The True Story Behind New Netflix Hit Show 'Can I Tell You A Secret?’ - Forbes

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Topline

The skin-tingling stories of three women who were stalked by English cybercriminal Matthew Hardy have been reconstructed in the new Netflix limited series "Can I Tell You a Secret?," which premiered Feb. 21 to become the fourth most-watched English show on the streaming platform within five days of its release.

Key Facts

"Can I Tell You A Secret?" racked up 6.5 million in the week of Feb. 18 to Feb. 25, making it the fourth most popular show of the week behind "Avatar The Last Airbender" (21.2 million views), "One Day" (7.5 million) and the sixth season of "Love is Blind" (7.5 million).

The two-part docuseries puts real-life victims Jade Hallam, Abby Furness and Lia Marie Hambly in the spotlight to tell of their experiences being stalked and abused online by Hardy, who was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to eight years in jail in the United Kingdom for harassing dozens of women.

Hardy spent more than a decade stalking women online, harassing their friends and family, spreading lies about their personal lives and even posing as his victims online while having sexually explicit conversations, a pattern authorities believe he perpetrated with "hundreds" of women according to a 2022 report by the Guardian.

Hardy was arrested for his behavior 10 times over the 11 years before he was finally sentenced to jail, according to the Guardian, and was even convicted of crimes like harassment and hacking in the cases of individual victims, but each small conviction came with restraining orders, suspended sentences, fines and community service, allowing him to continue his pattern of online abuse.

The tide turned for Hardy when one victim, Hambly, shared more than 700 pages of evidence of her own abuse with a Cheshire police constable who was able to compile it with that of 61 other victims and Hardy pleaded guilty to five counts of stalking involving fear of violence.

Crucial Quote

“Can I tell you a secret?” The question was how Hardy opened an online conversation with all of his stalking victims, according to the Guardian.

Key Background

The Netflix limited series is based on a podcast of the same name by the Guardian's Sirin Kale and focuses on three of Hardy's most victimized targets. Zoe Jade Hallam, now a model and mechanic, was stalked by Hardy and had friends and family also become victims of abuse. Hardy posed online as Hallam's boyfriend's father, a doctor, and had explicit conversations with teenage girls using fake social media accounts in her boyfriend’s dad’s name. "It was really damaging to his professional reputation," Hallam told the Guardian. Abby Furness, a dancer and influencer, had rumors spread about her sex life and was impersonated online by Hardy, who tried to start a sexual conversation with her colleague. He sent intimate photos of her to her boss and told her then-boyfriend she'd been cheating on him, leading to their breakup. She told the Guardian she developed anxiety and depression as she continued to lose friends and relationships amid the stalking. Lia Marie Hambly, now an influencer and business owner, was stalked both online and harassed via phone. Hardy made hundreds of calls to her family and friends, she said, and told her talking to the police "was pointless." It was ultimately Hambly's complaint about Kent police's handling of the case that landed it on the desk of constable Kevin Anderson, who saw it through to conviction.

Surprising Fact

Hardy's eight-year sentence is more than five times longer than the average. According to the Guardian, those convicted of stalking in the U.K. serve an average of 17 months in jail for the crime.

Big Number

20% to 40%. That's how many internet users across the world have experienced at least one cyberstalking behavior, according to a 2022 study by University of Turin researchers. Of those, 61% were stalked by someone they didn't know or barely knew. The rest had an "intimate relationship with the cyberstalkers."