Everything we know about Ed Gein’s alleged girlfriend after people left confused
True crime fans everywhere will have likely spent the entire weekend binge-watching Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
For those not in the loop, it's the third season of the American biographical crime series Monster, which was created by Ian Brennan and American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy for the streaming platform, and fans are hooked.
Previous killers who have been dramatised in the controversial TV show include Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers.
And now, actor Charlie Hunnam has taken on the role of 1950s Wisconsin serial killer and grave robber, Ed Gein, to delve into the horrific story.
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However, after watching the eight-part series, fans have been left with a slew of questions, including who his alleged girlfriend Adeline Watkins was.
The Idol's Suzanna Son played Adeline in the Netflix series; however, viewers have been left confused over whether Adeline actually existed.
One user penned on Twitter: "There really is someone for everyone huh? How does Ed Gein have a girlfriend???? Human psychology is so fascinating! #MonsterTheEdGeinStory."
While a second added: "Giving Ed Gein a girlfriend who is completely down with all the weird sh** he does is an odd move I don't quite understand in a show full of odd moves I don't quite understand."
And a third penned: "The thing I don’t like about this Ed Gein show is they gave him a girlfriend. They didn’t need to do that to make the story interesting. He was a crazy bachelor #EdGein."
Who was Adeline Watkins?
Watkins was his neighbour and companion, and in November 1957, just days after his arrest, she famously claimed she had a 20-year romance with Gein.
Netflix describes their version of Watkins in the show as being 'obsessed with death', and she is the one who 'introduces him to several of the killers who would serve as his idols'.
"Certain images and certain ideas, once you see them, you can’t unsee them," Brennan told Tudum. "When Ed chose Adeline, they show each other these things. They can’t unsee them. And slowly begin this descent into darker and darker stuff."
While Hunnam said: "Adeline is really the only female, or really the only person other than his mother, that he has a consistent and somewhat intimate relationship with.
"He finds this kindred spirit in Adeline."
What did Adeline Watkins say about Ed Gein?
According to Cosmopolitan, in 1957, Watkins was interviewed by the Minneapolis Tribune, where she said she dated Gein for twenty years, describing him as 'good and sweet'.
She even revealed she had almost married him, telling the publication: "I loved him and I still do," with the article being published after the serial killer admitted to 'butchering' another woman.
People reported that, according to the 1957 interview, their dates would mainly consist of going to the movies.
She said: “I would almost have to drag Eddie into a tavern. He would much rather have gone to a drugstore for a milkshake.”
Watkins also said that she and Gein discussed crime, but not any that he himself had committed.
She explained: "I guess we discussed every murder we ever heard about. Eddie told [me] how the murderer did wrong, what mistakes he had made. I thought it was interesting."
Watkins also claimed she turned down a marriage proposal from Gein because she 'couldn't live up to what he expected' of her.
“I turned him down, but not because there was anything wrong with him,” she explained, “It was something wrong with me. I guess I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to live up to what he expected of me.”
She added: “Eddie was so nice about doing things I wanted to do that sometimes I felt I was taking advantage of him. I loved him and I still do.”
Watkins retracts her statements
However, Watkins went on to retract her statements just days later.
She reportedly contacted the editor of another local paper, the Plainfield Sun, to clarify that she and Gein had only been friends.
"There was no 20-year romance,” she said, now claiming they he would stop by her apartment to visit, and sometimes they would go to watch a movie together.
But, she denied ever having called him 'sweet' and was also 'quite emphatic in stating that she had never ‘practically dragged him into a tavern,’ as was reported.
Topics: Crime, Netflix, Sex and Relationships, TV And Film, True Crime, Ed Gein
Madison Burgess