Morgan | Betrayal Weekly

Hi everyone, we have some exciting news to share. ABC News Studios has turned Caroline Borega's story from Betrayal Season 4 into a docuseries. You'll get to meet the people involved, you'll hear from people who have never spoken before, and you get to see where this story took place. We are so proud and excited to share it with you all. Stream Betrayal Dirty Secrets now on Hulu or Hulu for Disney+. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. If you've tried everything to lose weight and still feel stuck, this summer can be different. Weight Loss by HERS is designed to support you in reaching your goals with access to an affordable range of FDA-approved GLP-1 medications, including the Wagovi pill and the Wagovi pen. With Wagovi at HERS, you can lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. It helps regulate appetite, eat less, and keep weight off. And the Wagovi pill means no needles needed. Everything is 100% online. 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You've probably seen it at the grocery store. And this mayo is different. Mm-hmm. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs. Kewpie only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. It's smoother, deeper, almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything. Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers. Chefs use it. Restaurants use it. People who really care about flavor use it. Put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand. Kewpie, the original Japanese mayonnaise. Amazon Pharmacy presents Painful Thoughts. It's been a long, bumpy road dealing with yet another bladder infection. And driving to the pharmacy to pick up meds. I went over a pothole and a little pee came out. So now I get to stand in line with pee-pee pants. Next time, skip the pain and get fast, free delivery with Amazon Pharmacy. Healthcare just got less painful. This is Troy Millings from Earn Your Leisure. When traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates, and restaurant options. So why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather, and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check out a restaurant, check Lyft could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money. Check Lyft. Hi everyone, it's Andrea Gunning. Before we start this episode, I want to let you know that we will be talking explicitly about the realities of domestic violence. So please be mindful with this episode. I saw this figure standing in the doorway. He was all black and had a Batman mask and he was like, he was covered head to toe in black clothing. I kept closing and opening my eyes like, am I really seeing this or not? I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about the people we trust the most and the deceptions that change everything. This week's episode, has also been adapted into an episode of our TV show, Betrayal Secrets and Lies. You can stream it on Disney Plus or Hulu. Morgan Metzer grew up in Canton, Georgia, where big stretches of forest hug quaint neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River carves its way through the town. Growing up, I was the youngest. I have an older brother and an older sister. My brother was in baseball and my sister was in fast pitch. So I felt like a lot of my weekends, were following them around. Morgan kept up with the older kids. I was very outspoken and strong-willed. School was challenging for Morgan. I struggled a little bit with test taking and I didn't have the best grades. But her parents taught her there are a lot of things in life that are more important than grades. My dad explained in the real world, it's not the grades in the end. They are more focused on who you are as a person, your values, being truthful, being honest. Morgan's school had a back patio where everyone hung out after class. One day, when Morgan was in eighth grade, she and her friends were out on the patio when she saw a guy she hadn't noticed before. I just randomly saw him one day and we just started talking a little bit. He was in high school and I was in middle school. His name was Rodney and soon she found out everyone on campus knew him. He was 16, two years older than her. And Morgan thought that was exciting. I thought he was really cute and I liked him. The next time she saw him at school, they talked again. The more time Morgan spent with Rodney, the more she liked him. We were very close instantly, very connected. He was very easygoing, as steady as a stream. Not much could really rock him. He's a good kid, a good poet. He made friends easily and was kind to everyone he met. He was funny. He's what you would call the guy next door that everyone just likes. They started hanging out after school. They never got tired of talking to each other and realized that their connection was more than just friendship. Rodney asked Morgan to be his girlfriend. She said yes. I was just a typical teenager in love. Ha! Ha! When she told her parents about her new boyfriend. As you can imagine, my dad and my mom weren't very happy about an 8th grader dating a junior. So my dad made it perfectly clear that we would not be going on dates until I was 16 and that if he wanted to see me, he would have to come to the house to hang out. So that's what they did. After school, Rodney would go over to Morgan's house. They respected her parents' dating rules and Rodney quickly gained her parents' trust. Everyone loved him in my family. He grew up with them. She grew up with his family, too. His parents could afford to go on extravagant vacations. They started inviting Morgan to come with them on their trips. His parents loved to go to the Bahamas. They loved to go on cruises. So we did all different kinds of trips. Once Morgan was in high school, she and Rodney gained a little independence. She and Rodney started dating each other when they were in high school. They started dating each other when they were in high school. He would pick me up. We would meet up with all of our friends, and we'd all go to this one Waffle House and just hang out after school. Morgan and Rodney always sat next to each other at the Waffle House. In fact, they almost never left each other's side. Everyone just knew it was always us. We came together as one. Like, if anybody won, then they knew I was coming or vice versa. They were inseparable They were inseparable and their friends understood why. They all thought we were the power couple. Everyone just loved us together. Morgan and Rodney started planning for their future after high school. All I wanted to do was become a mom and support my house and create a home. And he said that he wanted to be the main provider, so we kind of had our plan. But she knew that plan would have to wait until Rodney made enough money to support them both. After graduating high school, she started pursuing her interest in hair and makeup. Morgan decided to go to cosmetology school and become a hairdresser. Rodney wanted to become a car mechanic and began looking at trade schools. Rod decided he wanted to go to a school called WyoTech. WyoTech is a trade school in Laramie, Wyoming, a small town that sits high in the plains, nestled between two stretches of the Rocky Mountains. He didn't want to go by himself, and they had a cosmetology school there. So we backed up and moved to Wyoming. Morgan and Rodney had to get used to a new pace of life. It was a big jump. I mean, Georgia's not cold like that. And you go to Laramie, Wyoming, and not to be mean about the city, but Applebee's was the place to be. It was definitely a change in culture, for sure. Still, they were eager to start this new challenge. It was very exciting. Moving in together for the first time, developing a relationship, our routine, our habits. Rodney started trade school to become a car mechanic and Morgan started at cosmetology school. I would ride my bike to school every day. As she pedaled through town, she could look out and see the stretches of mountains just beyond Laramie. She was excited about the life she and Rodney were building. Home was wherever Rodney was. We would get up, do our morning routine together. We would be in school all day and then we'd meet up, we'd have dinner, and then in the evenings, most likely watching a movie. Rodney told her about everything he was learning at school. He loved it. He loves cars. He loved building cars. He loved everything about it. At night, they would talk about their future. We just created a dream scenario in our head that, you know, we would get married and eventually we would have children. And when they each graduated, they moved back to Georgia and got to work making their dream life a reality. We bought our first house. I was working at a hair salon in Roswell and we developed some really good friends that we knew since we were younger. Our friends knew each other and our friends knew our family. They had a tight-knit community with deep roots. Before Morgan knew it, six years flew by with Rodney and they went from being a car mechanic to being a car mechanic. From being high school sweethearts to mature adult partners. They knew each other's favorite jokes, deepest fears, and biggest dreams. And then on Christmas Day, Rodney proposed to Morgan with her grandmother's wedding ring. I was so excited. I couldn't stop crying. She was so happy. A little over a year later, they got married. They got married in a gazebo at dusk and the gazebo was covered in hydrangeas and bunnies and lilies and roses, twinkle lights all over the place. So pretty much like a magical Cinderella type of feel. That magical feeling continued well after their wedding. We were very much a team. His motto was happy wife, happy life. So he just wanted to provide anything he possibly could. He was the main provider financially. He always took care of things around the house, made sure he had a roof over our head, food on our plate, very nurturing. Very emotionally there for me. But not too long after their wedding, Rodney's family suffered a horrible loss. His brother Kevin had battled leukemia for years. One night, he passed away in his sleep. He was an amazing person. I loved him a lot. It really changed the dynamic in his family. So much pain. It was hard for him to be alone. He was so lonely. He was so lonely. He was so lonely. He was so lonely. It was hard for Rodney's parents to make time for him as they struggled with Kevin's death. It felt like when Kevin died, so did their happy, tight-knit family. Rod started feeling abandoned. And that's when I started seeing Rod change just a tiny bit because he just felt not as important as he used to. Rodney's brother Kevin had always wanted to be an uncle. We got pregnant shortly after his brother passed away. They had a son. They had a son and named him Kevin to honor Rodney's brother. But shortly after he was born, Morgan and Rodney were given devastating news. Their son had a congenital heart defect. At this point in her life, Morgan can tell the story without much emotion. But it's still incredibly painful. When he was born, he was immediately shipped to Eggleston, Atlanta, cardiac unit. For 18 days. He was there. He had his first heart surgery. But he couldn't recover from it. He couldn't get off the ventilator. And he didn't make it. Their firstborn son died before he was a month old. Morgan and Rodney were facing a grief no parent should have to endure. Rodney tried to find the words to comfort Morgan. He was like, even if you don't want to go back to work after this, you don't have to. He thought you were a mom. You were going to get to stay home. I don't want to make you go back to work. So he was very supportive. But there were times when Rodney couldn't handle the grief. To him, seeing Morgan sad was a reminder of how much they had lost. He would tell me not to cry because he didn't like to see me cry. And so I didn't. So I didn't feel like I could really grieve all that much. They decided to try for kids again. We got pregnant with twins. My mom says I was the happiest pregnant person. She's ever seen. I enjoyed every second of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I loved it. When the twins were born, Morgan and Rodney were overjoyed. I was just elated to have healthy babies. We were in heaven. We were just so happy. It brought some light into our world after a really hard few years. Rodney and Morgan made a good team. We were a dynamic duo. We would tackle every day's tasks. We delegated. We would support. We would support each other emotionally. We would just conquer it together. Rodney was working as a car mechanic. And Morgan stayed home with the twins. Juggling parenting and work meant the two of them had less quality time together. And Rodney had a hard time adjusting. I think he struggled a little bit with sharing my time with the twins. Rodney started acting spacey at home and at the mechanics where he worked. And one day. Rod got fired because he let a car fall off the lift. It was a dangerous mistake. Someone could have died. Rodney insisted that it wasn't his fault. And it's like, okay, well, it was your fault. You put the car on the lift, you know. So that kind of brought a strain. Rodney needed to find a new way to support their family. So he started doing day trading in a stock market. At first, he was successful. He made great money. We owned our house pretty much outright. I could stay home. The twins were starting preschool at this time. They had dealt with a lot of grief. But they were still able to grow together. And finally, they had what they always wanted. Rodney worked full time to support their family, freeing up Morgan to raise their twins. One day, Rodney came to Morgan in a panic and told her, someone had stolen money from their shared savings account. Morgan didn't really understand what he meant. The details of their finances had always been Rodney's domain. But when she logged into their shared bank account, she saw that he was right. The account was drained. I just knew that the money was gone. And I was like, what is going on? This can't possibly be true. I was just blindsided. I was like, what is going on? That's why I'm glad to tell you about Talkiatry. Talkiatry is a 100% online psychiatry practice that provides comprehensive evaluations, diagnoses, and ongoing medication management for conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, and more. Unlike therapy-only platforms, Talkiatry is psychiatry. So you're meeting with a licensed medical provider who can diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe medication when it's appropriate. With more than 800 clinicians who accept talks, you can use your existing insurance instead of paying expensive out-of-network costs. Getting started is simple. You'll complete a short online assessment, get matched with a clinician who fits your needs, and you can have your first appointment in just days, not months. Head to talkiatry.com slash betrayal to complete the short assessment and get matched with an in-network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. That's T-A-L-K-I-A-T-R-Y dot com slash betrayal. - Kewpie, the original Japanese mayonnaise. - Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach to read this summer, may I suggest your big wireless bill. It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan, $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy. See terms. It's been a long bumpy road dealing with yet another bladder infection. Morgan and her high school sweetheart, Rodney, got married and settled down near their hometown in Georgia. They were living the life they'd dreamed of since they were teenagers. Rodney worked full-time, and Morgan stayed home with their twins. But one day, Rodney came home in a panic. He told Morgan, someone had stolen from their savings account. It was a life-changing amount of money. They wouldn't be able to afford to stay in their house, and so they moved into a rental. So he no longer had any access to money. And so at that time, he pretty much told me, he's like, now it's your turn to provide for the house. Not only was the money gone, but Rodney expected her to fix it. Morgan was shocked. This was never their plan. Rodney had always prided himself on being a provider, and now he was panicking and asking her to fix it. He was like, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to to fill that role. She had to figure something out to take care of their kids. And I couldn't go become a hairdresser and support this lavish lifestyle that we had. Then she had an idea. All my friends have always said that I was really good at interior design. And so I decided to start my own interior design business. Morgan named her business Shiplap and Sugar. It was an immediate success in town. She began working with local clients and before long, she was working full-time and was the primary provider for their family. Within a year, Shiplap and Sugar was voted Canton's number one interior design business. Rodney was in a new role too. He was staying home with the twins and working for Morgan's interior design company part-time as a handyman. He helped with the construction side of things, building bunk beds and mounting decor. But soon, he started to overstep. Sometimes he would try to over-talk me with customers and chime in about how he thought something should be done and it just didn't make us look like we were on the same page. I didn't really like that and I was like, this is not your position. I am in charge of running the consultations and speaking to my customers. It was frustrating to see Rodney trying to take control and ownership of the business she had built. I'm sorry, like you put me in charge of running the household and providing for the household. I did this myself. I built this from the bottom up. She told Rodney to stay in his lane at work and let her manage the business. That's when I think I really took a hit because I was providing for the household and, you know, he had to stay home with the kids. She and Rodney had always been a team. They met when they were kids and they'd been together for more than 15 years. For that entire time, Rodney had been the calm, grounded one. But that began to change. He was very impatient. He got very angry very fast. He just turned ugly and nasty and that's when it all just started spiraling. Rodney became argumentative and combative with her. Some nights we'd be up fighting all night long and I wouldn't get a minute of sleep and then I'd have to go work 12 hours. And there was no break from him because I worked for him. I worked with him too. Morgan suggested they go to couples therapy but it didn't go well. He got kicked out one session because he was so aggressive and she diagnosed him with PTSD and he didn't believe it and he just didn't want help. Rodney started lashing out at Morgan. He'd start a fight and he would scream and yell at me and follow me around and drive me insane until I finally broke and I would scream. And then he'd turn it around on me and make me look like the crazy person. Like, I would be the insane one. He became verbally abusive. I would end up hiding in the closet because I was like, please just shut up. I'm exhausted at hearing you constantly at my throat. It was horrible. Even little things would set him off. The environment in their home shifted. She felt like she was walking on eggshells. I didn't want to irritate him. I didn't want to set him off. We were on tippy toes. It was like skating on the knife. I just didn't want to cause conflict. The Rodney she had fallen in love with was steady, loving, kind. This new version of him was angry, impulsive, and cruel. His soul just turned black. It was very scary, but it was done little by little. And when things are done little by little, you don't really notice change it. Morgan was working hard at building her business. And after a year, they moved out of their rental and bought a new home. But the home she had worked so hard to afford was unsafe for her and their twins. The kids were just getting older. Rod was more aggressive and just became unhealthy and very toxic. That summer, a friend of Morgan and Rodney's rented a houseboat for their group of friends for the night. It was a big party. Everyone was having a great time drinking out in the sun. At the end of the evening, Morgan and Rodney went to their room. And we were going to go to sleep, but then he attacked me. It was dark. It was pitch black because there was no windows in there. All I remember is just getting humbled by him. Morgan managed to get away from him and came out of their bedroom into the main area of the boat. A few of their friends were still awake and startled at the sight of her. She was bleeding. Rodney was close on her heels, but when he saw their friends, he quickly came up with the story. He was like, I cannot believe you attacked me. My gosh. You are so drunk. Morgan and her friends stared at him, dumbfounded. My friends were like, no, if she attacks you, you'd be able to hold her down. She doesn't need to have marks on her like this and bleeding for you to stop. You just stop her. She called her parents to come pick her up. I went to their house and I slept for the entire day and then Rod showed up. He convinced my parents it was me and that I was the crazy one and that I attacked him and that it was all my fault. The more Rodney told the story of Morgan attacking him, the more Morgan began to question her own experience. I was embarrassed. I was like, well, maybe it was me. Because like I said, we had all been drinking and hanging out. So it's not like I was completely sober. You question yourself, you know? Like, was I wrong? Am I crazy? Did I lose it? Like, what happened? Morgan's memory felt fuzzy. But Rodney seemed to remember everything in perfect detail. He sat on her parents' couch and calmly explained how she attacked him. He would just sit there and lay it all out. So of course, naturally then, I was like, oh my gosh, well, maybe it was me. I'm so sorry. Rodney was physically and emotionally abusing Morgan. He always found a way to make her take the blame for his actions. He was like, okay, well, I'm going to give you a chance and you're going to get better. You're not going to do this again. So then I feel like I was being given a chance. Like, I need to become a better person. So I feel like I was the one on trial. They went back to their routines. But now, whenever they had an argument, Rodney made Morgan believe she started it. He's like, well, it was your fault. You said this. You did this. And I was like, I don't remember that. But okay, I'm sorry. My mind would play games with me. It's like, no, you're at fault. No, no, he's at fault. It was just a cluster of just so many things running through my head. Morgan was losing trust in herself. Rodney was gaslighting her and his plan was working. She was starting to doubt her own reality. There was a time that we were arguing and we were walking up the stairs and he pretended I pushed him down the stairs and he did it in front of the children. It was like, look, mom pushed me down the stairs. This time, Morgan did not doubt herself. I know I did not do this. Like, that was a situation, a scenario where he can never convince me that I did that. He was trying to get their kids to stop trying to do this. Trusting her. I just decided to grab the kids and go to my mom's house. She knew something had to change. She tried to encourage Rodney to seek professional help for his behavior. I didn't want to give up on him. I was trying to get him help. Like, I wanted him to get help. He wouldn't go see a therapist. He wouldn't do anything. His abuse only escalated. As a note to listeners, the next scene involves a threat of suicide. One time we were fighting and I grabbed the kids and I went to my parents' house. But as I was leaving the driveway, he came out, stood in the driveway. He had a gun and he pointed it to his head. I just dropped everything and put my hands in my face because I didn't want to see it happen. I drove away. Morgan was focused on surviving his abuse and keeping her kids safe. I was just trying to get by minute per minute. It was devastating. She still had so much love for this person. But he was not the man she married. Eventually, Morgan told her parents that she needed to leave her marriage. I went to them and was like, I can't do this anymore. They were on my side. My dad was like, okay, call the attorney. We're going to get the divorce. We're done. I get it. I understand. Hearing her parents affirm her decision to leave, she did something within Morgan. I don't know what it was, but a light just came on. And I was like, I'm done. I don't have to do this. I can get out. After 11 years of marriage and nearly 20 years together, Morgan filed for divorce. My divorce was like a month long. The proceedings were extremely fast. He gave me the house. He gave me everything. He didn't fight it. And I think it's because he thought he could win me back. Behind the scenes, he was like, give me another chance. And was just constantly begging me and begging me. But Morgan was done giving Rodney chances to change. Their divorce was finalized in December of 2020. And she knew she had made the right decision. I was feeling free. I just felt great. I didn't have the urge to want to go back. I just felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. It was a positive change for her kids, too. When my kids were like, mom, it's so much happier around here. I was like, yes, I know I did the right thing. I was just so elated that the house was calm and quiet. Rodney was the only one. Not adjusting well. Rob is still asking me to get back together with him. Let me give him another chance. Morgan tried her best to ignore him. But he was trying everything to make her feel bad. It was a few days before his birthday. And he's like, well, no one's going to take me out for my birthday. Can you please go out and make my birthday? So I said, OK, I'll go to dinner for your birthday. The dinner was uncomfortable. The entire time, Rodney was begging her to take him back. She tried to set boundaries between them again. Then, a few days before Christmas, Morgan was at a friend's house when she got an email from Rodney. He was writing to let her know that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He attached a doctor's note to his email. The cancer had already progressed to stage four by the time they found it. It was a terminal diagnosis. Morgan was stunned. She rushed over to Rodney's house right away. And I was like, I am so sorry. I'm here for you. You're the father of my children. I'm always going to love you. She spent the day at his apartment, trying to support him as he wrapped his mind around the diagnosis. When the day came to an end, Rodney told her he was scared to be alone that night. She told him he could come to her house and sleep on the sofa if he needed to. And the following morning, I said, OK, you know, I think it's time we call your parents. He's like, I don't want my parents to know. And I was like, Rod, you've got pancreatic cancer. Morgan wanted to support him. But she was frustrated that Rodney only wanted support from her and nobody else. Even though she still cared for Rodney, they were divorced now. I was feeling like, you know, this isn't really on me. Like, this isn't my responsibility anymore. It was a tough decision. But she knew she couldn't be Rodney's only support system for her sake and for his. So she called his parents. Told them about his diagnosis. And then told him it was time for him to go back home. I was like, that's it. You're not putting all of this on me. I didn't feel responsible for him anymore. Morgan tried to take a step back. And he was still messaging me. He's like, let me take you out for New Year's Eve. Let me, let's do the New Year's Eve together. And I was like, no, I'm not doing it. I don't want to do it. So she made up an excuse. She told him she was spending. The night at her parents' house. So he wouldn't try to come over. Her kids were out of town. So Morgan decided to go to a friend's New Year's Eve party. I was there for a little bit. And I was like, you know what? I don't really want to be here. I'm tired. This is my first New Year by myself. I don't feel like drinking. I just wanted it to be relaxing. And I didn't have my kids. I was like, I just want to go home. Her kids were at her sister's house in Florida for the week. And Morgan had the house to herself. She went. She went home, changed into her pajamas and put on a movie. I fell asleep on the sofa that night. I woke up. I think it was just about a minute before midnight. And it was a firework. I heard in the neighborhood and it woke me up. And so I was like, oh, gosh, OK. It was just for a second. And then I bent down and I kissed my dog. And I was like, happy New Year. She pulled herself off the couch, went to her room and went back to bed. As a note for listeners, Morgan is about to describe an instance of graphic violence. It was like 30 minutes later or something like that. I woke up again. There's always been a creak by my door when you walk by it. She heard the floorboard creak and her eyes snapped open. It was just loud. And I saw this figure standing in the doorway. He was an all black and had a Batman mask and just covered head to toe in black clothing. The light in the living room, was on behind the intruder. He was silhouetted in the doorway. She didn't have a clear view of him. I kept closing and opening my eyes. Like, am I really seeing this or not? The moment that I think he realized my eyes were opened is when he pounced at me. And I remember letting out this blood curling scream. A scream that you never thought would possibly be able to come out of your body. The intruder used zip ties to restrain her. The whole time he had a gun in her face. And he used it to hit her. The attack felt like it lasted forever. When you're strangled, it is the worst feeling in the entire world. I mean, it's so personal. You're looking up at this person and you can't breathe. I got to the point where I literally felt like my body was shutting down and I was done. I was thinking in my head, he's going to take my kids. He put a pillowcase over her head and he sexually assaulted her. Then the intruder began to speak. It sounded like he was using a voice changer. The altered voice was deep and gravely. It sounded just like Batman. That was definitely the scariest thing. The Batman voice sound. That is what still haunts my dreams. He would just make all these comments of like, you've messed with the wrong person. You're going to pay for this. The intruder said, the intruder demanded that she share her phone password. Scared for her life, she told him. Morgan's mind was racing, trying to figure out who was behind the mask. I'm thinking in my head, like, I do not have enemies like this. What is going on? Then he makes a comment, if you're really going to miss your husband. She had to make a split second decision of how to respond. Something in her knew what the intruder wanted to hear. And I was like, oh, no, please don't hurt my husband. I love him very much. And I think that's what saved me because the mood of the entire room changed. It wasn't as heavy. It wasn't as dark. It wasn't as deep. His whole persona changed. Just seconds ago, the intruder's violence had been life-threatening. But now his focus shifted from Morgan to her valuables and what he could steal. Like, he was a burglar more so than there to murder me. He's like, where's your jewelry? And he started ripping out stuff from my drawers and things like that. Then the intruder lifted Morgan off of the bed. He kept the pillowcase over my head and then took me outside on the back patio, laid me on my outside sofa, and he was like, don't move until you hear three car honks. She complied and listened as the intruder's footsteps faded away. She was like, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do this. I heard the car leave, but I didn't hear any three car honks. There was still a pillowcase over her head. She didn't know for sure if the intruder had left or if anyone else was watching her. I don't know if there's more than one person. I couldn't see anything and I was trying to keep myself awake because I can feel the blood running down my face. Morgan was severely injured. She focused all of her energy on coaching herself through the pain. She needed to survive this, not only for herself, but for her children. And I was like, you can have a concussion. Try to stay awake. Try to stay awake, but at the same time, I'm thinking in my head, okay, where are your keys at? You're going to run to the car like I was planning things out in my head. She laid on the back patio for 40 minutes, waiting. But then she heard something. We had river rocks in our backyard and I heard someone stepping on them. And then I heard footsteps going up the back deck stairs. And I was like, somebody else is here. This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture Easters with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture Easters with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, wait. It's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it in the grocery store before. And if you've ever just walked past it, some people would say that's a huge mistake. Because this mayo is different. It's smoother, deeper, and almost buttery. Some fans even swear by dipping pizza crust in it. And once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere. Chefs use it. Restaurants use it. Never tried it? Grab the bottle with the red cap next time you're at the store. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts. I, um, I can't stop scratching my downtown. Mm-hmm. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. 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Find your perfect level of protection at KNIX.com and get 15% off with code FLOW15. That's KNIX.com, code FLOW15. That's Knicks.com. This is Adam Devine. Blake Anderson. And Donner's home. From this is important. You know those moments when you realize you've been adulting too hard? Like getting excited about a new vacuum? Making a spreadsheet for a group trip? Saying, uh, let's circle back and meaning it? That's when you need a slice. And trust us, we all need a slice. Slice is a soda. You remember. Back and better for ya. And yes, it's. Still soda. The full flavor. The fizz. The whole thing. But now, it has grown-up benefits. Five grams of sugar or less, plus prebiotics, probiotics, and post-biotics. I personally love the orange soda flavor, cause it takes me back to my childhood. So you get real soda flavor, real fizz, and real benefits, without making some sad adult compromise. Grab a slice when you want something full flavored, low sugar. Gut-friendly, and way more fun than whatever responsible thing you were about to do. Slice. A better soda for fun's sake. Morgan was asleep at her house on New Year's Eve when an intruder broke into her home. He was wearing a Batman mask, black clothing, and disguising his voice with a voice changer. He violently attacked her before leaving her on the back porch, her head covered with a pillowcase. He told her, He told her not to move until she heard three honks of a car's horn. But the sounds never came. So she stayed there for 40 minutes until she heard footsteps approaching. She wasn't sure if this was help or the start of a second attack. The pillowcase was lifted off her head, and Morgan looked up to see who had arrived. It was Rodney. He looked very surprised. Morgan was also surprised. How did Rodney know she needed help? He said, Well, Morgan, someone came tapping on my window and saying, You better go check on your wife or something like that. Then Rodney began to tend to Morgan. I'm still naked, and my hands are tied. And I was crying, and he took me inside, put me by the fireplace. He was consoling, but also, like, trying to act like he was saving the day. He's like, I'm going to check the house out, make sure everything's good, and make sure everyone's gone. He walked around the house, opening closet doors. But he still had to undone my handcuffs or gotten me my clothes that I needed. Then Rodney called the police. Morgan listened, still handcuffed, as he told the 911 dispatcher. He's gone now, and it's no big deal. We don't need the sirens or the lights or the big ol' ordeal. Or anything like that. And I'm sitting there like, what? The police made their way to the house at a leisurely pace. Based on Rodney's account, they didn't think it was that serious of a situation. The policeman walks in the front door, and he stops in his tracks and backs right back outside and calls her back up. Rodney sounded calm on the phone. But one look at Morgan told a different story. She had been physically assaulted. She was bleeding from a head wound. Her face was swelling and starting to turn purple. I mean, I can't even see out of, like, one eye. The cop was kind of like, what do you mean this is not this big of a deal? The police took Rodney aside for questioning. In the meantime, they searched the house. Occasionally, someone came over to talk to Morgan. But all of their words faded into one loud hum. I just felt like. I was medicated or something. It was all a blur. My brain was just going, you know, a thousand miles a minute, and I couldn't even keep up with what detectives were saying. But then, one of the detectives said something that cut through the noise. He told her they were arresting Rodney. Morgan's head was spinning. She remembered the look on Rodney's face when he first saw her injuries. He had looked surprised. But they had been together since they were teenagers. And Morgan knew Rodney's expressions intimately. It was a genuine shock, but I think it was a genuine shock of, like, holy crap. What did I do to her? Her thoughts were racing. Could Rodney really have done this? Maybe it was him, maybe it wasn't. I don't know. I didn't know if he'd hired anybody else. Morgan was taken to the hospital. Luckily, her case was settled. The kids were still out of town, staying with her sister. Rodney was the prime suspect. But authorities needed solid proof if they were going to charge him with the crime. So they got a warrant to search Rodney's apartment. That's when the picture began to come together. Detectives found a book in Rodney's apartment, Seven Ways to Be Her Hero, a self-help book for men. And Rodney's search history told a disturbing story. They took his computer and they found searches of how to strangle somebody and writing a suicide letter. He also searched for how to change the sound of your voice, how to get sympathy from your ex, and how long to choke someone unconscious. Then they found physical evidence, zip ties that looked just like the ones used to restrain Morgan. And they took the zip ties to forensics to see if it was a match. Forensics came back quickly. It was a match. The evidence was overwhelming. Rodney was the intruder. I just dropped to the ground and just started crying. Finally, someone saw that it wasn't my fault. For years, Rodney had been gaslighting Morgan, telling her she was to blame for his violence. Now it was finally over. I was just thrown back. Like, oh my gosh. I can't believe he was honestly just stupid to look it all up online. In the weeks before the attack, Rodney told Morgan he had terminal cancer. But in their investigation, police discovered a forged doctor's note. Proof that Rodney's story was a lie. It was just so mind-boggling. I guess I never really truly thought he would go that far. Rodney had been desperate to regain control of Morgan's life. And to get her back. He started by trying to gain her sympathy. When he first told Morgan about his cancer, she was distraught. But even though she was worried for him, she still didn't want to get back together with him. That is when I think he finally made his decision, okay, he's going to go through with what his end game was. Morgan had let Rodney sleep on her couch. He said he was scared about his terminal diagnosis. But in reality, he had ulterior motives. During that time I was sleeping, he went downstairs in the basement and took a window sensor off the window. So he was like planning his next steps. With the window sensor removed, Rodney had an easy way to enter Morgan's house without activating the alarm system. On the night of the attack, he'd asked for Morgan's phone password and gone through her phone. Police discovered he'd been deleting security footage. Rodney met her. Morgan's lawyer was charged with 14 counts related to the attack, including kidnapping, home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and sexual battery. But one question remained. Why would Rodney do this to her? Why take it this far? Morgan thinks it's because he wanted to create a villain so that he could be the hero. Because he wanted to gain back that guy-next-door type of vibe, everyone like him. But the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case believes Rodney's motivations were even more sinister. In a press release about Morgan's case, she gave this quote, which we've had read by a voice actor. This man is a master manipulator. In the days leading up to the attack, he faked a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from his ex-wife. When that didn't work, he created a new one. He created a convoluted plan that the investigators in this case and our office truly believe involved a plot to kill her and then himself. When he couldn't go through with that plan, he instead devised a new plan to rescue her. In the weeks following the attack, Morgan's sister agreed to take care of her kids while she focused on recovering. She checked herself into an inpatient rehab for PTSD recovery. But even with professional help, she found herself struggling to return to the life she had before. Nights were the hardest. She didn't feel safe letting her guard down in her own home. I couldn't go home and stare at the door. I just wouldn't sleep. I couldn't find comfort in it. But I refused to let him beat me. Meanwhile, the state built their case against Rodney and prepared for trial. I was just talking to the DA constantly. Just constant questions. They came to get a server at my house. They went through his phone. It was just reliving that moment every second for like eight months. Rodney pleaded guilty to 14 counts related to the attack. On August 4th, 2021, Rodney was sentenced to 25 years in prison and 45 years of probation. Morgan wanted to go to a sentencing hearing. She prepared a victim impact statement, which she read in the courtroom. In my last statement to him, I said, you know, Rod, the pain you've given me has turned into so much power. I walked off that stand feeling like weight was lifted off my shoulders. I just felt like I could breathe a little bit more. I feel like some things of it were at peace. In that same press release about the case, the prosecutor wrote a line that stood out to our team. Here's what she wrote. This is a classic example of how the most dangerous time for a domestic violence victim is when she decides to leave an abusive relationship. Morgan had to find a way to explain to her kids why they couldn't see their father anymore. I told them, you guys know when you get in trouble, there's a consequence for your actions. They said yes. I said, well, dad did something very bad. And he has to have a punishment. He's going to be away for 20 to 25 years. She did everything she could to process her trauma and heal for herself and for her kids. It took months. But slowly. I felt like I was more myself. Letting the kids go to school more. Okay, we're getting back into a routine. Rodney was a defining figure in Morgan's life since she was 14 years old. Without him around, even the smallest things felt new. I was trapped by him for so long that I was getting to know my real self, too. I had to reintroduce myself. I feel like I had to relearn how to walk and talk and do the basics. Eventually, I started learning to get up every day and learn who the new me was going to be. In her victim impact statement, she told Rodney she would turn the pain he inflicted into power. And she did. That power, it's gotten me through figuring out how to provide for my children. How to figure out how to do daily life. Today, Morgan's interior design business is growing. Today, Morgan's interior design business is thriving. She reclaimed the house where she was attacked and turned it into a loving home. And as for her twins, she's proud of the people they're becoming. We end every weekly episode with the same question. Why do you want to share your story? I'm very lucky. Unfortunately, a lot of women in my situation don't get out a lot. And I just want women to know that it's important to speak to each other. And to be open and to talk about things. I never said anything out loud. I never really went to a lot of my friends because I wanted to paint this beautiful picture of my family and nothing was wrong. And we, as women, are each other's biggest supporters. And if we say what's going on, maybe we would have been able to get help earlier. I'm very lucky to be able to say what's going on. I'm very lucky to be able to get help earlier. Please contact organizations that offer immediate support. In our show notes, we've included a list of U.S.-based resources. You can follow us on Instagram at BetrayalPod or find me at It's Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and additional content and to connect with the Betrayal community, join our Substack at Betrayal.Substack.com. We're grateful for your support. One way to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review Betrayal. Five-star reviews go a long way. Big thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Faison. Hosted and produced by me, Andrea Gunning. Written and produced by Olivia Hewitt. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Also produced by Ben Fetterman. Our associate producer. Production management by Kristen Malkury. Booking support by Curry Richmond. Voice acting by Teresa Christine Brabson. Our iHeart team is Allie Perry and Jessica Kreincheck. Audio editing by Tanner Robbins with additional editing and mixing by Matt Dalbecchio. Betrayal's theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by MyMusic. And for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Matt Altman. mix from how to money. And we are all about comparing prices to save money on so many things in life. So why wouldn't you compare prices for your next ride share? Taking a few seconds to check Lyft can save you real money on your next ride. And I did this last time I caught a ride home from the airport after some travel. And guess who came out on top? Lyft. So don't just price check with flights and phone plans and your groceries. Comparing ride share prices will help you to save money every time you ride. Save money. Check Lyft. This is Adam Devine, Blake Anderson, and Anders Holm from This is Important. Hey, if you've been adulting too hard today, this is your sign to take a break with Slice. Slice is a full flavored soda you loved back and better for you with real fizz, five grams of sugar or less, plus prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. It's free. Slow sugar, gut friendly, and actually tastes like soda because it is a better soda. So the next time adulthood gets a little too serious, grab a Slice. Real fizz, real flavor, real benefits. This is Osvald Loshin from Tech Stuff. And I want to tell you about Keeper Security because unlike built-in password managers, Keeper works across platforms, which allows you to securely share information with your family, with your colleagues, with your friends. And I personally store things like passport and credit card details. 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