I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco

: Look, I don't know what kinda game you're playin'

but I'm not interested!

: No, you really need to hear what I've gotta say.

: I told you I'd tell Joey you stopped by.

That good enough for you? - No.

: Everyone saw Amy Fisher as a victim.

A teenaged girl seduced by an older man.

And in some ways she was.

But that's not the whole truth.

Amy Fisher made choices,

devastating choices, that nearly cost me my life.

I am Mary Jo Buttafuoco

and this is the first time you're hearing

the story directly from me.

A story a lot of people think they know, but don't.

Not all of it. Not everything.

: Thank you for coming in, Mary Jo.

Do you mind if I call you Mary Jo?

: Sure.

: You know, you do not look like someone

who was uh, shot in the face.

Well, it was over 30 years ago.

It's been a long journey and the surgeries,

but here I am, still intact.

Here you are.

You know, and that's why I think now is the time

that we make a documentary about what you

and Amy Fisher suffered through.

: Excuse me.

The other victim.

I think reuniting you two would be what I would call undeniable.

Just to make sure that I'm following.

: Mm-hmm.

I get shot in the head,

which causes me to go through decades of living hell.

Me, and my kids.

And you think that Amy Fisher,

the person who shot me,

is the other victim?

Right?

That bullet's still lodged in my skull.

A permanent reminder of that day.

Thanks to what happened, my beautiful, innocent children

and I learned what it was like to be watched publicly,

long before the Kardashians.

Amy and Joey both made choices

that changed all of our lives forever.

: Joey! Joey! Joey!

: Look, I never had nothin' to do with Amy Fisher.

: Joey Buttafuoco took advantage of my innocence.

I did not sleep with that girl!

The gun went off by accident.

You'd think, after all this time,

my story's been fully told, but it hasn't.

And I'll start by answering the question

on most people's minds:

Why did I believe Joey didn't sleep

with Amy Fisher for so long, after I was shot?

Or should I have realized what kind of man Joey was

before any of this happened?

The answers are clearer now, but they weren't back then.

Not when this all started. Not on day one.

: Think I'm sitting here.

What, are you shy?

: My mother told me not to talk to strangers, is all.

I'm Joey. Joey Buttafuoco. You are?

Mary Jo. Mary Jo Connery.

So, uh Mary Jo, you believe in density?

You mean destiny?

No, no, no, I'm talkin' 'bout the teacher.

Don't be mean.

Who's being mean?

Look at all the framed degrees and diplomas behind her desk.

I'm talkin' about density, like in the context

of describing the volume of something.

But hey, seeing as you brought up destiny.

: Hey, hey, hey!

: Hey!

I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

: Hmm, not gonna argue with you.

Oh, you better not, Mrs. Buttafuoco.

'Cause with our autobody business,

I'm gonna make sure we get whatever we want

and whatever we need, for the rest of our lives.

I can't believe we were able

to save up for and buy a house on top of planning this wedding!

Stick with me, babe.

You're not gonna have a bad day from here on out.

Have you been drinking?

It's a celebration, isn't it?

Well, yeah. Whatcha got?

Shh! Come on. : Okay.

Take a sip. That's the spirit.

Oof!

Come on get back to dancing!

You think it's always gonna be like this.

You and me, on cloud nine.

What could ever stop that?

: Only, life moved on a little faster

than either of us expected.

I'm pregnant.

: For real?

Uh... I mean, wasn't this always the plan?

Get married, buy a house, have kids?

: Yeah... : Yeah.

: But uh, are we even done being kids yet ourselves?

: I mean...

: Life was just starting to get good.

: Look...

I-I can double check with my doctor.

I mean, but these tests are supposed to be pretty accurate.

Plus I'm late, which is why I did the test

in the first place, you know?

You know what?

This is great.

This is really, really great.

: You mean it?

: You can always count on me. You know that.

No matter what.

And that goes for our kids, too.

I'd never do anything to hurt ya.

: Joey was my first serious relationship,

my only sexual partner.

I was an Irish Catholic girl in the 70s.

This was the man I loved, I trusted.

I was committed to raising a family with.

Being Joey's other half became my identity.

And I was sure he loved me just as much,

even though there were times he definitely tested my limits.

Joey, they just pulled up behind us.

You weren't speeding, were you?

How should I know?

All right, just say you're goin' into labor,

so I had to drive a little faster.

Joey, no, I'm not doin' that.

: Just trust me on this, Mary Jo. Come on!

Don't I always know what I'm doin'?

What's the problem?

You could a gotten a ticket, Joey.

Key word, could've.

But I didn't. All 'cause of my brilliant idea.

: Yeah, yeah.

: Joy to the world...

Ah, stick with me, babe.

I can get away with anything.

: I think Joey really believed that,

which explains why his behavior got even worse

after I gave birth to our son, Paul.

But the time our daughter Jessie came along,

I was having more and more trouble keeping track

of Joey and what he was up to.

: Ooh, what's that? It's okay. Yeah.

It's almost time to take little Jessica back

to the nursery, Mrs. Buttafuoco.

: Oh, I'm waitin' on my husband.

Uh, he went home to get our son Paul

so he could bring him here and meet his little sister.

: Visiting hours ended over 30 minutes ago.

Really?

Promised he was comin' right back. Didn't he?

Yeah, he did.

Yeah. It's okay, though. I got you.

I was really excited to be a good mom and wife.

I knew it was the right thing to give up the partying.

But Joey, he sorta stayed a perpetual teenager.

But that's what everyone loved about him.

My mother considered him a son.

My baby sister Eileen thought of him as an older brother.

Anytime I tried to share behavior I was troubled by,

everyone assured me that's just Joey.

All they saw was his sweetness.

Not that he was usually trying to make up

for some kind of bad behavior.

Is there a beautiful woman in here?

: For me? Thank you.

Oh, Joey, it's beautiful!

: All right, careful. One big step.

: All right. All right. I trust you. Now we turn?

: Ya-dah.

: You got me a sports car?!

: A sports car. : Oh!

: Mwah! Yeah, I did.

: I kept telling myself he'd eventually get it together

and be the man I thought I married.

Yeah, honey, I got this.

: Babe?

Don't be mad. I didn't mean to stay out this late.

It's after midnight, Joey.

Remember you promised you would come home

and help me put the kids to bed?

: Things got a little outta hand.

: Did they?

Is it so wrong?

I just wanted to let off a little steam.

All right, all right, I messed up.

I...

I think this partyin's gettin' a little outta hand,

you know? I mean...

No, look, I-I need you

to be a part of this family.