A man claiming to be Chris Watts' former lover has broken his silence and spoken out about their alleged relationship. Watts is the Colorado dad arrested and facing three charges of first-degree murder as well as one count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the deaths of his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two daughters. Now, the man, who has opted to remain anonymous, is speaking out in an interview and revealing that Watts played the victim before Shanann, Celeste, and Bella lost their lives.
The man started giving interviews, including calling in to HLN, to discuss the "instant connection" that turned into a sexual relationship.
Crime & Justice host Ashleigh Banfield spoke to the man live when he called in to the show on August 28. Although court documents reveal that Watts was having an affair with a female coworker before his family's murders, this man claims that they were also sexually involved.
They met on a dating app, according to the man, and dated for 10 months before Shanann, Bella, and Celeste were killed.
The man says that they initially started chatting through MeetMe and that Chris sent the first message. "He reached out to me and messaged me," the man said. "It was small talk. He told me his age. He had two daughters."
However, he claims that they instantly connected on a deeper level after meeting in person in June 2017. He says that the first time they came face to face, Chris came over to where he was staying, and he made his intentions known. "It was clear that he was interested in me and attracted to me," he said.
The man also says that things moved quickly with their relationship turning "romantic" that first night.
Chris reportedly told the man he was struggling with his sexuality and didn't know what he wanted.
"We had many conversations," the man said. "I asked him to make sure he's not bisexual 'cause he had two children. He told me he didn't know. At that moment he was attracted to me as a male."
The man also says that Chris lied about his relationship status with Shanann and promised they "didn't have sex anymore."
He says that Chris was upfront about having children but "portrayed that he was single."
"He told me he was looking for a relationship in the long run. I asked why his profile said straight. He said he was not out and not ready to be out as far as sexuality."Â
"I don't know if any of it is true but he told me he was a victim of emotional and verbal abuse and he was trapped in a loveless marriage and he didn't know any way out because of the kids," he said. "Before any of this happened, if anyone had asked me about him, I would've said he was a very loving, very generous, very insecure, very kind, very compassionate, really really empathetic, and kind of dorky guy. But you never really truly know anyone, I guess."
He also says that he met the girls -- who blew Chris's secret that he was still married.
"The oldest pretty much spilled the beans that he was still married. ⌠She asked him if she could sleep with him and mommy tonight," he said. "That's how I found out he was married. I asked why he lied to me. He told me he knew he wouldn't have a chance with me if he told me he was married. He told me what I wanted to hear. He knew I had good morals."
He claims there relationship was sexual "off and on" until approximately April of this year.
"Let's go on record saying I don't know if any of it is the truth, but he told me he was the victim of emotional and verbal abuse and he was trapped in a loveless marriage and he didn't know any way out because of the kids," the man said.
Chris also blamed the abuse at home on Shanann, according to his alleged lover.
The man claimed that not only did Chris say that Shanann didn't love him but also that she was "verbally and emotionally abusive."
"I knew something was wrong at home. If nothing was wrong, he wouldn't have pursued me," he added.
Looking back, the man now believes Chris could've been just telling him what he "wanted to hear" and was good at making him believe it.
âI could see in his eyes he was very unhappy,â he said. âHe hasnât been convicted yet, but sociopathâs can easily lead to different lives and different emotions. He couldâve been telling me what I wanted to hear.
âYou never really know what someone is capable of and the way he portrayed himself as the victim and made me feel sympathy for him."
"He was one of the most gentle people that I've ever met," he said.
Chris also didn't show any violent tendencies during their time together, according to this man.
After their breakup, however, the man says that Chris turned passive-aggressive over text message. "He had never shown that side of him before," he said. "He flipped it around like I was the one in the wrong. He told me that I did him dirty. He told me that I shouldn't have had all of these empty promises — which there were no promises to him. I didn't promise to run away with him. I didn't promise to do any of that and that's the way that he portrayed it when he texted me."
He didn't know that Shanann and the girls had gone missing until it was too late.
"I actually didn't even hear that they were missing. My ex fiance knew that I had had relations with him and I didn't hear anything until after the bodies were found," he said. "I really didn't know what to think. My first initial reaction was that I felt ill. I felt nauseous."
HLN says they can't independently verify this man's story but believes it could be "extremely telling" as people try to understand what happened.
Ashleigh also said on air that she wanted to make clear that her network sought the man out so that he could share his side of the story and decided not to share his face because he fears for his life.
