It is the most shocking teacher sex scandal in US history.
Mary Kay Letourneau’s illegal relationship with her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau – a boy she had known since he was in second grade – stunned America and dominated headlines in the late 1990s.
He was 12. She was a 34-year-old married mother of four.
Fualaau’s decision to stand by her after she served prison time for child rape kept the couple in the spotlight for years. They raised two daughters – both born before Fualaau turned 16 – and remained a source of fascination until Letourneau’s death in 2020.
Nearly three decades after the scandal first erupted, friends say Fualaau is still struggling with the emotional fallout.
But he can now take comfort in the arms of a new woman – and in an ironic twist, she’s 13 years his junior.
The Daily Mail can reveal that the 42-year-old now lives in a modest apartment in Des Moines, Washington, with 29-year-old marketing associate and part-time makeup artist Samara Darrow. They have one daughter together.
Those close to Fualaau say he is focused on being a husband and father while still processing his childhood relationship.
Letourneau first abused Fualaau when he was 12 and she was 34
Fualaau’s new partner, Samara Darrow (left), bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife
‘He’s got a lot of scars from over the years, and it takes a lot for him to open those wounds,’ a longtime friend who knew both Fualaau and Letourneau told the Daily Mail.
‘He’s okay with embracing his past as long as it’s on his terms, but he’s not going to just rehash his childhood trauma again and again. He just doesn’t want to do that.’
Another insider told the Daily Mail that Fualaau ‘knows now how f***ed up everything was, when he was a kid.’
‘But he loved [Letourneau] so much and so strongly, for so long,’ the second insider added. ‘There’s childhood trauma, hormones, first love, two kids and worldwide infamy all tied up with that. It’s a wonder he’s turned out so normal, all things considered.’
But one thing he does not tolerate is anyone speaking ill of his former wife.
‘He is very protective of her name, even now that she’s gone,’ said the second friend.
‘It was a really complex relationship and it messed him up a lot, but he still loved her and built a life with her.
‘And he mourned her after she died. You can say whatever you want about it, but there was real love there, on both sides.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Fualaau and his new girlfriend for comment.
Fualaau (far right) with his new partner (left) and their four-year-old daughter
Fualaau and Letourneau had two children together, Audrey and Georgia, and remained married for 14 years. The family is pictured in 2015, on the eve of the couple’s tenth anniversary
Over the years, Fualaau has worked a string of retail jobs, including at home improvement stores, while supplementing his income as a DJ at clubs and private events.
Under the stage name DJ Headline, he occasionally leaned into his notoriety, appearing at Seattle nightclubs in the early 2010s for ‘Hot for Teacher’ nights.
In the mid-2010s, he attended Pasadena City College in Los Angeles in hopes of earning an associate degree in Studio Arts.
But when Letourneau was diagnosed with colon cancer and her health declined, he returned to Washington to be with her.
Their marriage began to unravel by around 2016, after their daughters reached adulthood, and the couple lived increasingly separate lives before Letourneau died in 2020.
Fualaau said he was in love with her until the end, and that he was with her when she died.
He welcomed his third daughter, Sophia, in November 2022 after settling down with Darrow, even though they kept their relationship under wraps.
In recent years, Fualaau and Darrow can be seen in family photos with his relatives, and she has changed her last name to Fualaau on Facebook.
Fualaau’s story has become a cultural obsession, spawning movies, documentaries and inspiring a Broadway drama.
It loosely inspired the 2023 thriller May December, starring Julianne Moore as a sex offender who later married her victim, played by Charles Melton, and Natalie Portman as an actress who is meeting Moore’s character to research a role.
Letourneau (seen in 1997) spent seven years in prison for raping Fualaau
Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau’s first child in 1996. The relationship continued even as she awaited trial and their second daughter was born in 1998
The pair had split by the time she died from cancer in 2020 but maintained a close friendship
Letourneau was 34 in 1996 when she began sexually abusing 12-year-old Fualaau.
Later that year, she became pregnant with his first child. On March 4, 1997, she was arrested for child rape. On May 23, eldest daughter Audrey was born.
Three months later, Letourneau pleaded guilty to child rape. The relationship continued even as she awaited trial.
Georgia, their second daughter, was conceived while Letourneau was out on parole. She was born on October 16, 1998, while Letourneau was in jail, making Fualaau a father of two by age 15.
After serving seven years in prison, Letourneau reunited with Fualaau, who successfully petitioned to lift a restraining order once he was an adult.
They married on May 20, 2005, and raised daughters Audrey and Georgia in Seattle.
A friend of Fualaau’s oldest daughter told the Daily Mail Fualaau is now focused on raising Sophia with the same devotion.
‘He was a great dad to them and they love him so much,’ said the pal. ‘They think he’s an amazing man. So whatever people say doesn’t matter. He took being a dad seriously and he still does. He’ll be an amazing dad to Sophia. He’s a strong dad, and he loves his girls very much.’
The Letourneau case loosely inspired the 2023 thriller May December, starring Julianne Moore in the role of a sex offender who later married her victim, and Natalie Portman as an actress who meets her to research a role
The youngest of the two daughters, Georgia Fualaau, 26, at her baby boy’s gender reveal in 2024
Audrey, 27, also recently became a mother
The sisters spent their early years navigating custody arrangements – living with their grandmother on Fualaau’s side – before settling into a more stable family environment with their mother and father.
Both later said they felt like their home life was normal, with Letourneau being the stricter parent.
Georgia has started her own family. She and her longtime boyfriend, a delivery driver and aspiring boxer, welcomed their first child, a son, in January 2024.
Audrey also recently became a mother, welcoming a baby boy with fiancé Ethan Tela Porter on May 30, 2025.