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Spoilers ahead.

Dirty John, 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 on 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:

(L-R) Eric Bana, Connie Britton, the real Debra Newell, Juno Temple, and the real Terra Newell. Getty

Below, a breakdown of what some of the major characters of Dirty John look like in real life:

Debra Newell (Connie Britton)

Bravo | Getty

The Friday Night Lights and American Horror Story alum 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 Vulture Festival on 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 Ambrosia Home, based in Nevada.

John Meehan (Eric Bana)

Bravo | Michigan Department of Corrections

Per Christopher Goffard’s reporting and the podcast, the real John had “seduced, swindled and terrorized multiple women” from 2005 to 2014, aka 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)

Bravo | Getty

The real Arlane had lost a daughter more than 30 years before the events of Dirty John. Part of the podcast’s fourth episode, “Forgiveness,” 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)

Actress Juno Temple plays Veronica, based on Jacquelyn, in Dirty John. Bravo

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 was recently on E! ahead of the Bravo show’s premiere.

Terra Newell, Debra’s daughter (Julia Garner)

Bravo | Getty

In a January 2018 interview with Meghan Kelly, 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. “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.”

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Cash, Terra’s Australian Shepherd

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As detailed in the podcast’s final episode, this good boy 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 Instagram page (managed by Terra). If you only have time for a quick video (versus endless browsing on his Insta feed), might I suggest this sweet video of Cash courtesy of Dateline?

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A very small creature plays a very big role in Friday’s #Dateline. Meet Terra and Cash, the Australian Shepherd whose bite, on one critical day, was worse than his bark…



If you like what you see, you can follow him on Instagram by searching for @CashMoneyThePuppy pic.twitter.com/urFzB6SErV — Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) January 10, 2018

An earlier version of this story included a photo of one of Debra’s family members; the photo has since been removed from social media.

Peggy Truong Entertainment Writer Peggy is Cosmopolitan.com’s entertainment writer, specializing in Leonardo DiCaprio, This Is Us, and the royals.

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