GUNNING: They start
taking everything--

the cars, the boats, the
artwork, anything worth money.

And these items were going
to auction in hopes that

it could pay back
Shawn's victims.

There are federal agents,
government vehicles,

all on her property.

I mean, it was a spectacle
for her community.

MERRIMAN: My neighbors took
to gathering right next door.

And they would just drink.

And they're all watching the
horror going on at our house,

laughing, joking like
they're at a party.

At the same time, I remember
Shawn saying to me,

well, at least you had
a good life.

At least you got to see
a lot of fun places.

At least you got a lot
of fun vacations out of it.

- And I just lost it on him.

I said, I don't love
that I did any of that.

Everything was so tainted,
even the memories.

[somber music]

I looked at him and said, you
realize I have to divorce you.

And he didn't believe
that that was necessary.

And I said, no, no.
[scoffs]

With all you've done,
all I know is,

divorce is the consequence
of that.

- Andrea realizes
there's nothing

left for her in Colorado.

- I knew that I had to figure
out where I was gonna live,

where I was gonna go,
make arrangements for a house,

try to find a job.

JILL: She was putting stuff
in the car to drive to Utah

to look for a place to live.

And so I packed a bag,
and I came with her.

Sorry.

I drove with her
to Utah to be her friend.

MERRIMAN: I drove away
without a backward glance

to the neighborhood.

And what I arrived to
in Utah was,

I moved into
my brother's basement.

It was embarrassing.
It was sad.

It was frustrating.

KIM: From where she had been
in her life...

that was quite a step down.

GUNNING: Andrea's life
has fallen apart,

but there was one thing
that was about to happen

that she did not expect.

♪ ♪

GUNNING: As Andrea attempts
to rebuild her life in Utah,

back in Colorado,
federal prosecutors

are building their case
against Shawn.

[pensive music]

During this time,
Andrea's divorce is finalized,

and she decides
that she's not gonna go back

to Denver for Shawn's
sentencing hearing.

JILL:
She called and asked me,

can you please
go to the courthouse

to see what
his sentencing would be?

It was hard to be
in that courtroom.

Shawn was shackled
and in his yellow jumpsuit.

And he said, come here.

Jill, can you come here?

He just told me to tell Andrea
he loved her,

and it was just weird.

I just turned around
and walked

to the back of the courtroom
and sat there

waiting for the sentencing.

- Several of the investors,
the car guys were there.

Shawn was crying at one time.

KIM: I feel like he's
very sad that he got caught,

not that he ran
a Ponzi scheme.

I don't think that he's ever
been remorseful about that.

MERRIMAN: His sentence
was 12 1/2 years

in federal prison,

convicted of stealing
more than $20 million.

He had around 40 or so victims.

DAVE: He even took
his parents' money,

and he lost
his parents' money.

The fact that that was
not impacting Shawn

really tells you the inner
workings of his moral compass.

- In addition to
the prison sentence,

Shawn was required to pay back

the more than $20 million
that he stole.

The sale of the assets
that were seized

raised about $5 million.

But that wasn't enough
to pay back everybody.

- I've never seen
any restitution at all.

I didn't expect to see
any restitution.

TIM:
The million-dollar guys,

they're still waiting
for money.

They're still extremely angry.

And I don't blame them.

- He can go to prison
and "pay his time,"

but his victims are
sentenced to something

for the rest of their lives.

GUNNING: Despite going to
prison, Shawn was desperate

to still be a part
of his kids' lives.

- My first birthday when he
was in prison, he called me,

and I just remember,
he was crying,

couldn't stop saying sorry.

And then reality kinda set in.

Like, yeah, he's in prison.

So you don't have the same
relationship you once did.

- As hard as it was,
Andrea and her family

worked to move on
from what had happened.

[pensive music]

MERRIMAN: Post-betrayal,
I was really fortunate.

I got offered a job
in a down economy,

and friends helped me
arrange a place to stay.

So I had a house
taken care of.

And then, eventually, I was
able to earn a master's degree.

I never realized
this could be me.

I've met a few men
in the years since my divorce.

Every one of them,
when they found out

I was basically in poverty,
were like, no, thank you.

But the voice in my head
kept saying, don't give up.

I'm so glad I didn't give up
because the voice in my head

turned out to be right.

[soft exciting music]

DAVE:
We met for lunch,

and she was so easy
to talk to.

I was attracted to how smart
she was, how talented she was,

her life experiences,
and I think she's beautiful.

GUNNING: Dave had worked
in the financial world

his entire career.

And although he didn't
work on Shawn's case,

he understood what
Andrea had gone through.

And that created a unique bond
between the two of them.

- It was just
a great courtship,

very easy to fall in love.

We've been married
going on four years now.

KIM: Andrea is
very happy right now.

She just started
to shine again.

- Andrea continues her healing
journey from this betrayal.

And her husband, Dave,
takes pride

in taking down perpetrators
like Shawn.

MERRIMAN: He's working
and doing that every day,

and I love it.

Makes sure that
what happened to me

never happens to anyone else.

GUNNING: Andrea, what do you
feel are some of the lessons

that you learned
through the experience?

MERRIMAN: The biggest lessons
I learned were,

we absolutely can't
control all the experiences

that come our way.

But I just don't believe
that we can

or should let them stop us.

So many people are
living hard experiences.

And maybe,
instead of judging people,

we should see what we can do

to lift and inspire
someone else

and help someone else
make their own comeback

and overcome their own loss
or their own betrayal.

And then, beyond that, we just
each have to be good people

and make sure we're never the
one that commits a betrayal.

♪ ♪