Mary Kay Letourneau and Her Student-Turned-Husband Vili Fualaau’s Relationship Was Rocky: Timeline

1996

Before they began their relationship, Fualaau was Letourneau’s student in second and sixth grade. In 1996, when she was 34 and he was about to turn 13, things became romantic.

According to a 2002 CNN article, they were first caught together by police on June 18, 1996. At the time, police found them parked in a car together — but the teacher claimed he was a family friend and the student claimed that he was 18. Though they were brought to the station, they were ultimately allowed to leave together after a call to Fualaau’s mother. Sometime later that year, Letourneau got pregnant with the teen’s child.

1997

In March 1997, a relative of Letourneau’s first husband, Steve, with whom she shares four children, turned her in to the police. On May 29, 1997, she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Audrey.

Three months later, she pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. On November 14, 1997, she was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years behind bars.

1998

In January 1998, Letourneau was released from prison after serving only six months. On February 3, 1998, she and Fualaau, who was 14 at the time, were caught together again. Because she had violated her parole — which included a stipulation that she stay away from her victim — her sentence was reinstated and she was sent back to prison.

However, she’d already become pregnant with the couple’s second child, another girl named Georgia, who she gave birth to behind bars on October 16, 1998. The couple also wrote a book together which was released in France. The title translates to Only One Crime, Love. Steve Letourneau also filed for divorce in 1998, moving to Alaska with their four children.

2002

When Fualaau was 18, he and his mother filed a civil lawsuit against the Highline School District, where Letourneau had worked in Des Moines, Washington. According to CNN, “they failed to protect him from Letourneau, whom he now considers his abuser. … They are asking for over a million dollars for lost income, medical costs and pain and suffering.”

The suit cited several incidents in which the couple was caught together by school employees or by the police and responsible adults failed to follow up and look into the relationship.

In May 2002, however, the court found that the school district and city were not responsible. According to local outlet Kitsap Sun, the jury sided 10-1 in favor of the school district and 10-2 in favor of the city.

2004

Two years later, Letourneau was released, and it wasn’t long until she and Fualaau were together again. Though a no-contact order was still in place and Letourneau had registered as a sex offender, the then-21-year-old father had requested that it be removed in the summer of 2004.

By August 6, Seattlepi.com reported that a judge had agreed and that “King County prosecutors did not object to allowing the two to see each other and saw no further legal basis to keep the order in place.”

2005

A year later, the couple tied the knot on May 20, 2005, a little more than a week before their older daughter’s eighth birthday. At least one of Letourneau’s children from her first marriage was in attendance with the teenage girl serving as her mom’s maid of honor.

2009

The couple stayed together — and even hosted several “hot for teacher” parties together. According to Seattlepi.com, Fualaau worked the events as DJ Headline and the bar sold signed posters and T-shirts featuring images of the couple.

2017

After opening up about how their relationship had affected both of their lives back in 2015 during an ABC interview with Barbara Walters, they seemed to hit the rocks in 2017.

In June of that year, Fualaau filed for separation. However, the “split” wasn’t what it seemed, and after Letourneau filed paperwork to dismiss the separation, Fualaau admitted it was more of a “publicity stunt” than anything else.

2018 and 2019

But was the split real? In November 2018, they were reportedly back together and “dating” again, a source told People.

But they moved forward with their separation and were divorced in 2019.

2020

Months after their split, Mary was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and only had six months to live. She died on Monday, July 6, People confirmed. “It was expected but sad anyway,” her lawyer, David Gehrke, told KING 5 News. “She was a good person.”

2022

Following his divorce, Fualaau moved on with a mystery partner and welcomed baby No. 3 in November.

“Hi Sophia, I’m your big sister!” Fualaau’s daughter, Georgia, announced on her private Instagram page per People. “You’re so beautiful, I can’t wait to watch you grow. I’ll be right here by your side no matter what! I love you.”