Fualaau was 12 years old at the time and Letourneau was 34. ", "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. 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. Mary Kay Letorneau made headlines for her affair with Vili Fualaau, a 12-year-old student, when she was married with four children in 1996. "Just thinking about how they met, and how that affected how they interacted as adults. "(Fualaau) knew that this was Mary's end coming, fast moving, and for her sake and the family's sake, and for his sake, he came back up and was with her, and it meant the world to her," Gehrke said. "Vili moved back from California, gave up his life there, and for the last two months of Mary’s life he stood by her 24/7 taking care of her," Gehrke said. She was paroled in 1998 but then returned to prison after she was found breaking her parole for having contact with Fualaau. "And I know it meant the world to Vili, as painful as it was.". A … … She gave birth to the second child while in prison. The case drew massive media attention as Letourneau, then 34, and her student, Vili Fualaau, then 12, were found in a minivan in June 1996, at a marina outside Seattle. Fualaau, whom Letourneau married after she was convicted of raping him when he was a child, was by her side for the past 2 months as she died of cancer. THE late Mary Kay Letourneau and her former student-turned-ex-husband Vili Fualaau did everything they could to keep their family together, a source has revealed. At the time, he was 12 and she was 34 and a mother of four. Vili Fualaau, Mary Kay Letourneau By the time she was released from prison, Fualaau was an adult — and he petitioned the court to allow them to see each other. Ultimately, she was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape in connection with Fualaau. Letourneau and Fualaau and their two daughters were friendly with Gehrke and his wife, who lived near them in the Seattle area. 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. Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Meet the Talented Emerging Artists Making Their Mark on the Musical Landscape in 2021, Fat Joe Takes Parents to Get COVID-19 Vaccine After 10-Months of Isolation: A 'Dream Come True', Go Behind-the-Scenes with Seaforth on Their 'Breakups' Music Video: All the Photos, Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. 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. "He sees things clearly now, and realizes that this wasn't a healthy relationship from the start.". Watch TODAY All Day! He sees that now. The separation became official late last year. RELATED: Mary Kay Letourneau Is on Dating Sites, 'Interested in Someone Who Is Age-Appropriate': Source. That feels good for him.". Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. The couple eventually married in 2005 and were together until Fualaau filed a petition for legal separation in 2017. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Vili Fualaau was Letourneau's sixth-grade student at a school in Seattle, Washington. Mary's now-estranged husband, Vili Fualaau, previously shared her stage 4 cancer diagnosis on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself wearing a medical mask with the caption, "Praying for a miracle." At her death, he said, she was surrounded by her children and Vili Fualaau, the former student she later married. Letourneau gained infamy after her 1997 conviction for the rape of a former student, 12-year-old Vili Fualaau. He came from a broken home, where his dad had done time for armed robbery and he wasn't close with his mom. Vili Fualaau, 37, who divorced Letourneau last year, uprooted his life to be with her until her death at 58, attorney David Gehrke told TODAY. Now 37, Fualaau's name remains attached to the same story. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. "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. They were occasionally spotted out in the Seattle area. Ms. Letourneau and Mr. Fualaau had two children together before he turned 15. Mary Kay Letourneau, who died of cancer in July, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape. Vili Fualaau moved back to Washington from California and cared for Mary Kay Letourneau 24/7 during her final months, says the lawyer for the former teacher David Gehrke, who represented Mary Kay Letourneau, said that Vili Fualaau cared for his ex-wife ’24/7′ during her final months Gehrke described how the pair matured throughout the course […] Months after the legal separation between Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau, the former student is starting to process his decades-long relationship with the teacher who raped him when he was 12. Heidi Gutman/ABC/Getty. Vili Fualaau, Mary Kay Letourneau and daughters RELATED: Mary Kay Letourneau Dies of Cancer at the Age of 58 The couple married in … Today, Fualaau is a father of two daughters, and lives in Seattle. Mary Kay Letorneau dies of cancer at the age of 58. It is being republished following the death of Mary Kay Letourneau. IE 11 is not supported. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. 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, the teacher who raped and then married her student, Villi Fualaau, died Tuesday. She twice became pregnant by him before he was 15, despite court orders aimed at keeping them apart. 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. Editor's Note: This story was originally published in May 2020. "He's starting to get some perspective," a source close to Fualaau tells PEOPLE. Vili Fualaau explains why he filed for divorce from wife of 12 years, Mary Kay Letourneau — get the details Letourneau was diagnosed with cancer about six or seven months ago, according to Gehrke. 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. "So yes, they were divorced and they had their spats, but they were always in love with each other.". "I think I understand about it, just like how it was surprising to people,'' Audrey said. She was 58. 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