This blog post helped to bring Simon Reid to justice. I wrote that angry rant about discovering Simon's deception nearly three years ago, in August of 2008. This was at the tail end of a bout of crippling depression where I could barely be arsed to get out of bed. And I didn't know this at the time, but Simon had fled to England and was already at work on a new relationship with an Englishwoman called Jo. After feeding her some of the same lies and then running for the hills--taking with him thousands of pounds he'd "borrowed" from her--Jo googled Simon's name and found my blog, then contacted me. I offered her my condolences and told her I'd be willing to help however I could. I didn't hear anything more about his UK exploits until last summer, when Nicola and Laura--two of Simon's latest conquests--also found my blog. They were understandably concerned, as they were both currently in a relationship with the bastard.
And then the women decided to do something AWESOME.
Jo, Nicola, Laura, and a fourth woman (who has declined to be interviewed in the press) invited Simon over to Laura's house, where they were all waiting to question him...along with a journalist friend brandishing a video camera. They gave him a wicked little "surprise" party, then sat him down so they could grill him for four hours (God I'd LOVE to see that entire video!). At the end of it all the women called the police, and--long story short, Simon Reid is in jail in the UK for 30 months after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.
The week that Simon was carted off to the slammer, the story absolutely BLEW UP in the British tabloids. Jo, Nicola, and Laura gave interviews and appeared on the UK breakfast television show This Morning before flying out to NYC to appear on The Today Show with Yours Truly so we could all tell our story.
I know--crazy, right?
Anyhoo, I had a fabulous time in NYC, and it was awesome to meet the three of them. We hit it off right away (Jo, Laura, Nicola, and Kate, who was along for the ride) and we had a blast shopping and sight-seeing in Manhattan. The moral of this story? Simon Reid still sucks, but I've met some lovely new friends because of him. I guess every cloud does have a silver lining, even a dark, toxic, polluted cloud of a human being like Simon Reid.
I posted the Today Show video shortly after returning from my trip (it's no longer available online--BOO!) but here are some other links to the story that are still live.
Article from The Daily Mail (Alan Partridge's favorite newspaper!):
Shout-out to Maggie Flecknoe, pop culture commentator, stage and voice actress (and fierce Texas chick!). This is Maggie's take on our story:
Damn, what a whirlwind! SO yeah...things have been happening. It's all good though!
In spite of it all...
Thanks, That Was Fun
Wow! Just listened to your story on BBC5live here in the UK - brilliant story - I do wish you all the luck in the world for finding someone a little more... er...truthful(?)
ReplyDeleteHere's to a film adaptation! Best wishes.
Having listened to your interview on Radio 5 this morning, I just wanted to say how eloquent and dignified you were and even, at times, through your great use of words looked forward to the future that would be a great inspiration to others to have the misfortune to experience the same, horrible situation.
ReplyDeletePS I am a happily married man with two great daughters, who likes good writing. Hopefully by following your blog, we will all see more of your great writing.
Aww, thank you both for the kind words, and thanks for tracking down my blog! It's always exciting to have new readers.
ReplyDeleteThis Simon thing has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Who'd have thought that dating some jerk three years ago would lead to an interview with the BBC?
Thanks again for your interest, and keep reading!
Andie x
Hi Andie
ReplyDeleteYou got off lightly dear. Simon has a very dark side.
He was married to my sister for many years. Most of them in prison actually!!
If your serious about writing him up let me know as I could give you a lot of background on him.
@Bradley:
ReplyDeleteWow, really? My condolences to your sister. I'm curious to know more. Hit me up at daizycakes@gmail.com
You are not the only woman to have fallen for such a sociopath. I had the misfortune to date one as well. His name was Eric Evans and he was living with his girlfriend in Boston at the time. He would hide her things when I came over. He was also bisexual. Anyhow, these men tell woman what they want to hear. They can be very charming, and it is absolutely gutting when you finally learn you've been conned. It is pretty sick, but these men actually "get off" on manipulating women. It physically turns them on. Disgusting, but true. After this type of experience, you can see them coming from a mile away. Glad you ambushed the bastard and sent him to jail.
ReplyDelete