this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Copy to Clipboard. ", "It shouldn't surprise anyone," the insider continues, "but he's feeling that for the first time, he's being like a real grown adult. "And I know it meant the world to Vili, as painful as it was.". Letourneau made worldwide headlines in 1997 when the Seattle-area teacher was convicted of second-degree child rape of Fualaau, who had been her student. That feels good for him.". The separation became official late last year. Mary Kay Letourneau, who was convicted of raping teenage student Vili Fualaau in 1997 and later married him, has died after battling stage 4 colon cancer. Mary Kay Letourneau became a household name after she had an affair with her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, who she later married. "He's starting to get some perspective," a source close to Fualaau tells PEOPLE. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. "It's been feeling different because it's not really been brought to our attention, just because we grew up with it, so we're adapted to it.". If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: Vili Fualaau Saw 'Things Clearly' After Split from Mary Kay Letourneau: Source. After her conviction, she gave birth to the first of their two children. He came from a broken home, where his dad had done time for armed robbery and he wasn't close with his mom. Letourneau spent more than 7 years in jail for... Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau during a photo shoot at her beach front home April 27, 2006 in Normandy Park, Washington. They were occasionally spotted out in the Seattle area. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Vili Fualaau recounts final moments with Mary Kay ... - TODAY Vili Fualaau had split from Letourneau, who began a sexual relationship with him while he was 12 and she was 34. A … RELATED: Vili Fualaau was by Mary Kay Letourneau's side when she died, attorney says She pled guilty in 1997. Vili Fualaau was by the side of ex-wife Mary Kay Letourneau in the final months before she died, her lawyer told TODAY. Mary Kay Letourneau's ex-husband, whom she married after being convicted of raping him when he was in sixth grade, was by her side for the final two months of her life before she died of cancer on Monday, her lawyer said. Mary Katherine Letourneau (née Schmitz; January 30, 1962 – July 6, 2020) was an American teacher who pled guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child, RELATED: Mary Kay Letourneau Is 'Feeling Kind of Lost' After Split From Husband She Once Sexually Abused, "After the split, he started really going over things in his mind," the insider tells PEOPLE. Even after the split, Letourneau and Fualaau still lived together. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. Vili Fualaau Details His Final Moments With Mary Kay Letourneau Before Her Death Vili Fualaau is opening up about his final moments with Mary Kay Letourneau before she died of cancer at the age of 58. She was paroled in 1998 but then returned to prison after she was found breaking her parole for having contact with Fualaau. "But they always, always deeply cared for each other.". RELATED: Mary Kay Letourneau Is on Dating Sites, 'Interested in Someone Who Is Age-Appropriate': Source. Their divorce was finalized last year. Heidi Gutman/ABC/Getty. He sees that now. Mary Kay Letourneau, who made national headlines in 1997 when she became pregnant with the child of her then-13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, has died of cancer, according to reports. By the time she was released from prison, Fualaau was an adult — and he petitioned the court to allow them to see each other. In the summer of 1996, Letourneau was a 34-year-old married mother of four when her relationship with sixth-grader Vili Fualaau … Vili Fualaau is known for his sexual relationship with his sixth-grade teacher, Mary Kay Letourneau, which became a national scandal. 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Mary Kay Letourneau, the former Seattle teacher who was convicted of raping Vili Fualaau, a sixth-grade student in the 1990s before marrying him, has … The couple married in 2005, despite the criminal history of their relationship. When Vili Fualaau was 12-years-old, he found himself at the center of a massive scandal—and many would say, tragedy. She twice became pregnant by him before he was 15, despite court orders aimed at keeping them apart. Vili Fualaau was Letourneau's sixth-grade student at a school in Seattle, Washington. "My wife was talking with the little girls, they were 10 or so, and the kids from Alaska were helping out, and it was one big happy family,'' he said. She gave birth to the second child while in prison. Despite several reconciliation attempts since then, the case moved to private arbitration in February 2019. She was 58. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Letourneau and Fualaau and their two daughters were friendly with Gehrke and his wife, who lived near them in the Seattle area. Mary Kay Letourneau, who died of cancer in July, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape. The couple's adult daughters, Audrey, 23, and Georgia, 21, spoke about their childhood in the wake of the scandal in a 2018 interview with an Australian television show. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The ex-Seattle middle school teach… … Editor's Note: This story was originally published in May 2020. Vili Fualaau and his daughter enter their home on May 8, 2005 in the Seattle suburb Normandy Park, WA. She was married with four children at the time By Priyam Chhetri Updated On : 14:01 PST, Mar 19, 2020. He was never really a full-fledged partner; he was always secondary. A restraining order against Letourneau was dropped, but Letourneau remains a registered sex offender in Washington state. 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