She was even more stunned when she began to realize that so much of what Macchiarini had told her about his personal and professional life was a lie. 5 Journalist Benita Alexander (right) has. And so there was a lot of palpable excitement about this wedding, you know, people were really eager and excited for this wedding. "When I started reading specifically the papers that Paolo himself had written, then we could quite quickly come to the conclusion that what was written in the papers was not what was going on in reality," Corbascio said. Benita and Macchiarini's wild relationship was featured in a special episode of ABC's 20/20 on Friday. [00:34:17] Bob: Well, at some point you transition from wow to okay, I've got to get to work on this, right? He is one of the world's leading cardio thoracic surgeons. [00:30:47] Benita: It was all very hush-hush, you know, everybody that was involved in the wedding planning, including the people that designed the wedding invitations, the people that made my wedding dresses, everybody had to just, had to sign nondisclosure agreements. And whatever that is, let's, let's push that away, you know. [00:15:45] Benita: There was a particular moment when my ex-husband had gone into a coma, and I was in Illinois, and I was, I was um, very upset about everything and trying to figure out a way, I was talking to Paolo about trying to figure out what to do and how to say goodbye, and uh crying about the fact that I hadn't been able to say goodbye. www.aarp.org/volunteer. You know, part of it is you meet so many different people that you would never meet otherwise, but when you can tell a story that actually makes a difference in someone's life, that, to me, that's one of the most beautiful things about journalism. Benita was pursuing a big story when the ill-fated lovers met in 2013. Who lost her dad. 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. What started as dream relationship developed into a nightmare filled with lies and deceit. [00:04:39] Benita: I think one of the things that can make you a good journalist if, is if you're able to put yourself in the other person's shoes, and if you're able to sympathize with them and empathize them and really try to understand what it is they're going through. And that presence was really something, it was really something. Benita Alexander-Noel was born on April 21, 1966 in Australia. 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. [00:32:33] Matthew Christopher: (laugh) She said to me as I um, she said to me, "Well, Matthew, (or team)" she goes, "Well, I'm getting married by the Pope." In 2015, Alexander sent emails to the Karolinska Institute expressing concerns about the acclaimed surgeon. Among the high-powered clients who Macchiarini claimed were on this network were the Clintons, the Obamas and even Pope Francis. I don't know what I was. By what name was He Lied About Everything (2018) officially released in Canada in English? A contact she had to the Clintons told her they'd never heard of Macchiarini. These were made in a lab out of the very same plastic that a soda bottle is made out of, and then he would bathe this in the patient's own stem cells in something called a bioreactor, and then transplant that, this plastic windpipe into people. And I literally, I was really like, what? In 2015, she served as a co-executive producer on Breaking the Silence, which featured DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, and Counting On alums Jessa Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard. Cetir died waiting for the lung transplant she desperately needed. In 2015, she served as a co-executive producer on Breaking the Silence, which featured DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, and Counting On alums Jessa Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard. She couldn't do anything that a normal child could do. I think he was looking for challenges, and uh, things that makes life much, much more exciting. Corbascio called the decision "absolutely insane.". I'm never viewed like that, but I was definitely like, huh? The 56-year-old actually has a podcast appropriately titled Benita & the Berracas for the same, and she continues to be an active advocate on the matter. [00:19:01] Bob: It's just making it harder for every man in the world. But there was something, yeah, something happened between us the, the moment we met. It was killing me, and but I was also so in love with him. And so does anyone who has anything to do with the wedding. [00:19:03] Benita: (laugh) Yeah, yep, yeah. I was like, 'What is happening to Benita,'" Alexander's friend, Marian Fontana, said. "None of these people were coming," Benita said she tragically discovered. Short Press Reel. And he was putting artificial tracheas, the windpipe, into patients. [00:36:44] Bob: I feel like there's some people you meet who are simultaneously uh impressive but uncomfortable. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD, Emily Whipp, Laura Dimon, Colleen Halpin, Emma Piscia and Anthony Rivas. Paolo had actually told her that Pope Francis would be officiating their wedding and that celebrities such as Elton John, the Clintons, the Obamas, and the Beckhams, among many others, would be in attendance, and shed somehow believed him. "I was angry as hell. Star-Studded Wedding Becomes Brides Worst Nightmare, Part 1, Journalist exposes her celebrity fianc, part 2, Computer hacker drains couple's life savings. Journalist Benita Alexander is swept off her feet by a dashing Italian doctor, Paolo Macchiarini, while filming a documentary about his miraculous surgeries. There was no evidence the Obamas had heard of him, either. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. NBC News is pulling "A Leap of Faith" Meredith Vieira's documentary on controversial . It started with Andrea Bocelli was going to be singing in the church, because Paolo told me that his mother and Bocellis mother were friends. Before their wedding, the couple visited Italy, where Alexander asked Macchiarini to show her where their wedding celebrations would take place. After she called Macchiarini, furious about what she'd read, she began to wonder what else he might have lied about. 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.'". [00:02:26] Bob: I remember walking into 30 Rock thinking it was the equivalent of walking into Yankee Stadium or something. Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds seeded with patients' own stem cells as trachea . 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. And, and so we pivoted the story a bit to make it a little bit more about some of Paolo's other patients and more about, you know the field of regenerative medicine. Macchiarini took Alexander to several romantic getaways in Europe. [00:24:37] Bob: Paolo is a natural subject for a documentary film. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. But when it comes to the wedding, Paolo takes the lead. Best Known For For her appearance in ID Now (2017), Dateline NBC (1992) and Inside the Obama White House (2009). Um, maybe I felt like that at some point when I was really young and I had a, had a crush in school, I don't know, but I don't, I don't ever remember feeling like that. This very personal film, which Benita narrates herself, documents how her fairytale romance with a world-renowned surgeon turns into a nightmare. One name kept coming up over and over again, Dr. Paolo Macchiarini. [00:02:31] Benita: Yeah, right! Are you new to podcasts? That's pretty unusual too. It was eight months later when they became properly engaged after Macchiarini presented her with a $100K ring. 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. [00:12:11] Benita: Not like that, you know, this was, this was one of those almost cliche movie moments where, you know, I don't even believe in love at first sight, but there was some sort of thing, something happened. 5 Journalist Benita Alexander (right) has revealed chilling clues that disclosed her lover and famed surgeon Paolo Macchiarini as a "romance scammer" Credit: Instagram / loveconned 5 The article's author, journalist Adam Ciralsky, had also uncovered fabrications in Macchiarini's professional life, and he documented a number of examples of Macchiarini misrepresenting his medical training and work history. Benita Alexander grew up like a regular American kid. We have somebody who has been brave enough to share something thats already humiliating and devastating. In the most recent development, she narrated her story on ABC's The Con, so that more people can be made aware of such practices. And then in radio, producing a radio talk show, and then in local television. Previously, Benita Alexander had created a documentary called He Lied About Everything, where she opened up about Paulo Macchiarini and how she got love conned by him. Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. Meanwhile, the doctors were still trying to save Cetir's life. Which sounds a bit absurd, however, he is an Italian surgeon. 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. Free online workshop! View our online Press Pack. Benita now uses her personal story of survival and resilience to help other women who have been love conned find the road to recovery. 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. [00:39:38] Matthew Christopher: Yeah, I mean we were going through fittings, we were going through the process of um getting things together. 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. Paolo Macchiarini proposes to Benita Alexander before leaving US for work: Part 2Alexander seemed to be living a fantasy lifestyle. (chuckle). We had, we had a very good relationship still when it came to our daughter and sharing custody and you know, both of us were very focused on our daughter. 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. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. Alexander didn't initially believe him, but she said Macchiarini told her that the pope wanted to push forward his progressive agenda for the church. And the stem cells were supposed to magically integrate, and he was fixing people. Alexander is well-known for her career in production and film and was also in a relationship scam that made headlines and fueled her documentary, "He Lied About Everything." Benita Alexander is an award-winning investigative television producer, showrunner, correspondent, director, writer and narrator who has worked on a wide variety of film and TV programs. I truly was for a period there, happier than I think I've ever been. Lindquist said the documentary sparked outrage in Sweden, and weeks later, new investigations into Macchiarini began. [00:01:28] Benita: I grew up in Australia, and I had an uncle, my mother's brother, who worked for Radio Free Europe. He's also never spoken publicly about his relationship with Alexander. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? And I said, "Well what are we going to do?" It does so much unnecessary damage. It could go out the window. And Paolo never talks about his personal life. You know we went on this incredibly romantic trip to Greece, and he was always videotaping me. Hundreds of Benita Alexander's friends and family had already bought their plane tickets to Italy to attend her extravagant wedding that was supposed to be officiated by the pope when it all came crashing down in a flurry of her fianc's deception. And you know, dozens of roses and champagne and always the best champagne. And right about then, across the Atlantic Ocean, Bo is about to find out the real truth about Paolo too. In September 2020, Swedish prosecutors announced charges against Macchiarini for aggravated assault in connection to three surgeries that he had performed at the Karolinska University Hospital, including Cetir's. In fact, he told me that Paolo would often leave their interview to engage in some frantic texting with someone, probably a lover, probably Benita. Paolo showers Benita with affection. We need to be pointing the finger at the con man.. Instead, he says their underlying health conditions were fatal and may have been a factor in their deaths. She found out exactly what hed lied about - and she said it was extensive. Alexander felt compelled to cancel the wedding, yet while she tried to figure out the extent to which Macchiarini had lied, she said she let him think they would still marry one day. And we got involved and started doing the story, and it got very intense. I didn't even, I, I, I stopped in hesitation. [00:30:37] Bob: So now that she's been told the Pope is involved, Benita has another secret to keep. 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. And so I did, you know, I sat back, and even when I was tempted to ask questions, I didn't. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. [00:17:24] Bob: He was there when she needed somebody. We just made sure we took care of Benita. During her investigation into Macchiarini, Alexander hired private investigators in the U.S. and Italy. It hired Bengt Gerdin, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, who spent six months examining some of Macchiarini's papers for evidence of research misconduct and in May 2015 determined that he was guilty, writing in his report that Macchiarini had made false claims about his patients' conditions improving, failed to report severe complications in some patients and made it seem as if some patients had been healthier for longer than they'd actually been following their surgeries. He traveled to Illinois to operate on a Korean toddler who was born without a trachea and who was going to be the youngest person to ever receive an artificial one. They set their wedding for 11 July 2015 in Rome. Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer, met Macchiarini in 2013 while working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering work transplanting synthetic tracheas, or windpipes. I mean most 8-year-olds will change their minds, you know, many times, but I never changed. He was, he was just there when I needed somebody. He is Italian. "The woman in Barcelona was not his wife. "I made a very strategic decision to start playing a cat-and-mouse game, basically," she said. All Bo knew was that Paolo was very charming. He spent months supposedly going to different churches in Italy, and he would send me pictures of these places, and all these details, and asked me if I liked them or not. Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. Uh, I think he actually appreciated being challenged to an extent. "He comes around the corner, he looks right at me and in that second something happened. An astonishing true story of love, betrayal and unimaginable deception. She was floored when he told her John Legend would sing at their wedding and Pope Francis would officiate. This is a surgeon. You know the, the invitations talked about needing a password, a secret password to get into the wedding, and you couldn't get in unless you had the invitation with you. Benita is still wearing the second ring throughout the documentary! He's Catholic. When a magical romance with a world-renowned surgeon develops into a nightmare, his fianc uncovers a path of destruction that leaves dead patients and shattered families in its wake. [00:12:41] Bob: And you went forward with that weekend pushing the feeling aside, right? I was torn up about it, and my last day at NBC was in May of 2015. And we finally decided that we would live in Barcelona. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. And I was ready to ride off into the sunset, into this new life in Barcelona, and but it was also a very, very difficult decision for me. We had a long time together on the flight from Korea to Illinois. Benita was also the Co-Executive Producer and narrator for the 2016 TLC documentary, Breaking the Silence," about sexual abuse. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Journalist Benita Alexander (right) has revealed chilling clues that disclosed her lover and famed surgeon Paolo Macchiarini as a "romance scammer", The two fell for each other when Benita was interviewing Macchiarini for a story, The couple planned a lavish wedding set to take place in 2015 that felt too good to be true after Macchiarini said the Pope would officiate it, Benita decided to hire a private investigator, which led to her discovering her famous surgeon lover was actually facing legal trouble over his innovative techniques, Benita said she left her job of 17 years to marry Macchiarini, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Together, they'd spend long weekends traveling to different countries, like Mexico, Russia and Greece. [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. Of course, it's Valentine's Day, I'm like, oh my God. Death podcast. I mean I, I loved NBC. Benita Alexander has everything going for her. ABCs The Con is a true-crime documentary series that unveils the curtain on the people behind some of the most atrocious scams in recent times. I didn't know what to think. [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. The famous surgeon, a miracle worker who gives hope to hopeless patients, who's rewriting the rules of medicine. 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