With Whoopi Goldberg. He's also never spoken publicly about his relationship with Alexander. Hosted by Benita Alexander. [00:25:22] Bob: And while Paolo loves to talk about his work, he isn't always charming. And one of those really, really tight embraces. You know, we should do this to help Pope Francis, we should do this to help the Catholic church, and so it was almost like an obligation. (chuckle). When she continued to press Macchiarini about the pope, she said he blamed Vatican politics, alleging that the more conservative former Pope Benedict went behind Pope Francis' back to stop him from officiating the wedding. She found out exactly what hed lied about - and she said it was extensive. [00:11:57] Benita: Ooh, you're going to make me do math. One name kept coming up over and over again, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini. Benita Alexander is a strong, independent, intelligent, warm, and loving woman who thought she found her love connection with a man that swept her off her feet, much like prince charming! But our guest list was insane because now that the Pope was marrying us, he kept inviting all these dignitaries, you know, so world leaders were coming to our wedding. That was insane. Learn how to subscribe to AARP Podcasts on any device. You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. And then in radio, producing a radio talk show, and then in local television. One of the reasons I am so adamant about continuing to talk about this is because I think victim-shaming is terrible. Benita Alexander's documentary chronicles her fairytale romance with a celebrity surgeon that turned into a scam. View our online Press Pack. [00:02:26] Bob: I remember walking into 30 Rock thinking it was the equivalent of walking into Yankee Stadium or something. Benita met and married a fellow reporter, John Noel, and moved with him to New York, where they welcomed their daughter in 2003. "I went full on into investigator mode as I knew he wouldnt tell me the truth," Benita said. receive communications related to AARP volunteering. It was eight months later when they became properly engaged after Macchiarini presented her with a $100K ring. Firstly , on a personal observation , girl , you absolutely need a makeover. His work, if controversial, is also groundbreaking. [00:25:56] Bob: How did he take to being questioned? I want to focus on work. What do they discover? [00:39:49] Matthew Christopher: Um, so Paolo was going to have a place where he came out, after he did something with the Pope, and he said he's going to give her this ring, and there were going to be fireworks and blah, blah, blah, but he was going to be handed off to her in this dress, right, for a reception, and the dress was going to come out with this tulle overskirt, and it was going to ripped off by Paolo, and it was going to have a dance gown underneath, like Dancing with the Stars. Alexander had already sent invitations to her closed ones. He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. "I wanted to get all the information that I could before I really confronted him.". "It was the weirdest thing," Alexander said. And he came to visit us in Australia, and I was just, I was only 8, but I was ab--, absolutely infatuated with what he was doing and asked him all these questions. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. [00:41:47] Bob: But not as scary as what happens next. They became friends and over time she felt herself falling for him, despite her journalistic integrity impeding the romance. Paolo Macchiarini was born in Switzerland to Italian parents and has spoken of having had a difficult childhood in Basel, where by his own account he felt like a perpetual outsider in school. After a few days there, she traveled to Macchiarini's home in Barcelona, Spain, with some friends who came along for support. She said she called the castle where all the guests were supposed to be staying and asked them about the reservation, which they didn't have. [00:35:53] Bob: And while the dresses are being made, while the other wedding preparations are underway, Matthew meets Paolo. And I was really wrestling with all of it. And I tend to be a very empathetic kind of person, and I am very sensitive, and I care a lot about people and so I've always used that in journalism to really sort of get inside somebody else's shoes or, or their story. In February, 2021 it was featured as a two-hour special on ABCs 20/20. Her story is now featured as the third season of Wondery's hit podcast, "Dr. [00:36:00] Matthew Christopher: On Valentine's Day, I met him. Despite her work ethic, she fell in love with Macchiarini. "Then he said he had connections to the Vatican. So over the next few days he tells me that theres something hes never told me before, and that he is actually Pope Franciss private personal doctor. [00:39:32] Bob: And as the day approaches, Benita gets to try on that custom-made wedding dress. Benita Alexander is an award-winning television producer who is known for her won on Investigation Discoverys ID Now, Crimes Gone Viral, Dateline and Inside the Obama White House among other works. How does one design a wedding dress for a wedding [00:34:25] Matthew Christopher: With the Pope? You know, the equivalent of going to a drugstore and buying whatever, you, they, the idea is ultimately we'll get to the point that, you know, you have a failing organ or you lose a body part, you just order up a new one. Then, one morning, she read in The New York Times that Macchiarini's colleagues at the Karolinska Institute had accused him of scientific misconduct and filed a complaint with the university. Of the eight patients given artificial tracheas by Macchiarini, only one is still alive today. [00:06:37] Bob: Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, he's doing surgeries that most doctors could only dream about. Her new podcast "Benita and the Berracas," will feature Benita talking to other women who open up to her about their own love conned stories, along with advice on how to avoid becoming a victim. He says to me, "I want to take over the wedding planning and I want to surprise you with everything. [00:02:31] Benita: Yeah, right! How to tell her, how to get her through this, and how is life going to change for her, and what does this mean for me? There's so much she couldn't do, but she had this sparkling personality. And he actually said his barber in uh the south of Russia, he, he managed to find this excellent, excellent barber in Kazan there where he performed his Russian experiments, brilliant guy. Documentary producer Benita Alexander thought it was love when her job introduced her to internationally renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Maybe help me, help with the invitations 'cause I don't want to deal with that. He has peoples lives in his hands.. Moreover, the Italian investigator found records showing that despite planning a wedding with Alexander for so long, Macchiarini was still legally married. And she meets Christopher at his shop. [00:34:17] Bob: Well, at some point you transition from wow to okay, I've got to get to work on this, right? When Benita Alexander eventually realized her whole relationship with Dr. Paolo Macchiarini was nothing short of a scam, she decided she wanted the world to know the truth about him. En Espanol Among several lies, Macchiarini told Alexander, one of those was Pope Francis officiating their wedding. He is one of the world's leading cardio thoracic surgeons. And she, unfortunately, was born with no windpipe. Lindquist's three-part documentary series "The Experiments" began airing just over a week after the damning Vanity Fair article was published in early January 2016. And they kind of laughed. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Perfect. Ole Petter Ottersen, president of the Karolinska Institute since 2017, told ABC News in a request for comment on Macchiarini, "It is obvious that KI's initial handling of this case was insufficient and inadequate on several points. But before the wedding can happen, Benita makes a . She said one question was heavy on her mind: "Why did you do this to me, why would you do that to anybody? From what we can tell, Benita still resides in New York alongside her daughter, where shes primarily a freelance executive producer for Lion Television, all the while serving as a public figure. It said he'd be in South America and that the "trip had been planned for quite some time," Alexander said. The couple had the wedding planned for July 2015. [00:01:59] Benita: I had worked my way up from working in, from tiny little newspapers in Detroit, Michigan, which is where I went to college and where I'd, my family had moved after Australia. You know, "What did he do this time? So this is not really out of the realm of possibility that he would have contacts at the Vatican. He was often described as a George Clooney look-alike, you know, he's, he's very elegant. Macchiarini told Alexander he was having difficulty finding a Catholic priest who would marry two divorcees, but he told her not to worry, he would talk to his contact in the Vatican. His six papers on the transplant surgery were retracted. Two-hour special that investigates the perfect engagement gone wrong between Emmy award-winning journalist, Benita Alexander, and the internationally acclaimed surgeon, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini Two-hour special that investigates the perfect engagement gone wrong between Emmy award-winning journalist, Benita Alexander, and the internationally acclaimed surgeon, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini. The true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative producer Benita Alexander and world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. And I open the door, and there's a trail of rose petals leading up to the bed, and it says "I love you" in rose petals on the bed. Yeah. In fact, we both worked for NBC in New York at the same time, but we didn't know each other then. And I think I was even blushing. And I just thought, okay, you've got some stupid little schoolgirl crush on this doctor, which is absurd. And so does anyone who has anything to do with the wedding. I don't want you to do anything except find your dresses and just, all you have to do is show up and look beautiful. A JOURNALIST revealed the chilling clue that disclosed her lover and famed surgeon as a "romance scammer.". Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. [00:14:35] Benita: The thing about Paolo is he's a very good listener, and we, after a shoot sometimes, would go out to dinner, or we would be in a group of people talking. My then ex-husband, who I had moved to New York with and the father of our beautiful daughter, was dying of brain cancer. And I made it to this point. "The woman in Barcelona was not his wife. If I had a checklist, he, he was everything I would want in a partner, everything you would want in a man. I loved my work at NBC. He had told her, as personal surgeon to the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church wanted to marry the couple, she explained. Maybe help me, help with the invitations 'cause I don't want to deal with that. In 2019, she produced the Oxygen doc Seduced By Evil, which chronicles another con-man, Derek Alldred. And so that meant me quitting my job at NBC and leaving New York and pulling my daughter out of her very difficult to get into private school in New York. "He comes around the corner, he looks right at me and in that second something happened. I was like, 'What is happening to Benita,'" Alexander's friend, Marian Fontana, said. But before the wedding can happen, Benita makes a discovery that may prove the doctor is not all he claims to be. Death podcast. However, while filming with Macchiarini, Alexander's ex-husband, the father of her young daughter, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. It's, it's a very um, it has a lot of stature, that building and a lot of meaning. But unfortunately, her personal life has been marred by a turbulent childhood in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and a series of unsuccessful relationships. We were sitting together on the, on the plane, and I just sort of started pouring my heart out to him, and he was a very good friend. Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. [00:04:24] Benita: Right, yeah, and they're not always happy endings, and you do, you, unfortunately, you know, you report on a lot of very, very difficult things in news. And it's presented to me by Paolo, it's not even about our wedding or about our love story. Paolo Macchiarini (born 22 August 1958): 2 is a Swiss-born Italian thoracic surgeon and former regenerative medicine researcher who became known for research fraud and manipulative behavior. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? She was floored when he told her John Legend would sing at their wedding and Pope Francis would officiate. She said that in November 2014, they had planned a trip to California to spend Thanksgiving with her family, "and he had been really stressed in the weeks before, and he had been talking to me for some time about how there were people that were against him, and his 'enemies.'". She is currently the Executive Producer/Showrunner of the true crime series "Crimes Gone Viral," which airs on Investigation Discovery and is in its second season. "I was angry as hell. Learn how vehicle tech like blind spot warnings and drowsy driving alerts can help make driving safer. People could be dying because of this man, and therefore, I couldn't stay silent, I couldn't crawl under the covers. Star-Studded Wedding Becomes Brides Worst Nightmare, Part 1, Journalist exposes her celebrity fianc, part 2, Computer hacker drains couple's life savings. Macchiarini had been credited with developing innovative surgical techniques using stem cells in synthetic trachea transplants. This is a surgeon. She is honestly proud of how far she has come (as she should be), and its evident shell never let anything or anyone take this journey/narrative away from her. And we got involved and started doing the story, and it got very intense. But despite his seemingly busy schedule, Alexander said Macchiarini offered to plan their wedding. I literally felt like I was floating on clouds. "He said he was having trouble finding a priest to marry us," she said. I was there for about 20 minutes, and I, I tossed these flowers into the water, and I was, you know, very emotional in saying goodbye to John. He, he was supposed to be their last hope. ", Alexander, who waited in the car, said that the last time she saw Macchiarini, he had turned around and walked back up the stairs. Cetir's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the plastic tube used in Macchiarini's procedure. Macchiarini took Alexander to several romantic getaways in Europe. They become engaged and plan a lavish dream wedding, to be attended by celebrities and officiated by none other than Pope Francis himself. He was a flair for the dramatic and plans one romantic encounter after another. I was just kind of like, um, 'cause Benita's so awesome and like, you know she was totally in love with him. I mean it got to the point where he loved to surprise me, everywhere we went. Season 1 (206) 2018 13+ He Lied About Everything is the true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative producer Benita Alexander, and world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Um, I almost actually passed out. Um, made dinner, and did all this, and then we were discussing and showing fabrications and doing sketching and then like, you know, where were we going to begin? Benita Alexander, an award-winning documentary television producer and single mother, shares her story in ABC's "The Con." ABC News At the time, Macchiarini was employed by the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In July 2015 their "cat and mouse game" came to an end when she revealed to him everything she found through the private investigation. And this trip had been planned for a very long time. And it was, when I walked back to the motorcycle, he kind of, he just got off the motorcycle and I walked up to him, and I had tears streaming down my face, and he, he just grabbed me, you know. "The headline is that it started out as a beautiful love story and it ended up as a total nightmare," said Benita. ET on ABC. And Benita had a veil, and I brought over some dresses, and we were having some champagne, giggling and sketching, and it was so fun. She is currently the voice of the true crime series "Still A Mystery" on Investigation Discovery, and she has narrated four seasons of this ongoing, multi part show. And I said, "Well how's that going to work, because we're both divorcees," or so I thought, and I'm not Catholic. In 2019, the film was nominated in the documentary category for the WIN Awards, Women's Image Network. Alexander, who said she'd become close to the girl's family, was "devastated," and that Macchiarini was "depressed" about it, as they both had become attached to her. Benita and Macchiarini's wild relationship was featured in a special episode of ABC's 20/20 on Friday. [00:02:15] Bob: Still a young journalist, she found her way to the top of her profession very quickly. [00:03:01] Benita: Yeah, one of the ones um, there was a father in New Jersey, whose wife had abducted their son to Brazil, parental abduction, which is when one parent takes the child, against the other parent's will to another country. I was so conflicted about it. [00:35:21] Bob: It does sound like the kind, I mean we were talking about what, 10 gowns? It basically was, we've been asked to do this, and by virtue of being my fianc, because I'm this famous doctor, I feel that this is something we should do. [00:30:37] Bob: So now that she's been told the Pope is involved, Benita has another secret to keep. And I had seen paperwork that he had done work at the Vatican, consulting work. By the time he performed the artificial trachea transplant on Cetir, he had already performed the same procedure on four other patients. Benita Alexander and Paolo Macchiarini fall in love Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer, met Macchiarini in 2013 while working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering work. And basically giving up everything. I want, I just want to get the job done. [00:00:34] Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. This is a true you must see it to believe it tale, with so many twists and turns, it will leave viewers stunned, asking only how this could have actually happened, Schleiff says. But at this point, they're just questions. And so we were looking into this field, and we found this doctor. How to, what do we do now? She's a star producer for NBC News in New York, working alongside Meredith Viera creating primetime TV specials. Fans can also watch He Lied About Everything on InvestigationDiscovery.com. A contact she had to the Clintons told her they'd never heard of Macchiarini. So first it was about the wedding gown itself. It was, it was really, really difficult. ABC News produced a tv series, The Con, that explores stories of people taken in by claims and promises that proved too good to be true, revealing how the victims were fooled and the cost of their false trust. Gerdin also said Macchiarini had failed to obtain ethical permits to perform the transplants, which he said amounted to experimentation on human subjects. "From that moment on, it felt like my head was spinning," Alexander said, "and it didn't stop spinning.". Capping off a whirlwind romance filled with gondola rides in Venice and quiet dinners in the Greek islands, she was promised a wedding in the Italian countryside officiated by the Pope himself. [00:36:07] Matthew Christopher: Confident, rico-suave, I am Paolo, ha-ha, and I'm like, okay, you know, I'm like am I nervous? "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Alexander was assigned to work on the documentary about Paolo Macchiarini who has considered a pioneer in organ transplant. And I was, I was really moved by that. Nothing anybody could do for her, and then like so many of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini's patients, they did a google search and found this kind of a magician of a surgeon who said I can help your little girl. Her film "He Lied About Everything," about her own personal story with a con man, aired on Investigation Discovery in 2018 and continues to air around the world. [00:09:12] Bob: And so, Benita travels to Boston to meet the miracle worker for herself. Meanwhile, the doctors were still trying to save Cetir's life. Subtle message to him, perhaps. Her daughter has thus been the only constant in her life. She couldn't do anything that a normal child could do. And we rode for probably 30, 45 minutes until I sort of found a spot that I thought was appropriate, and I got off the bike and I went to the water. You are no longer 21 !!! On your mark, get set, go. And her parents were just distraught, you know, they wanted, they had been told she might live 6 or 7 years, and there's no cure. And each surprise was a bigger wow factor than the last one. And I was raised Episcopalian, but I said, "I know, I know enough about the Catholic religion to know that no priest is going to marry two divorcees," and he, he, you know, he said, "Don't worry. Benita Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer and Paolo Macchiarini fall in love after meeting in 2013 while she is working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering w Show more. [00:40:15] Bob: With that dramatic entrance comes a dramatic exit too. Excellent place. All Bo knew was that Paolo was very charming. In addition to her work at NBC, she was the Executive Producer of the Oxygen documentary, "Seduced by Evil," which premiered in 2019 and reveals how a group of women banded together to take down the man who stole everything from them. 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