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Here's Where All the People From Dirty John Are Now

Some don't want to be found

malcolmvenable.jpg
Malcolm Venable

Dirty John comes to its grim but satisfying conclusion this weekend, with -- this isn't really a spoiler -- Debra Newell's (Connie Britton) daughter Terra (Julia Garner) ending John Meehan's (Eric Bana) terror campaign by plunging the very knife he was trying to attack her with into his dome. Though Britton didn't win that Golden Globe her portrayal, the series still earns an award for being a standout in the podcast-to-show race, and one of the season's most buzz worthy. Though parts of it were hit or miss, slipping sometimes into a pool-sized vat of fondue cheese, Dirty John, in totality, worked as an unsettling cautionary tale and a poignant meditation on the dangers of toxic masculinity.

Of course, this is a real story with real people left behind, and with a story as wild (but not uncommon, unfortunately) as this one, it's only natural to wonder where everybody is now. Here's what we know:

JOHN MEEHAN
Dead, obviously. He does leave behind sisters, who've been quiet since the show came out; an ex-wife Tonia, who's been an ally of Debra Newell's; and daughters Abigail and Emma who've become friends with Debra Newell's family too. So some good came out of all this!

ARLANE HART, DEBRA'S MOM
Hanging in there and looking good at the premiere last year!

Arlane Hart, Debra Newell, Terra Newell, Dirty John

Arlane Hart, Debra Newell, Terra Newell, Dirty John

Jesse Grant/Bravo

DEBRA NEWELL
Not dating, first of all. Second, she moved to Vegas and, as told to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she's started a new outpost of her business, Ambrosia Home. She's also embracing the teachable moment by speaking up more about domestic violence -- sometimes even directly with the hundreds of women she says text and email her daily.

TERRA NEWELL
Though she's got some physical and mental scars from this experience, Terra Newell is thriving and living her best life. She and Debra did an interview on the Today Show in January of last year, where she recounted memories of the scars on her arm and her chest where John tried stabbing her. She's been open about getting therapy, and suffering some PTSD, but is working through it with help. She even went back to the parking lot where John attacked her. She lives in Orange County, hangs out with her pals and takes hikes. Occasionally she low-key trolls John's wretched ghost by sharing her continued love for The Walking Dead on Instagram.

JACQUELYN (VERONICA IN THE SERIES)
Debra Newell has said in interviews that her family talked about doing the series before agreeing to do it, and they took part in the making of it too. But while Debra and Terra have been more public facing, Jacquelyn has been more reticent. Debra told Forbes that her eldest daughter was old enough to take over the design shop she left behind when she moved to Nevada, so Jacquelyn may be quietly operating that shop in California. Unlike her sister Terra, Jacquelyn maintains no known social media presence, and there aren't many photos of her -- not even in the Los Angeles Times story that birthed this whole thing, and not even from the premiere party she was said to be at -- although I found one by doing some sleuthing but I won't link to it. Jacquelyn seems like she wants to be left out of the limelight, where she could be gawked at by strangers. Honestly, who could blame her?

CASH, TERRA'S DOG
Jacquelyn might've been changed for the series, but Cash, Terra's dog, is almost 100% accurately cast. That little guy really did tug at John's leg when he was attacking Terra, and TV Cash looks just like the real one too. Do you think the Australian Shepherd knows he's a star? Of course he does. Look at him flexing from the red carpet on Instagram.

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-dirty-john/

Dirty John's Season 1 finale airs Sunday at 10/9c on Bravo. For moreon the Dirty John story, check out Dirty John, The Dirty Truth, a two-hour documentary airing Monday, Jan. 14 at 8/7c on Oxygen.