What the 'Dirty John' characters look like with their real-life counterparts
Breakdown includes look at Cash the Australian shepherd
Breakdown includes look at Cash the Australian shepherd
Breakdown includes look at Cash the Australian shepherd
Spoilers ahead.
"," Bravo’s new true crime show based on the Wondery/Los Angeles Times podcast of the same name, is a stunning reminder that you can’t be too careful when it comes to online dating — or meeting someone new anywhere, for that matter.
The show, which premiered Nov. 25, derives from L.A. Times reporter Christopher Goffard’s detailed research on what happened to Newport Beach-based businesswoman Debra Newell when she fell in love with a man named John Meehan, who turned out to be a con artist. In 2016, Debra’s daughter, Terra, stabbed John in self-defense after he showed up with a knife and attacked her in the parking lot of her apartment building. He died four days later.
On Nov. 13, the real life Debra and her family walked the red carpet for the world premiere of "Dirty John," which resulted in this:
Below is a breakdown of what some of the major characters of "Dirty John" look like in real life:
Debra Newell (Connie Britton)
The "Friday Night Lights" and "American Horror Story" alumna was one of the first stars to be attached to the Bravo adaptation.
“I didn’t have to be convinced at all, because I was really pulled in by the story,” Connie said at Nov. 17. “And I was intrigued it had already been pulled into the zeitgeist … I just jumped right in.”
The real Debra’s interior design business is called Ambrosia Interior Design (it’s Madeira on the show), a company she founded in the 1980s. She’s currently listed as the president and owner of , based in Nevada.
John Meehan (Eric Bana)
Per , the real John had “seduced, swindled and terrorized multiple women” from 2005 to 2014, from when he was released from prison in Michigan until he met Debra. In most of these encounters, court records showed, he posed as a doctor when in reality, he was a former nurse anesthetist who was hooked on surgical painkillers.
Arlane Hart, Debra’s mother (Jean Smart)
The real Arlane had lost a daughter more than 30 years before the events of "Dirty John." Part of the podcast’s fourth episode, “,” dives into Arlane’s grieving process following the death of Debra’s older sister, Cindi, who was killed by her own husband, Billy Vickers, with a gun.
Veronica Newell, Debra’s daughter (Juno Temple)
For the show, Bravo changed the name of Debra’s other daughter from Jacquelyn to Veronica. Jacquelyn has apparently taken a back seat throughout the TV show’s development compared to Debra and Terra, who appeared on various programs earlier this year to promote their "Dateline NBC" special and ahead of the Bravo show’s premiere.
In May 2018, Laura Richards, a criminal behavior analyst and host of the podcast "Real Crime Profile," shared this photo of herself and a woman identified as Jacquelyn (on the left):
Terra Newell, Debra’s daughter (Julia Garner)
In a January 2018 , the real Terra explained how she defended herself against John in her building’s parking lot. It wasn’t self-defense training (she had never taken any classes up until that moment), but her love for "The Walking Dead" that taught her the moves.
“When I got the knife from him, I just stabbed him,” she said. “I didn’t give it a second thought, I just thought, 'It’s him or me.' And then also, the last one was to the head, and I think that’s like, 'Oh, the zombie kill.'”
Cash, Terra’s Australian shepherd
As detailed in the podcast’s , the dog was with Terra on the day John attacked her in 2016 and even “lunged for” John’s ankles during the struggle. After the incident, Cash was allowed to ride in the ambulance with Terra and was with her throughout her recovery.
These days, you can find Cash hamming it up on his own (managed by Terra). He even got a sweet profile on "."