'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story': Did Betty have a boyfriend? Fans upset show skipped Bradley Wright
Spoilers for Season 2 finale
Season 2 of 'Dirty John' titled 'The Betty Broderick Story' addressed the true-crime of the jilted titular housewife (played by Amanda Peet) who killed her ex-husband Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) and his new wife Linda (Rachel Keller) after he isolated her from her friends, family, and even their children. Having snapped, Betty spiraled into hurting her husband for good and while fans aren't sure what harm his new wife has done to her, they are even more upset about how the show paints her as a broken executor of justice while excluding some crucial elements of her story from the series. Like her boyfriend Bradley Wright.
According to Oxygen, who is also doing a 'Snapped' special on Betty Broderick, "Bradley Wright and Betty Broderick dated for years before Broderick was sent to prison for killing her ex-husband and his new wife. After Betty Broderick's marriage to successful attorney Dan Broderick crumbled, she sought refuge in the arms of another man." In a Los Angeles Times profile, Betty had claimed their six-year age difference always bothered her and they didn't share any physical intimacy. Wright has contradicted those claims in his account to Bella Stumbo who penned her book 'Until the Twelfth of Never' on the true crime.
While Betty is currently serving a 32-year sentence for the 1989 murders, somehow the USA Network show thought it reasonable to leave this crucial detail out of their retelling of the true-crime. This has upset viewers who are now calling out the show for trying to attempt earning sympathy for the murderer.
"Did anyone know that #bettybroderick had a boyfriend this whole time?" shared a viewer on Twitter, right when the Season 2 finale, Episode 8, wrapped. "Why isn’t Betty’s younger boyfriend, Bradley Wright, in the series? They were together throughout this," pointed out a viewer on Twitter. Another shared: "I'm a little salty that #DirtyJohn left Betty’s boyfriend out of the series."
"The show 'Snapped' is doing a better Betty Broderick episode, Dirty John left a lot out. She had a whole boyfriend," shared another. A viewer also pointed out: "She dated a younger man for years through all of this, from divorce until she went to jail. Pretty big detail to leave out I think."
This has also caused several fans to lose all sympathy for Betty, it seems. "Betty Broderick was crazy AF. Sorry but I don’t get the sympathy for her. Also poor Linda. What did she ever do wrong?" asked one. Another remarked: "Betty receiving fan mail/care packages from understanding divorced women while in jail is surprising. I guess there was a lot of public sympathy for Betty. I have none though."
Summing it up for people who have "no sympathy" for Betty, a user tweeted: "Sorry. I can't bring myself to feel sympathy for an unhinged narcissist who killed two people in cold blood because I like Amanda Peet. She was wrong then and she's wrong now."
