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Terra.Anatolia
  • 10 hours ago
Transcript
00:00A New Jersey beauty queen who always gets what she wants.
00:04I always attracted attention.
00:06People think it's so easy being me.
00:09When she marries Charlie Chernowski,
00:11the trophy couple are the envy of all their friends.
00:15Inseparable. We're together all the time.
00:17But the hot young lovebirds have no clue they're about to self-destruct.
00:22This couple is narcissistic to the court.
00:25What are you talking about?
00:26This marriage is a powder keg.
00:28You're my one!
00:30Ready to explode.
00:34Not all fairy tales have happy endings.
00:40When love goes wrong, a woman can do the unthinkable.
00:4522-year-old Jamie Silverstone is beautiful, blonde, and bewitching.
01:02She turns heads wherever she goes.
01:04Woo! Yes!
01:07People think it's so easy being me.
01:09They look at me now like, oh, you have a world at your feet.
01:13Well, there's a lot of people that don't like you by the way you look.
01:17Even back in high school, Jamie took center stage.
01:24My first boyfriend was the captain of the football team, and I was the captain of the cheerleading team.
01:31Her looks propel her to win the Miss Teen New Jersey Contest.
01:36Jamie's psychology is very much a product of her very real, undeniable physical attractiveness.
01:54The problem is that it created a deep insecurity that nobody paid attention to her because she was smart.
02:00So intrinsically, Jamie ends up narcissistic, but also somewhat immature.
02:05After graduating, Jamie's reign as pom-pom princess comes to an end.
02:13What's up, Jamie?
02:15Um, I'm pregnant again.
02:16She unexpectedly gets pregnant twice.
02:20By age 20, she has two young children, Tessa and Matthew.
02:24When her kid's father walks out, Jamie's forced to raise them on her own.
02:29And all her dreams of a glamorous, exciting future are put on hold.
02:34Those years changed me because now it wasn't just myself.
02:38I had to put my kids first.
02:44In 2001, to make ends neat, Jamie gets a job at a trendy health club.
02:51It doesn't take her long to realize it's potential husband territory.
02:55Look at that guy.
03:01Go hard.
03:03As soon as she lays eyes on handsome and hunky Charlie Trinowski, she's determined to have him.
03:09Hey.
03:09Oh, my God.
03:10Hey.
03:11You, come here.
03:12I actually saw him, and I was at the front desk, and I told my receptionist that I was going to marry him, which I never do.
03:21I have weird psychic sense.
03:24I was working out, and she said something, and I was like, what?
03:27And she said, come over here.
03:28What do you do?
03:29We talked for a few minutes, and basically, I was like, you know, why don't we go out?
03:32I want to read some time.
03:33You want my number?
03:35Yeah.
03:36And she was like, all right.
03:36I was like, really?
03:38All right, Charlie, give me a hand.
03:41And that was it.
03:44After just one date, it's clear that Jamie and Charlie have smoldering chemistry.
03:49Before long, the sizzling young couple is inseparable.
03:56How did I find you?
04:00And was it love at first sight?
04:02Yes, 100%.
04:04I would stay on the phone with him for hours during the day.
04:08I was full steam ahead every day from that day forward.
04:12You know, we were together all the time.
04:14We were young and liked to have fun.
04:17Okay, that is disgusting.
04:1826-year-old Charlie is an ambitious guy.
04:26He's already a highly successful furniture dealer.
04:29Woo!
04:30Let's go, baby!
04:31Bring it up!
04:31And part-time party MC and DJ.
04:35With his combined jobs, he easily pulls in six figures.
04:40Charlie prides himself on being the life of the party and looking good.
04:45But most of all, he likes showing off Jamie.
04:48And his bank account.
04:50Did I spoil her?
04:51Absolutely.
04:52Absolutely.
04:52I spoiled the hell out of her.
04:54I wanted to be with him.
04:56I wanted to experience life.
04:58I wanted to have it all.
05:02For Jamie, Charlie is ticking all the right boxes.
05:06Handsome, rich, even paternal.
05:09I come from a good family.
05:11You know, I always wanted a family.
05:16When Jamie came into my life and brought these two children along, you know, I just didn't
05:20fall in love with Jamie.
05:22I fell in love with the children.
05:24You know, and I just wanted to take care of them.
05:27No.
05:28No.
05:28It seemed like he'd be a good dad to him.
05:31Yes.
05:32It says a lot about him that he instantly liked your kids.
05:36I don't want to give 100% credit to that.
05:39But I tend to think otherwise.
05:42Charles wanted to feel wanted and needed.
05:49Jamie and Charlie aren't shy about their attraction to each other.
05:53They're madly in love and want everyone to know it.
05:57They have a way of coming together and creating that Barbie and Ken look that really appeals
06:03to the outside world, and they are aware of it.
06:07This couple is narcissistic to the core, and they're in this relationship for all the wrong
06:12reasons.
06:20Charlie and Jamie's relationship is on the fast track.
06:23They move into a house with Jamie's kids in Freehold, a middle-class New Jersey suburb.
06:29We were dating maybe six, seven months before we moved in together.
06:33This is much bigger than I have.
06:34I lived in one with my brothers.
06:36So I put a queen-size bed in there and a set of bunk beds for her and the two children
06:40to come live with me.
06:41All right.
06:42There is that magnetism, that feeling that they complete each other.
06:45But when things move that quickly, in such a short amount of time, without really getting
06:50to know one another, things can really only end badly.
06:59But living together isn't enough for Charlie.
07:03When it comes to Jamie, he's hooked, and he's ready to go the distance.
07:07What are you so happy about?
07:09Let me see.
07:09No, hey, don't go.
07:10Hi!
07:11You're being very rude.
07:12Oh, I'm being very rude.
07:13Yeah, you're being very rude.
07:13I want to see what you got me.
07:15It's just this.
07:20You want to do this?
07:21It was a simple proposal, you know?
07:22I bought the ring, and I couldn't wait, and it wanted to be in the car in the mole parking
07:27lap.
07:35Thank you, Jamie.
07:36On February 21st, 2003, almost a year and a half after their first date, Jamie and Charlie
07:43get married.
07:44You may kiss the bride.
07:56Their wedding is a lavish, over-the-top affair at a local banquet hall.
08:01Many of Charlie and Jamie's friends work in the entertainment business, so the reception
08:06turns into a wild party.
08:09I had three different emcees introduce me.
08:13My aunts and uncles and stuff got mad because there was no slow music.
08:16It was like a big nightclub.
08:20It was great.
08:22Everybody's either a dancer or a DJ or an emcee, so they didn't want that night to end.
08:30Still, not everyone is happy about Jamie and Charlie's marriage.
08:36Charlie's family has some serious misgivings.
08:39My family hated it.
08:40Me and my father got into the biggest fight over it.
08:42From the start, Charlie's parents have been warning their son about moving too fast.
08:48They think Jamie is just seeing dollar signs.
08:52Me getting into a relationship with a woman with two children, she was in love with the
08:56idea that she found somebody to take care of her.
08:58You have to do this now.
09:01I just got married.
09:02Please don't, please don't do this.
09:04Charlie, look at me.
09:05Everybody can't be wrong.
09:07My father's a good judge of character.
09:09And when I think about that now is everybody always said about her who she was.
09:16Everybody I know, every one of my friends, everybody.
09:19And I'd always defend her.
09:22No, no, you don't know her.
09:23No, no.
09:24Please give her a chance.
09:26Everybody was right.
09:28Coming up, the honeymoon is over when Charlie starts acting very unlike a married man.
09:35And he got up on a box and he just took off his shirt and started dancing for this group
09:38of girls.
09:39After a red-hot romance, Charlie and Jamie Ternowski get married and settle down with Jamie's two
10:00children in a New Jersey suburb. They look like the picture-perfect couple, but looks
10:07can be deceiving.
10:11It's Jamie. Is Charlie over there right now?
10:14His cell phone's off or something.
10:16Almost immediately, the supposedly blissful newlyweds turn on each other.
10:22Hi, Charlie. It's funny that you're not picking up your phone right now.
10:25Jamie claims Charlie was deceitful from day one.
10:28There was a few things that struck me as odd.
10:32Like?
10:33He'd say he's going one place and he went somewhere else and I would know it, but I just thought
10:39he's maybe, okay, you know it's new, he's afraid to tell me.
10:41According to Jamie, Charlie also sometimes has trouble acting like a married man.
10:51We went to a club one time and he got up on a box and he just took off his shirt and started
10:55dancing for this group of girls and I'm like, then I pay no mind because I'm like, oh, he's
11:00a performer.
11:04So he was with you.
11:06I mean, you were together at the time.
11:07Yeah.
11:08But what I heard you say is he's flirting with other girls.
11:10Well, he, I thought he was, but he told me he wasn't.
11:16I don't know.
11:17Where were you?
11:18The couple bickers often.
11:20At first, they don't see it as a danger sign.
11:23Everybody argues.
11:26Either it's over the kids or where you want to eat or what you want to watch or whatever
11:30it is.
11:32Charles and I fought and we argued.
11:34Baby, baby, come here.
11:35I didn't deem it to be out of the ordinary because normal couples, they fight, they argue,
11:41they cry, they laugh.
11:44Because it sounded not just like he was perfect, but that your life was perfect.
11:47And everyone thinks you're the perfect couple, Barbie and Ken.
11:50They don't work through their problems.
11:56They're so busy with their outward performance that they never just bare their souls and be
12:00honest with one another.
12:02So it's no surprise that the conflict keeps festering and growing.
12:06The arguments get more and more heated.
12:08Despite the fighting, Jamie and Charlie aren't about to give up on their marriage.
12:16It doesn't hurt that Charlie's businesses are taking off in a big way.
12:22Two years after the wedding, his income doubles.
12:26The family moves into a spacious home in the upscale township of Jackson, New Jersey.
12:32Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.
12:34You been at the gym this long?
12:36Yep.
12:36Charlie pushes Jamie to quit her job.
12:39When you're bringing in $20,000 a month, it's okay.
12:43Why should you work?
12:45You can still do everything and be a mom?
12:48And he didn't want me to work.
12:50You had worked so hard since your kids were born.
12:52Was it nice to be able to be a stay-at-home mom for a change?
12:55Yeah, but once you're a certain way, it's like going on vacation.
12:58How long can you be on vacation before you're bored?
13:02With so much cash flowing in,
13:04Charlie's able to buy Jamie and her two kids anything they want.
13:10It was two years of hardcore, like just, you know, us having fun all the time, living the fast life.
13:15Fast cars, fast times, you know, vacations, just partying.
13:20Whatever you wanted.
13:22A hundred dollar jeans, no problem.
13:24You want, don't buy one, buy three.
13:26Dude, I'm just living life, man.
13:28I'm on top of the world right now.
13:29You never think it's going to end.
13:31You know, so all right, so you spent $1,000 today.
13:33But you're making $3,000 tomorrow.
13:35It was a crazy life.
13:37But living the high life comes at a price.
13:39Charlie is away working all the time, and Jamie feels neglected.
13:45She's no longer the center of attention.
13:48Charles was a good friend, not a good husband.
13:51A good provider, but not a, not a husband.
13:57Jamie and Charlie do their best to hide their marital problems from friends and family.
14:07They even decide to open a new business together.
14:11When I had told him that I wanted to work, he's like, let's just open a tanning salon.
14:17Because he always wanted one.
14:19And I just went along with it, because, you know, I like to tan.
14:23She kept saying to me, I want to open up a tanning salon, I want to open up a tanning salon.
14:26I said, you really want a tanning salon, Jamie?
14:28She says, yeah.
14:29Beautiful.
14:29That's how the tanning salon came about.
14:31She wanted it, and wanted to make her happy, so I did.
14:34I figured out a way to do it.
14:36What's going on now?
14:37These screws, they're getting stripped.
14:40The Ternowskis hire Amy Gosselin to work reception.
14:43I saw you have time sign out there.
14:45Oh, are you interested in that job?
14:46Yeah.
14:47Pretty soon, Amy starts babysitting for them, too.
14:50When I first met them, I thought they were the happiest couple, nothing could go wrong.
14:55You know, Charlie worked very long days.
14:57Jamie was at the tanning salon in the morning.
14:59Hey.
15:00You guys knew me.
15:01I'd watch the kids, and that's how I became more involved with the family.
15:06But I didn't think that at any point they were fighting, arguing.
15:11But it doesn't take long for Amy to realize that the perfect family is not so perfect after all.
15:18I didn't know nobody was going to be here.
15:25One night, I had to come back to the tanning salon to get the key.
15:29Charlie was sleeping on the couch because I got into a fight, and he didn't want to go home.
15:32I didn't want to keep fighting for the kids, so I decided to come over here.
15:35Oh, man.
15:36Sorry to that.
15:37I didn't ask any questions.
15:38He didn't want to get involved.
15:39I just said, okay, you know, I'll be here in the morning because Jamie didn't want to go to the salon.
15:45You do this every time.
15:46Jamie says that three years into the marriage, Charlie starts having a hard time controlling his anger.
15:53What are you talking about?
15:55Crazy.
15:56Their fights are no longer confined to behind closed doors.
16:02They spill out into the public eye, even at their kids' school events.
16:06Just walk away.
16:07Just walk away.
16:08He's yelling, he's screaming.
16:12Not everyone thinks Charlie is the problem.
16:15I'm not going to say Charlie never rose his voice to Jamie.
16:17He had to because she was always yelling at him, so for him to get his word over, he'd have to yell back.
16:21Don't walk away from me.
16:23Shame it.
16:24The fights at home are also getting worse.
16:27You're my wife.
16:28You understand me?
16:29You're my wife.
16:31You're mine.
16:31You belong to me.
16:33Open the door, Jamie.
16:38Open the door, Jamie.
16:40He loves Jamie and the kids deeply.
16:43So for her putting him down and calling him an idiot and yelling at him and him getting up early, 5, 6 o'clock in the morning,
16:51draining him more than he already is drained from working so much,
16:54it really made me hurt for Charlie.
16:57The now nearly daily battles begin to douse the flames on their once sizzling hot romance.
17:04You know, once in a while I heard I love you come out.
17:06Never did she ever really, like, kiss, like that I saw, kiss or hug.
17:10It was just a lot of putting him down.
17:12You know, we should be on that show.
17:15Yeah, I'm not joking.
17:17No, I think we're perfect for it.
17:21But Charlie has an idea that might rekindle the spark and capitalize on their love of the limelight.
17:28First on TV for the Wife Swap thing.
17:29When Charlie sees a casting call for the hit reality series Wife Swap, he jumps at the chance to revive their marriage.
17:36We go away to a farm, go by the snow.
17:39At the same time, he seems a little too eager to embarrass his wife on national television.
17:46She always wore high heels.
17:48Jamie wore high heels in the middle of the snow.
17:51You know, that didn't matter.
17:52She always wore heels, always.
17:55And I said, I hope they send you to a farm where you gotta shovel crap.
17:58All right, my name's Charlie.
17:59My wife, she's beautiful.
18:01She looks right on TV.
18:02Her name's Jamie.
18:03Charlie has no idea that he's just lit the fuse on their floundering marriage.
18:08And I'll stay with you.
18:11Coming up, the couple's fights turn physical as their lust for attention backfired.
18:18The cops came in.
18:19We were arguing.
18:20We were screaming.
18:20And somebody had to go.
18:21After three years of marriage and financial success, jealousy and anger are slowly tearing Charlie and Jamie Chernowski apart.
18:45I think that we'd be good candidates for that show.
18:48Charlie contacts the casting producers of the reality show Wife Swap, a top-rated series where two dramatically different couples swap homes and spouses.
18:59He fantasizes it will make things better.
19:02Oh!
19:03Hey, hey, come on.
19:10Hello?
19:13Hey, this is him.
19:14The next day, the producer calls me and says, Charlie, we love your message.
19:19Oh, yeah?
19:20Yeah, absolutely.
19:22Yeah, you can come in.
19:23We're gonna send the camera crew out to do a test shoot.
19:26All right, I am excited.
19:27You both were gung-ho about it, yeah?
19:29I don't want to say I was gung-ho.
19:30I always have that attitude anyway, like, whatever.
19:33Woo!
19:34We're gonna be funny, baby!
19:35Any couple that even mutually agrees to be on a reality show like Wife Swap has to go into it with the understanding that they are about to air their dirty laundry in public, and that, in the end, there are going to be very real consequences from doing so.
19:50The Tchernowskis spend the next month filming the episode.
19:56This is great.
19:59Oh, yeah!
20:00That's not even how that went.
20:01Yeah, the camera can only capture what it sees.
20:04No.
20:05But when the show premieres, Jamie is horrified at the way she's been portrayed.
20:10That's not even what happened.
20:12Ooh-wee.
20:13That's all I gotta say.
20:14She really came down on me hard on that.
20:17She was like, how could you allow them to make everybody believe that I sleep till noon, that you do all the work around the house?
20:22I'm like, pretty much, that's what's true.
20:25All right, maybe you don't sleep till noon, but 10.30?
20:28No, you know what?
20:29I'm not gonna watch this.
20:29I'm not gonna watch this.
20:31So where you go?
20:31What's this anymore?
20:32Again, I don't care what they perceive me as.
20:37There's more substance to that.
20:38And initially, that's how I was approached, that that's the route they were gonna go.
20:44And they didn't.
20:45They presented you as being completely...
20:48A bimbo.
20:51You must be doing it wrong, man.
20:53I don't know.
20:54You gotta think like a woman.
20:55While Jamie continues to fume, Charlie is thrilled with his new celebrity status.
21:01What the hell did you do on that show, man?
21:02I don't know.
21:02I was just myself.
21:04They just fought us around with cameras, and, you know, I just did what I normally do.
21:07I had the guys in the neighborhood saying, you know, we hate you.
21:11My wife keeps saying, why aren't you more like him?
21:16People recognize it sometimes, but it's just it.
21:18But it's just reality.
21:19Well, at least you looked good on it.
21:21In the end, the couple's vault into the spotlight didn't jumpstart their marriage.
21:26It does just the opposite.
21:28I'm a perfect gentleman.
21:30I'm, you know.
21:35Hey, baby, how you doing?
21:36You look beautiful, by the way.
21:37Who was that?
21:38Jamie is irritated by her husband's delight in his 15 minutes of fame.
21:43She was some girl that I was just talking to.
21:45So you're just going into bars these days and, uh, picking up fans?
21:49Now, the marriage's downward spiral starts picking up steam.
21:53I told you, she recognized me from, don't do this.
21:56Jamie said that, um, you know, I was cheating on her.
22:00Do not talk to other girls, okay?
22:01Do not talk to me like I'm a child.
22:03Do not talk to me like I'm a child.
22:05There was not one thing that ever came out that said that I was cheating on her.
22:09Jamie is a liar.
22:13He's always lying.
22:15He was lying so much that I questioned things that I believed and I was questioning myself.
22:23The love affair between the handsome hunk and the beauty queen is turning into something ugly.
22:30And there's no going back.
22:32They simply don't know how to use their words to communicate their unhappiness with each other
22:37and their unhappiness with the state of their lives.
22:39I can't believe you still want to fight about this.
22:41Why is it every time we go out, this has to happen?
22:43Conversation is replaced by backtalk and bickering.
22:46In the cause of you!
22:48What have I done?
22:49It's a razor's edge that's about to get even sharper.
22:54Amy Gosselin is babysitting when she hears the couple return home.
22:58I was watching the kids, heard Jamie try to pull up, saw the lights really late, I want
23:04to say 2, 3 o'clock in the morning.
23:06Heard them arguing outside for a while.
23:09I heard the car door shut.
23:11I actually went over and peeked out the window.
23:13They were, I guess, arguing behind the truck because they couldn't see anything.
23:18To Amy, it's not clear who started the fight or what they're fighting about.
23:22She claims that he pushed her up against the trailer and smacked her in the head,
23:28but I didn't see it, so I can't say that it happened.
23:33Jamie!
23:36Jamie!
23:36Then they went up to the bedroom, still arguing.
23:41I'm almost such a big man now, shall we argue?
23:44Oh, everything, Bishop!
23:46What the hell are you doing?
23:50Oops.
23:50I heard a crash upstairs, and there was a draw broken off.
23:59Charlie was leaving the bedroom.
24:01I am calling the police.
24:03You are out of control.
24:05We're calling the police.
24:05I'm out of control.
24:07Jamie was telling me to call the cops, call the cops.
24:09It was just a lot of yelling, and Jamie had put herself against the door, holding it
24:14so he couldn't get in, you know, to talk to her.
24:17Stop pounding on the door!
24:20You know, and she's screaming at me to call the cops.
24:24Me and her were arguing, and the cops came in.
24:27We were arguing, we were screaming, and somebody had to go.
24:29And they wanted to take him to me.
24:42And there wasn't a mark on her.
24:44The kids now were up at this point, and so I went in there and said, you know, everything's
24:48okay.
24:48Mom and dad just got into a fight, you know, go back to sleep.
24:51But, of course, they couldn't sleep with the yelling and the arguing.
24:55They took pictures of Jamie to find out, you know, if those marks were her hands.
24:59Can you point to where it was?
25:01I think it was, like, right here.
25:03Take your hand away from me, ma'am.
25:05Thank you, ma'am.
25:06Jamie files a temporary restraining order against Charlie that night.
25:13Hello?
25:15Is everything okay?
25:16Yeah.
25:16Everything's okay.
25:17I'll be back later.
25:17Okay.
25:18The next day when I came to babysit, it was like nothing happened.
25:21Jamie and Charlie's burying of problems is just another poison eating away at their marriage.
25:28The charges eventually get dropped, but unlike other people who sit down and work through
25:34it and maybe even seek out marriage counseling or outside professional help to figure out how
25:38do we stop this cycle, Jamie and Charlie just acted like it never happened, as they seem
25:43to always do with anything unpleasant in their lives.
25:47What are you going to do?
25:48You're going to hit me with the pamphlet, everybody watching?
25:50Sure enough, ignoring their problems doesn't make them go away.
25:56According to Charlie, Jamie becomes increasingly erratic and violent.
26:01Jamie got pissed off, came in with a baseball bat.
26:05She has a very, very bad temper, a very, very bad temper, and she's the type that felt like,
26:10you know, I'm the girl, I can hit you.
26:11Coming up, is the worst yet to come?
26:21Just how far is an ex-cheerleader willing to go?
26:24Every time we go out, this has to happen.
26:40New Jersey couple Jamie and Charlie Trinowski's five-year marriage is on a collision course.
26:47Since they were on the reality show Wife Swap, their fights have become even more frequent
26:52and intense.
26:54Good thing they still have plenty of money to ease the pain.
26:57Until the 2008 financial crisis threatens to finish them off.
27:05And the economy hit.
27:11You need $12,000 a month to pay your bills, just to pay your bills.
27:15And that's just to get by.
27:17And you can only survive so long.
27:21You're trying to manage the tanning salon.
27:22On the weekends, being an entertainer.
27:25And then on Sundays, you're trying to go to flea market and hustle mattresses.
27:28And then on top of it all, be a husband and be a father.
27:32You know, and then you're robbing Peter to pay Paul.
27:34And that's when things come crumbling down.
27:37Do you not realize where we live and how many kids we live?
27:41Charlie can no longer supply Jamie with the life of luxury she's used to.
27:48In the same week, Charlie loses his furniture business.
27:53And the couple is forced to close their tanning salon.
27:56In desperation, they put their upscale house on the market.
28:01How are you acting so quiet?
28:03We're moving out of our house, right?
28:06It's not a time to be super excited or anything.
28:10You know, the one thing she said was, whatever you do, just don't lose the house.
28:15But when you're not making the money and you can't afford the house anymore,
28:19your cars get repoed in the middle of the night.
28:20Oh my God!
28:23No one has ever made me the way that you make me!
28:25He's punched holes in walls, he's yelled, he's screamed, he's hurt me.
28:34I'm sorry.
28:37I'm sorry.
28:38The discord between Charlie and Jamie has been festering since the wife swap episode.
28:44And then when they suffer financial ruin, well, this causes a powder keg of pent-up emotions that really has no option except to explode.
28:53At this point, there is no doubt the Chernowski marriage is beyond repair.
29:00And as if things aren't bad enough, Charlie starts to suspect that Jamie's keeping secrets from him.
29:06When you walk in and she's on the computer and you see her on the computer, and as you walk over, she clicks out of it.
29:13What was that?
29:18Everything has a passcode on it.
29:20It's asking me for a password.
29:23What's your password?
29:26Your phone is locked too.
29:28What is with this?
29:28Everything's locked up.
29:29It's like I'm in Sing Sing.
29:30I can't get in because it has a lock on it.
29:35And then you question, why is there a lock on your phone?
29:37Oh, so I don't want the kids going through my phone.
29:39What are they going to do on your phone?
29:41Make long distance phone calls?
29:42When you have two separate Facebooks and two separate MySpaces, and you put locks on your phones,
29:47you have the married life, the family, and then you have your single life.
29:54I thought you were bringing me a drink.
29:56At this point, Jamie is probably done with the marriage, and she simply is unprepared to deal
30:03with a new life, a new world, especially with two children, but with no husband.
30:08So instead of just putting the chips down and saying, Charlie, let's talk about divorce,
30:14she just goes and starts building a separate life, a level of secrecy that can only drive a wedge
30:20further into the disintegrating marriage.
30:26May 28th, 2009 would become a fateful day.
30:33Jamie has plans for a girls' night out at a Jersey Shore tiki bar.
30:38It's just like a girls' thing.
30:39I don't know.
30:40She wanted to go out, and I knew she was cheating at that point in my mind.
30:45I already knew it.
30:46I don't know.
30:46You know, maybe I'll come with you.
30:49What do you think?
30:50You want to come?
30:50Charlie sees it as an opportunity to catch Jamie red-handed.
30:56They pick up their friend Stephanie and head for the shore.
30:59So I'm like, all right, who else are we getting?
31:01Oh, no, no, that's it.
31:02Just Stephanie.
31:03What happened to all the girls?
31:05Oh, we're going to meet everybody there.
31:07But when they get to the tiki bar, there's just one person waiting for them, and he's not a girl.
31:15I wanted to introduce you to my friend Vince.
31:19This is Stephanie.
31:20Stephanie.
31:21And this is Charlie, my husband.
31:25Hey, Vince.
31:26And when she said husband, his face was like...
31:30It's nice to meet you.
31:31Man.
31:32I didn't say nothing.
31:34Didn't say a word.
31:35Charlie claims Jamie spends the rest of the night getting drunk and flirting with her friend Vince and other men in the bar.
31:42Jimmy's all over the place, drinking, shots over here, doing this over there with these people.
31:51A few hours later, the Chernowskis leave.
31:54They drop Stephanie off on their way home.
32:05Screw you, Charlie.
32:06Seriously, I'm done.
32:07What happened?
32:13Is everything okay?
32:15Yeah.
32:16It's fine.
32:17She just, um...
32:18She just drank too much.
32:19After the babysitter leaves, Charlie heads upstairs to bed.
32:24I go in the bathroom.
32:25I change.
32:27Like, ten minutes goes by.
32:29And she's still not upstairs.
32:30So, I decided to go downstairs.
32:38You could see the light on in the bathroom.
32:43As I'm walking to the bathroom, you could hear whispering, but arguing.
32:48So, now, I just have the most uneasy feeling in my stomach.
32:50So, I'm pacing in front of the door.
32:51I'm pacing.
32:52Like, what should I do?
32:53What should I do?
32:53I even put my ear up to the door.
32:55Thanks, dear.
32:56According to Jamie, Charlie goes ballistic.
33:02Who are you talking to?
33:03Nobody.
33:03Who are you talking to?
33:05Give me your phone.
33:06Give me your phone.
33:07Oh, she really f***ed damn Rose Garden.
33:09He started grabbing me, trying to grab my phone.
33:11He said, give me your phone.
33:13He started with it.
33:14He was going to kill me.
33:15Looks like Vince.
33:17Let's call Vince.
33:18He dragged me out of the bathroom.
33:19Hello?
33:21Hello?
33:22I'm talking about how it sounds like a real voice now.
33:24Hello?
33:25You know, whatever he was saying, I just remember him, I'll kill you.
33:29If I can't have you, no one can.
33:33I finally broke free.
33:36Where are you going?
33:37Where are you going to go?
33:38Where are you going to go?
33:39No one can hear you scream out of me, Jamie.
33:42Then he caught me again.
33:43He started choking me there.
33:45He was choking me so hard that he lifted me off the ground.
33:48If I can't have you, no one can have you.
33:49No one can have you.
33:50No one can have you.
33:51Jamie frantically reaches behind her
33:53and finds a weapon.
33:55No, no.
33:56Get off.
33:58I knew where the knife lock was.
34:00I grabbed it hoping it was going to scare him,
34:02and it did scare him for a minute.
34:03Oh, my God.
34:05Stay back there.
34:05Jamie and Charlie Chernowski are back home after a night of boozing on the Jersey shore.
34:25Jamie claims Charlie goes crazy with jealousy
34:30after overhearing her talking on the phone with her friend Vince.
34:34She says he was the aggressor, and she had to defend herself.
34:39Stay away.
34:40No.
34:41Get off.
34:42The girl likes to play with knives.
34:44Oh, yeah, come on.
34:45Oh, I believe it, baby.
34:46Let's go.
34:47You want to kill each other?
34:48You want to kill each other?
34:50Come on, baby.
34:51Let's go.
34:51Let's do this tonight.
34:53Stop.
34:55I had it in my right hand, and he was on top of me.
34:58I couldn't see, but I could hear.
35:00And then I couldn't hear, but I could see.
35:05I just remember turning my head and right in his left bicep.
35:15Jamie plunges the knife into her husband's arm.
35:21The knife hits an artery, and Charlie's blood starts spraying everywhere.
35:26At least, that's the way she saw it.
35:30Charlie tells the entire story a little differently.
35:33I grab the door.
35:39It's not even locked.
35:41Open up the door, and she's standing in front of the mirror.
35:44You just know that deer-in-headlights look?
35:46That's the look she gives me.
35:47And I look at her, and I'm like, who are you on the phone with, Jamie?
35:51This is why I hate you.
35:53I wanted to fall.
35:54Who are you talking to?
35:55I said, you're cheating on me.
35:57I said, you're cheating.
35:57I said, who are you on the phone with, Jamie?
35:58You're cheating on me.
36:00No.
36:01Give it.
36:02No.
36:02Give it.
36:03It's...
36:06Hello?
36:08Hello?
36:09So I just take off.
36:10I just leave the bathroom.
36:11I leave her in the bathroom.
36:13I'm trying to call her back.
36:14I'm like, hello, hello, hello.
36:16And he keeps hanging up.
36:17Hello, hello.
36:17He keeps hanging up.
36:18Hello.
36:19He keeps hanging up.
36:20I'm looking through the messages.
36:21She comes from behind, and was able to, like, jump on, like, on my back,
36:25and be able to get the phone out of my hand.
36:30Give me the phone.
36:31Stop.
36:31Fight.
36:31Fight.
36:33She takes a knife, and then stabs me this way, and says, get off my phone.
36:37And then comes back and stabs me this way, right here.
36:41Ah!
36:43Oh, my God.
36:44Oh, my God.
36:45Oh, my God.
36:45I'm like, you got to call 911.
36:46She's just like, F you, die.
36:48I hope you die.
36:49F you.
36:50F you.
36:50I need to get to a hospital.
36:51I need to get to a hospital.
36:52I need to get to a hospital.
36:53I need to get to a hospital.
36:55Get off.
36:56So I was like, oh, my gosh.
36:57I see the keys to the truck.
36:59I see the keys.
37:00So now I grab the keys, and I run out the door.
37:03Right, let's go.
37:04Charlie, you deserve it.
37:10Stay away from the house.
37:11No.
37:12Hey.
37:13Hey.
37:14Hey.
37:14I put the key in the ignition, and all of a sudden, the passenger door opens up on the
37:19truck, and she's coming in.
37:20And I'm like, well, maybe she's coming to help me, or maybe she's coming to stab me again.
37:23I'm really not sure.
37:24Then, according to Charlie, Jamie does something unthinkable.
37:31She removes his keys from the ignition, runs back into the house, and locks the front door.
37:38Now I'm like, like, what that, like, did she really do that?
37:44Open the door.
37:46I'm banging on the door, pleading for her to let me in.
37:50Get away from me.
37:51At this point, I'm starting to feel sick and a little wheezy.
37:54So I take my shirt off to try to stop the bleeding, and I'm banging on the door, begging her,
37:59please, please, I'm going to die out here.
38:01I'm going to die out here.
38:03And she's standing behind the door, and she's like, F you.
38:06I hope you die.
38:07F you.
38:08Open the door.
38:10Go down.
38:10And then, what felt like a lifetime, for whatever reason, she decides to open up the door.
38:18You take your own damn car.
38:20You take your own damn car.
38:22As for Jamie, she says she had a very good reason for locking her bleeding husband out of the house.
38:28He came back inside, and every time he would come, I thought he was coming.
38:32Like, for me, he thought he was coming back at you.
38:36Yes, 100%.
38:37By now, Charlie's lost a lot of blood.
38:42I grabbed the keys to my truck, which was a 96 Ford Ranger, manual steering stick, and I drive myself to the hospital.
38:52Somehow, he makes it to the hospital before going into shock.
38:57I lost four and a half pints of blood.
39:02Your body holds seven.
39:03I basically died.
39:05I bled out.
39:09So you stayed in the house?
39:11My children were in there.
39:12I had to.
39:12I'm not leaving my kids.
39:17Was there blood?
39:19A little bit.
39:21A little bit?
39:22Just a little.
39:23A little?
39:26No.
39:27A neighbor hears the fighting and calls police.
39:32When officers arrive, Jamie Chernowski is mopping up Charlie's blood.
39:36She tells them her husband cut himself while working on his truck.
39:41Um, I lied to them at first.
39:44Why?
39:45I wasn't thinking straight.
39:46I didn't want to get him in trouble.
39:47I don't want to necessarily say I was protecting him as protecting my family.
39:50Then, police get a call that a nearby hospital has just admitted someone with life-threatening stab wounds.
39:58Jamie Chernowski is arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
40:09When questioned by police down at the station, Jamie changes her story.
40:16Now, she says, she stabbed her husband in self-defense.
40:20According to the police and Charlie and medical records, Jamie is lying.
40:26When a person stabs another person, even if it's in self-defense, especially if it's in self-defense,
40:32the first thing that is on your mind is to call 911.
40:36To get police there to protect you, so that there is proof that you had to use that level of force in self-defense.
40:44But, according to Charlie, Jamie wouldn't even drive him to the hospital.
40:49She wouldn't call 911.
40:50This is not typical variables that we would see in a true situation of self-defense.
40:57Charlie's left with permanent nerve damage in his arm.
41:01I have no use of my hand anymore.
41:03You know, I have no feeling from here up all the way.
41:06It's just unbelievable.
41:08Unbelievable that somebody could do that to somebody.
41:12I'll never forget her.
41:14Never.
41:18Charlie still lives in New Jersey.
41:22He has a new girlfriend and has moved on with his life.
41:30No criminal charges were brought against Jamie.
41:32Today, she lives in New York City.
41:39She has put the past behind her and now leads a happy and healthy life.
41:44In the end, the former cheerleader and beauty queen got her time in the spotlight, but probably not the kind she dreamed of.
42:04If Jamie and Charlie made a big mistake, it was that they played at marriage like other people play house.
42:12They never really got it together in a deep, trusting, loving relationship.
42:17It was all about how others perceived them.
42:21And that was really destined for failure from the first day.
42:24And that was really destined for failure from the first day.
42:25And that was really?
42:26It was the only one that couldיא or maybe walk away.
42:29If you'd take their hands to remember around it.
42:30So it's one of those somes stuff, and that's why she tells you that we are here.
42:33So you wanted to get married and who doesn't want to be raised.
42:35But I didn't want to.
42:36I don't want to.
42:37I think if you're waiting for this rescue trip, it's a space to be cleaned off.
42:40It didn't want it.
42:41So that's going to be part of one thing.
42:44So I worked for the next year.
42:45And I was doing very well.
42:47You guys go ahead and to be sabe how you are able to see what you do.
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