Dirty John

- Previously on "The Betty Broderick Story"...

What are you doing?

- I never have time to think about anything.

If I could just have some time by myself

The kids are at camp where you are not listed

as next of kin.

When they come back, they'll be living with me.

I'm seeking an emergency judgment.

I'm in love with her.

Was I ever imagining it?

- No, you were right the whole time.

Will you marry me? - Yes.

I'm divorced.

I wasn't even there. I didn't have a lawyer.

- As is usual in bifurcated divorces,

we now move on to court-ordered mediation.

- These contempt filings serve to deliberately

delay trial proceedings, which will dilute

Mrs. Broderick's share of community property.

I have a calendar

of backed up contempt motions against your client.

I'm imposing 19 day suspended, 6 days in jail.

- Okay. Here you go.

Phone's against that wall. Cab number's on the board.

- Look, I got to go. Bye.

Mrs. Broderick? Sid Montgomery,

feature reporter for the San Diego Register.

- Oh, I'm I mean, I - Your case, your divorce,

might be the worst one I've seen in this county.

You've seen a lot of divorces, huh?

- Well, I cover the court, so yeah.

So I know that you've had it rough.

I just got caught up on all the proceedings

and seen how long they've been going on

and that the date for your property settlement

hasn't been set yet, so,

I thought maybe you might have some things to say

about all that on the record.

Look, I get it.

You want to get home, so...

This is my desk phone and my pager.

Okay?

Oh, and just remember,

sometimes a problem just needs a little daylight.

- I've seen the other side of life now.

The sordid, degrading side, and I'm a part of it.

And it actually wasn't any worse

than the hell in my head.

He sent me to jail and set me free.

There's nothing more liberating than to realize

you don't have to live up to anything anymore.

- This just doesn't sound like how you said she acts.

Like, signing her name to your legal documents

- Yeah, and putting her voice on his machine.

It's always at such a remove.

Passive, you know? - Plausible deniability.

- Yeah, are we even sure that's her handwriting?

- I wondered that too. It looks so

- If it wasn't the whore, who was it?

Uh

- I'm sorry this happened to you on top of everything else.

It just - Do you want to talk?

- About what, the engagement? We are talking about it.

Also, how is Dan Broderick on his knees in a bar newsworthy?

- What about jail, Betty? It must've been terrible.

- Actually, it was interesting. I made a lot of new friends.

- Hey, did you ever figure out an outfit

for Tracy's graduation?

Karen, did you find one for Scott's?

- Well, I thought I did, and it looked great in the store,

and it looked great in my walk-in,

and then I go to answer the phone wearing it,

and I saw myself in the hall mirror and died.

- Never look at yourself in the hall.

Betty, what are you wearing?

- I wonder if she thinks she's coming.

Who?

- Linda "The Whore" Kolkena, to my daughter's graduation.

Can't you just see her waltzing her skinny ass right in there?

All I can say is, if that happens,

then I'll know the bastard has really lost his goddamn mind.

You were here before.

- Feature desk. This is Sid.

- Hi, Sid. It's Elisabeth Broderick.

I was just given the date of my property settlement hearing.

- Well, that's good news, right?

I don't know,

but I decided I want my side of the story out

before it happens.

with a 19 year old and a red sports car.

- Huh. - The girlfriend, the Corvette,

the "Risky Business" sunglasses,

a cover boy for "Midlife Crisis Magazine."

"Cool, man, cool."

I'd think it was hilarious if it wasn't my husband.

- Well, you have a sense of humor about it.

But so there might be some people who could think

your situation's not all that bad.

- Didn't I meet you in jail? - Well, that's true.

I realize I'm lucky.

I'm healthy.

I have more than most people will ever have in their life.

But if Dan had defrauded a business partner

the way he did me when he broke our contract,

he'd be the one in jail, not me.

Our first baby graduating,

our baby who was there with us on our honeymoon

and we didn't even know it.

What will he say?

He'll have to say something, today of all days.

He'll talk to me. He'll be nice.

He has to.

He'll be nice to me today.

- Ladies and gentlemen, our new graduates.

- Hi. - Hi, sweetie!

Oh, you're so pretty.

Mom.

I couldn't find you. Hi.

How could he bring her here?

I would

- Did you try saying, "This is a family event.

"My mother is going to see her daughter graduate,

"and your presence will just detract

"from the joy at my achievement

"because everyone will just be talking about

how my father left us for the tacky office slut."

- I - Tell me I'm wrong.

You can't.

- Oh, my God, Trace. Look at you.

Are you just so proud, Betty? - Hi, sweetie.

- Remember from church the two of them in the Noah's Ark play?

Oh, Fred has that camera. Let me take a picture.

- Oh, yeah, sure. - Please.

Here we go.

Okay, ready? So beautiful.

Congratulations.

- That Linda's outfit was tacky, um,

and that you were tacky for bringing her,

and a shithead.

- In general, or just for bringing her?

And she never mentioned anything about the engagement?

Just the wedding china?

Yeah, she just wants it back.

- Hmm. - She talked about it a lot.

Like, a lot.

- And you're sure that she didn't get it

from the Coral Reef house?

And she hasn't mentioned it before, has she?

- I've never seen it on any of her lists of asks.

- Hunter's coming. I'm gonna change.

I mean, if we could find it, it could buy us some peace.

- Why does she suddenly want it now?

- Oh, she just does. Why anything?

Linda, she probably didn't have any film in the camera.

Of course she did.

- Okay, but so we're gonna go from that

to getting an alarm system for the house?

She's gonna think she's the master of mind control.

How much do you think she's gonna love it

if we turn our house into a fortress

because she pretended to take some photos of you?

- It's not about that specifically.

It's not just about that.

Mm-hmm.

- Can't we get an alarm just to have one?

Do we have to care if Betty might love it if we do?

- No, but we have to care about teaching her

that she can get me to react.

- When I filed a claim, not only did they say

they weren't gonna pay me for one week,

they docked me two years pay.

So then I tried to file a complaint,

but HR said since I was no longer an employee,

I had no standing to file anything.

So then I just gave up.

But with HALT, I finally have people on my side.

Thank you, Margaret.

Thank you.

- Okay, everyone, uh, let's take a quick break.

Are you Elisabeth Broderick?

I've heard about your case.

- You don't know the half of it.

- Well, I know you don't have a lawyer

and that your ex-husband is one.

And I know you have a lot of kindred spirits in here.

Would you be willing to talk to the group?

Yeah? All right.

Hey, everyone, this is Elisabeth.

She's gonna talk now.

Hi.

I was married for 16 years, and now I'm not.

My husband hired a bimbo and told me

he didn't want me anymore, after only a couple years

of lying to me about it every day first.

He won't let me see my kids, I don't have a settlement,

and he fines me when I call him a dickhead

on his answering machine.

But I'm sure things are gonna start going my way

now that he's president of the San Diego Bar.

Also, call me "Betty."