Where Michelle Hadley from Netflix's A Toxic Love Story is now
Ever since Netflix dropped their most head-spinning documentary yet, questions have been raised about the real people behind A Toxic Love Story.
More specifically, true-crime buffs have been dying to know what on earth Michelle Hadley is up to nowadays.
After all, it's been exactly 10 years since she became tragically intertwined in one of America's most notorious love triangles, which resulted in all three people involved spending time behind bars at different times in a criminal case that hit headlines around the world.
"Terrifying cyber threats escalate into a violent plot involving a US marshal, his wife and his ex in this documentary," Netflix describes the 1-hour, 30-minute feature film, with Michelle taking on the role of Ian Diaz's scorned lover.
What is Netflix's A Toxic Love Story about?
The documentary begins by introducing California couple Ian and Angela Diaz, who met in a Starbucks in 2016 and quickly fell in love. Within months, they were engaged, Angela had moved into the condominium Ian co-owned with his ex-girlfriend Michelle Hadley, and the couple were expecting twins.
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Their new life soon descends into chaos, however, after they begin receiving threatening emails from someone who goes by the name 'Lilithistruth'.
The messages contained disturbing biblical references and violent threats, convincing Ian and Angela that Michelle, whom Ian had split from the previous year, is stalking them. The pair report the harassment to police, repeatedly describing Michelle as unstable.
They also obtain a restraining order against her.
Things escalate when someone responds to a Craigslist advert posing as Angela, inviting men to carry out a violent 'rape fantasy' at the couple's home. Days later, Angela tells police she was attacked outside the property by a man she believes got her address online, telling police Michelle must be the person to have posted the ad.
Michelle is arrested and questioned by detectives. During her interview, she admits to sending emails to Ian from the 'Lilithistruth' account after their relationship ended, hoping to frighten him into leaving her alone.
Investigators believe they've found the culprit, and Michelle is jailed while awaiting trial.
It's then that the documentary takes a major U-turn.
Attention shifts to Angela's past, as former boyfriend Jason Rayburn and ex-friend Mary Bukovskis describe a pattern of elaborate deception years before she met Ian, claiming she falsely told people she was battling cervical cancer.
Eventually, they uncovered fake medical equipment, images lifted from Google and countless inconsistencies in her story, with their joint testimony casting doubt over Angela's credibility.
While Michelle is still in jail, Ian goes to police claiming he now believes his own wife fabricated the entire campaign against his ex. After discovering fake pregnancy tests, he tells investigators Angela staged the harassment, created the fake Craigslist advert and invented the sexual assault.
Angela is arrested in 2017 and later pleads guilty to multiple offences, including fraud and falsely reporting a crime.
Ian annuls their marriage, while Michelle is released after spending 88 days behind bars.
How was she found innocent?
At first, it appears the mystery has finally been solved, until Michelle is given the chance to tell her side of the story.
She reveals that, after her release, a fresh investigation is prompted by Department of Justice digital forensic examiner Jason Higley, who begins reviewing the case because it involved a US Marshal.
As he re-examines police bodycam footage and digital evidence, Higley notices Ian repeatedly coaching Angela during interviews and steering officers towards believing Michelle was dangerous.
He also uncovers evidence suggesting Ian himself had responded to the fake Craigslist advert, communicated with one of the men who answered it and even used his Department of Justice laptop to continue sending emails under the 'Lilith' identity.
Michelle also describes what she says was an abusive relationship with Ian, alleging he installed surveillance cameras throughout their home, tracked her movements, controlled her appearance and subjected her to coercive sexual behaviour.
While she admits sending Ian a handful of threatening emails during what she describes as a dissociative episode, she insists she never targeted Angela or orchestrated the fake assault.
She also explains that despite having the charges dropped, her reputation had already been destroyed.
"I think the media gleefully grabbed a hold of this narrative of the 'crazy woman', the 'jealous woman'," Michelle says. "And if they couldn't paint me as that, they were going to paint Angela as that, but they don't want to talk about the man involved."
The forensic evidence ultimately points investigators towards Ian. He was arrested in 2021 and, despite pleading not guilty, was later convicted of stalking, perjury and obstruction of justice.
Who was the real 'Lilithistruth'?
In 2017, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) Cyber Investigations Office started delving into Ian, to see if he had abused his position as a US Marshal and influenced Angela, having grown suspicious after interviewing Michelle.
Eventually, digital forensics managed to trace an email from Ian's personal account, which featured a conversation with Rick - the man who had responded to the 'Lilithistruth' rape fantasy Craigslist ad - where Ian asked if he was on his way to the condo that night.
Special Agent Jason Higley concluded that this was proof that it had been Ian posing as 'Lilithistruth' all along.
Where is Michelle Hadley now?
Following her release from jail, Michelle filed a civil lawsuit against the Anaheim Police Department and four of its officers, claiming they'd acted rashly by arresting her for the emails and the 'attack' on Angela under Ian's instruction.
Her spokesperson told NBC that year: "The Anaheim Police Department and its officers abdicated their duties to adhere to investigative norms, instead conspiring to do the bidding of a corrupt federal marshal.
"They appear to have willingly become Ian Diaz’s weapon in his tortious campaign to ruin the life of his ex-girlfriend, plaintiff Michelle Hadley."
Michelle had made similar claims during an interview on TODAY in 2017, telling the hosts: "I believe that the police had enough information available to them before they arrested me the first time to know it wasn’t me doing it."
In 2021, the same year as Ian's arrest, she accepted a settlement from the city of Anaheim for an undisclosed amount. The city's attorneys simultaneously insisted, however, that the arresting officers had probable cause at the time to believe Michelle had been behind the attack.
The same day Ian was convicted of his crimes, Michelle gave birth to a baby girl.
Sharing a statement with NBC at the time, Michelle said: "I am so grateful to the (Justice Department Office of Inspector General) for the work they put into this case and to the jury for a conviction that has brought so much peace to my family and restored some of the faith we lost in the justice system as a result of Diaz’s crimes against me.
"My life has been filled by strange, often symbolic, and sometimes beautiful coincidences like this. My daughter represents my rainbow after a very long storm, and my heart has never felt so full."
At the end of the documentary, Michelle tells viewers she'd been able to rebuild her life by raising awareness on how cyber-manipulation can compromise justice, revealing she's going back to school.
"I'm going back to work, and I started dating again," she smiles, reflecting on the aftermath of the case. "Eventually, I find out I'm pregnant. Raising this beautiful little girl is my fairytale ending. I'm not a princess, but I get to be the hero in my own story."
What happened to Ian and Angela Diaz?
Ian is still serving a 10-year sentence for cyberstalking, conspiracy, perjury, and obstruction of a federal proceeding.
A Toxic Love Story director Alexandra Lacey said filmmakers tried to approach him for the documentary, telling Netflix's Tudum: "We did write him a letter, and he declined to take part."
Angela, meanwhile, served five years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud, false imprisonment, and falsely reporting a crime.
She also declined to take part in the documentary.
“We don’t know a huge amount about what she’s doing now," producer Emma Supple said.
A Toxic Love Story: A timeline of what happened
2013: Ian Diaz meets Michelle Hadley
Ian Diaz, a deputy US marshal, meets graduate student Michelle Hadley online and the pair quickly begin dating.
2015: The couple purchase an apartment together
In June 2015, they buy a condominium together in an Anaheim suburb in California. This wasn't cheap due to the location - Ian and Michelle obtained a mortgage worth just under $500,000 (£371,442), with Michelle paying out almost $15,000 (£11,000) as a down payment.
August 2015: Ian and Michelle's relationship ends
Just two months after buying their apartment, the couple call it quits. Their apartment very quickly becomes a source of financial frustration for the former couple, with text messages in September of that year showing them discussing the financial burden.
2016: Ian marries Angela Connell
Despite tying the knot in 2016, the early stages of their relationship are overshadowed by the financial problems Ian continued to share with Michelle over the apartment.
2016: Ian and Angela plot to frame Michelle for being a cyberstalker
In a shocking plan, the married couple open up multiple online accounts under Michelle’s name, using fake emails to create and respond to 'rape fantasy' ads on Craigslist.
They later lie to authorities by saying that Michelle had purposely invited men to their home, pretending to be Angela, so that they would sexually assault her.
Several men respond to the ads and arrive at Ian and Angela's property, which Angela then used to fabricate her claims against Michelle.
2016: Michelle is arrested and imprisoned
After the Diaz family file several restraining orders against her, Michelle is eventually arrested by Anaheim authorities. Despite protesting her innocence, she spends 88 days in prison after being given a $1 million bail.
2016: Ian and Angela's lies begin to unravel
While Michelle was wrongly serving time behind bars, digital forensic investigators began tracing the online accounts and posts, and what they found pointed not to Michelle, but to Angela.
The devices used to create and manage the accounts were also linked to Angela, with IP address records telling the same story.
2017: Michelle is released from prison, and Angela is arrested
On the same day Michelle got her freedom back, Angela is arrested, and later in the year, she pleads guilty to charges including forgery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.
She is sentenced to five years in prison.
2021-2023: Ian is arrested and charged
His involvement was investigated in more depth in 2021, and two years later, in 2023, Ian is found guilty of cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction of justice.
He is sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison, alongside three years of supervised release.
Topics: Netflix, Documentaries, True Crime, US News, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson