Where Is Vili Fualaau Now, 29 Years After Mary Kay Letourneau's Arrest? Inside His Life Today

Vili Fualaau and Mary Kay Letourneau went on to marry and welcome kids together

NEED TO KNOW

• Mary Kay Letourneau was arrested 29 years ago, in March 1997, for having a sexual relationship with her student, Vili Fualaau
• Letourneau and Fualaau welcomed two daughters together, Audrey and Georgia
• Since January 2024, Fualaau has become a grandfather twice

On Mar. 4, 1997 — nearly 30 years ago — Mary Kay Letourneau was arrested for child rape, after it was discovered she was having a sexual relationship with her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau.

The illicit affair between the teacher and student shocked the nation, dominating headlines during Letourneau's subsequent rape trial and her eventual marriage to Fualaau.

In 1996, the former middle school teacher began sexually abusing a then-12-year-old Fualaau, whom she had known since he was in second grade. Later that year, Letourneau became pregnant with Fualaau's child, and she was eventually arrested for child rape.

A trial followed and while Letourneau was sentenced to seven years in prison for child rape, the story between the pair did not end there. They welcomed their second child in 1998 — making Fualaau a father of two by age 15. After her time in prison, Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20, 2005, and raised their two daughters, Audrey and Georgia, together in Seattle.

While they initially separated in 2017 and officially divorced in 2019, "they were totally in love," Letourneau's attorney David Gehrke once told PEOPLE. "But sometimes, people who are totally in love have trouble staying in love," he added.

Letourneau later died of cancer in July 2020, and Fualaau went on to welcome a third daughter named Sophia two years later. Since January 2024, he has become a grandfather twice.

Here's everything to know about where Vili Fualaau is today, nearly three decades after the case began.

Where is Vili Fualaau now?

Prior to the trial that made national headlines, Fualaau was a boy involved with a teacher he had known since he was in second grade.

When he started seeing Letourneau outside of school, the sexual abuse began. However, Letourneau claimed that she did not know having sex with a minor was a crime. Fualaau was 12 when he started a relationship with Letourneau, who was 34.

Since the trial, Fualaau has largely remained out of the public eye. He pursued a career as a DJ in Seattle, going by the stage name "DJ Headline," and was occasionally spotted with Letourneau in their hometown of Seattle during their marriage.

In 2022, he welcomed his third child, a daughter named Sophia, from another relationship. While information surrounding Sophia's arrival has been kept private, Fualaau's second daughter Georgia posted about her new sibling on Instagram, which was seen by PEOPLE.

"Hi Sophia, I'm your big sister! You're so beautiful, I can't wait to watch you grow. I'll be right here by your side no matter what ! I love you," Georgia captioned the post, which featured a photo of the newborn in the hospital.

In January 2024, Fualaau became a first-time grandfather, when Georgia gave birth to a baby boy.

Georgia shared that she was expecting her first child in September 2023 and told PEOPLE that her father has been supportive. "They have been with me at almost every appointment, and they have just been my rocks," she shared.

She added of Fualaau, “He’s already buying baby stuff for me and giving me hand-me-downs from my baby sister, which is nice," referencing her younger sister Sophia. "I just know that he’s going to be the greatest grandfather ever."

Fualaau became a grandfather again, when his daughter, Audrey, and her fiancé, Ethan Porter, welcomed their first child, a son named Elias Ulumailuma D. Porter, in May 2025.

What happened to Mary Kay Letourneau?

Letourneau entered a guilty plea in 1997 and was charged with two counts of second-degree rape of a child.

She was sentenced to seven years in prison but was paroled after six months under the condition she would stay away from Fualaau. That rule was broken after they were seen in a car together two weeks after her initial release, which led to a judge ordering her to serve the rest of her prison sentence.

Though a no-contact order was in place when Letourneau was released from prison in 2004,  Fualaau successfully petitioned the court to revoke it. Then 21, he was free to continue the relationship.

Fualaau and Letourneau wed on May 20, 2005 and remained together for over a decade until Fualaau filed for legal separation in 2017.

“Vili was the one who filed a petition for separation, which is usually a precursor for filing for divorce," Leturneau's attorney David Gehrke exclusively told PEOPLE. He added that though they faced struggles, he believed that they were truly in love with each other.

The couple tried to work it out, living together months after their legal separation and eventually giving the relationship another try. However, by 2019, it was over for good.

In July 2020, Letourneau died of stage 4 cancer. She was 58. Though the former teacher and Fualaau were divorced at the time, her death had a profound impact on him.

"He lost a piece of himself," a friend close to Fualaau told PEOPLE following Latourneau's death. "He understands how f—– up everything was in how they got together. He's not stupid. But he can't turn off his feelings completely, and it's a big loss for him. He talked to her right before she passed, and they said everything they needed to say."

Where are Vili Fualaau and Mary Kay Letourneau's children?

By the time Fualaau was 15, he was a father of two. He and Letourneau welcomed their first child together, daughter Audrey, in May 1997 — three months before Letourneau would plead guilty to two counts of child rape. Their second daughter, Georgia, was born during Letourneau's prison sentence in October 1998.

Audrey and Georgia were teenagers when their parents initially split in 2017.

In January 2024, Georgia and her longtime boyfriend welcomed their first child together — a baby boy.

A few months prior, Georgia told PEOPLE that her late mother would be "really happy" about her pregnancy. She shared, "I think maybe at first it would be kind of shocking, because I am her baby, but after that, she’d be the most excited grandmother-to-be."

In May 2025, Audrey and her fiancé, Ethan Porter, welcomed a son, Elias Ulumailuma D. Porter.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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