Where is Robert Berchtold's Ex-Wife Gail from A Friend of the Family Now?
Content warning: This article references kidnapping and sexual assault some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
Peacock's A Friend of the Family sent social media into a frenzy because of its shocking depiction of Jan Broberg's life. She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by her neighbor and family friend Robert "B." Berchtold when she was 12 and again when she was 14. Netflix first recounted the harrowing story in the 2019 documentary Abducted in Plain Sight. The latest telling is a fictionalized account of Broberg's encounter and highlights many people who did not participate in the original doc. As the series continues to pick up steam on the streamer, many viewers are interested in the real lives of those involved, like Gail Berchtold, who was married to Robert at the time of the first kidnapping. Questions have emerged about Gail's participation in her former husband's unspeakable crimes or whether she was a victim. Here's everything we know about what Gail Berchtold is up to now.
What is Gail Berchtold up to now?
While news of Berchtold's assault on Broberg continues to gain renewed interest, Gail has not appeared or participated in any public discussions about the case or what she experienced during her marriage with her ex-husband, who died by suicide in 2005.
In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Broberg revealed that Gail stayed with Robert after the first kidnapping, but they divorced soon after. "By the second kidnapping, she had filed for a divorce," Broberg said. "She divorced him and took her kids and moved." In the Peacock series, the Berchtolds had three children, but IRL, Gail, and Robert have five children: Jerry, James, Joseph, Jeff, and Jill.
Broberg also shared that producers from the Netflix documentary reached out to Berchtold to discuss if she believed that she was manipulated by her ex or if she was complicit, but she never responded.
Broberg revealed that she never directly reached out to Gail or her children despite having a close relationship with them in her youth. "No word and many, many years have gone by, and, you know, can you imagine how awful it would be to discover that this was your dad? I mean, it’s pretty tough. I feel bad for all of them."
Despite the outcome of her marriage to Robert, Gail found love again. According to an online obituary, she tied the knot with former Marine James Leslie Wadman in 1988. They settled in Utah, where Gail still lives today. The couple remained married for 27 years until Wadman passed away from bladder cancer on April 2, 2015.
Was Gail Berchtold involved in Robert's crimes against Jan Broberg?
In the Netflix documentary, Broberg's mother, Mary Ann, claimed Gail pleaded with them not to call the police after her husband and Jan disappeared. Broberg's father, Bob, revealed that he engaged in a singular sexual encounter with Berchtold, one that Gail reportedly used to blackmail him into signing an affidavit asking the FBI to drop the charges after Jan was returned. Jan's mother also had a long-term sexual affair with Berchtold between Jan's abductions. Both parents ultimately signed the contract, but Jan told Entertainment Tonight that there was something that the documentary left out. "They didn't forgive him, she said. "The affidavits that they signed, they retracted four days later. That's not in the documentary."
Lio Tipton, who uses they pronouns, stars as Gail in the new Peacock series and opened up to Hollywood Life about their perception of Gail's involvement. Lio said they were "surprised with how easy it is to vilify her [Gail]. According to Lio, "I did not see that going into it. I immediately saw someone who was groomed. I immediately saw someone who I saw as an unknowing victim of the situation." For Lio, Gail and Robert's relationship was "uncomfortable." The actor continued, "it almost doesn't make sense because B. switches who he is for everyone. You can just see how he wants to pull people in or not. During this time, Gail was basically trying to hold back a car from going off a cliff desperately, and B.'s sitting there jumping on the hood."
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