Dirty John’s Most Famous Ex Pens Her Own Story
(Surviving Dirty John, BenBella Books)
Rejoice, those unwilling to let go of the Dirty John saga! A new book from Debra Newell adds more to her story, both before and after she met John Meehan.
In 2014, Debra married “Dirty John,” a handsome con man posing as a saintly anesthesiologist who wanted nothing more than to faithfully serve her.
Their relationship blew up as John offended the wealthy interior designer’s family, monitored her every bank transaction, and stole and abused drugs.
In 2016, the relationship ended forever when John ambushed and attacked Debra’s youngest daughter. Fortunately, good won out over evil. Terra Newell fought back and survived. John died.
But the story lives on via the Dirty John LA Times podcast, the Dirty John Bravo miniseries, numerous articles — and now Surviving Dirty John: My True Story of Love, Lies, and Murder by Debra Newell with M. William Phelps (publish date, Aug. 31, 2021).
Debra recently spoke to ForensicFilesNow.com about her life before and after Dirty John made her famous. Here are six facts about her:
1. Debra Newell wasn’t expected to live to adulthood or be able to have children. She suffered chronic 105-degree fevers because of a kidney defect and underwent multiple surgeries. Finally, she had an operation that worked, and she went on to have three daughters and a son.
2. She grew up in a household with her brother and sister — and lots of foster children. Her parents felt that it was God’s work and, over the years, took in 18 kids.
3. Her multimillion-dollar Ambrosia Interior Design business was self-made. As an ailing little girl, Debra passed her time convalescing by drawing hundreds of model houses. When her mother took an interior design class, Debra did her homework for her.
4. Debra’s future as a creator of lush interiors was almost predestined. Her family lineage includes “nine kings from England.”
5. O.J. Simpson asked her for a date. In the 1980s, when O.J. was the Juice and not a double murderer, Debra’s sister was dating his buddy Marcus Allen. Debra hit it off with O.J. at a Palm Springs nightclub, and they chatted on the phone. “But I was picky and he was arrogant.” She said no.
6. Debra refuses to be victim-shamed. She believes the only bad guy in the story is John Meehan, and she wrote the book to help others identify the signs of coercive control that psychopaths use against their prey.♠
Debra’s book is available for pre-order now.
That’s all for this post. Until next time, cheers. — RR
To watch the miniseries, choose Dirty John Season 1 on Netflix. Check out an earlier post for more links to help you enjoy every second of the epic that is Dirty John
