Despite filing for separation all the way back in 2017, Mary Kay Letourneau was still married to Vili Fualaau at the time of her death earlier this month. Letourneau shocked the world in 1996 when she, then a 34-year-old sixth-grade teacher, began a sexual relationship with Fualaau, who was her 12-year-old student at the time.
The news comes via TMZ, which obtained Letourneau’s death certificate. The certificate declares her marital status as “married” and lists Fualaau as the “surviving spouse.”
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Mary Kay Letourneau’s Death Certificate Reveals She and Vili Fualaau Were Still Technically Married at the Time of Her Death
Letourneau’s death certificate also lists her full legal name as Mary Katherine Fualaau, per TMZ.
Letourneau was sentenced to 7 years in prison after her relationship with Fualauu was exposed, but the couple pushed forward with their relationship despite the difficult circumstances, the legal system, and the opinions of others.
They eventually married in 2005, after her release from prison. They had two children together, both of whom were conceived and delivered while Letourneau was in jail. Letourneau was also mother to four other children whom she shared with her former husband, Steve Letourneau.
In 2017, Fualaau filed for legal separation. He has never given a clear public reason for doing so. And though that legal separation was finalized just last year in 2019, they never officially divorced, leaving their marriage intact at the time she died of Stage 4 colon cancer on July 6, 2020.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Letourneau, though still apparently married to Fualaau, was looking to begin dating again and was reportedly using popular dating apps to find a new match.
However, her relationship with Fualaau never really ended. He was there for her at the end of her life, and he in fact took direct care of her during her final month.
Letourneau spent her last days surrounded by loving friends and family, including Fualaau. She died in Des Moines, Washington, where she had lived for several years, and was cremated in Seattle.
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