[00:41:47] Bob: But not as scary as what happens next. 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. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly [00:35:53] Bob: And while the dresses are being made, while the other wedding preparations are underway, Matthew meets Paolo. He had told her, as personal surgeon to the Pope, the leader of the Catholic church wanted to marry the couple, she explained. 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. [00:19:03] Benita: (laugh) Yeah, yep, yeah. And Paolo never talks about his personal life. "He was a top doctor, he spoke six or seven languages. "She had suffered at least two strokes; she had lost much of her vision, so she was partially blind; she couldn't walk," Pinto said. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails "The woman in Barcelona was not his wife. Emmy Award Winning . I was so conflicted about it. In early 1982, shortly before her 16th birthday, Benita returned home from a sleepover to discover that her mother had left the family in the middle of the night. 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. We just made sure we took care of Benita. And I got so irritated with him, I actually hung the phone up on him. "None of these people were coming," Benita said she tragically discovered. Are you new to podcasts? [00:02:15] Bob: Still a young journalist, she found her way to the top of her profession very quickly. So this is a lot of very heady information to take in, and he basically tells me that because hes the Popes private, personal doctor, um, and because this is such a progressive Pope, who has such a forward-thinking agenda, that the Pope a) wants to thank him for all the work hes done at the Vatican and for being his private doctor, and b) wants to use us for lack of a better term, as kind of a poster couple, so that by marrying two divorcees, you know, the Pope is going to use us to sort of open the doors of the Catholic church to allow divorcees to finally get married in a Catholic church. He was giving people who had no other hope. He says to me, "I want to take over the wedding planning and I want to surprise you with everything. Um, I almost actually passed out. And everybody was sort of envious in a, in a sweet way, you know, everybody would say to me, "I want what you have." Benita Alexander has been married twice. She reflected on their relationship and wondered how she could've missed all the red flags. Documentary producer Benita Alexander thought it was love when her job introduced her to internationally renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. In 2019, the film was nominated in the documentary category for the WIN Awards, Women's Image Network. www.aarp.org/volunteer. I still remember my first day walking in there too, especially with, with all the art, the art deco and everything. The first meeting between Benita Alexander, an award-winning producer for NBC News, and Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, the famous transplant surgeon, took place at the bar at Bostons Mandarin Oriental hotel. He was speaking at a conference in Boston, and we went there to interview him, sort of ahead of Hannah coming to the US, about his work and about Hannah. And we got involved and started doing the story, and it got very intense. The documentary includes never-before-seen footage and photos and shows Alexanders search for the truth after such a shocking betrayal of the heart. Then, two years later, her father, whod married a neighbor, asked her to pack up her bags and leave for good. She said Macchiarini had told her that for their wedding, the Vatican had offered them the pope's summer residence in the Italian town of Castel Gandolfo. [00:31:07] Bob: But what is a couture wedding gown designer? [00:25:49] Bob: But, and this made him a fun interview, he doesn't mind debating his controversial techniques. He gave me really sage, solid, kind advice.". 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. 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. [00:33:22] Matthew Christopher: Right. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. So he goes to the Vatican, ostensibly, to ask for help finding someone who will marry us, and he calls me after that meeting and says to me, tells me I need to sit down, um, he has good news, but I need to sit down. Perfect. And he, so his reputation sort of proceeds him, but when he walked in to where we were sitting that day, he, when he walked in, he looked right at me, and our eyes met, and I've never in my life had something like this happen to me before, but I, I felt like a silly, little schoolgirl. The couple shares a daughter named Jessina, born in 2003. 5. It was going to be this four-day event in Rome, you know, with a red carpet event the night before the wedding, and a big brunch the day after the wedding, and people bought plane tickets, they bought fancy, you know, red carpet attire for this wedding. "He didnt know Pope Francis, he wasnt his personal doctor.". The true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative producer Benita Alexander and world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. And so I was sort of, by becoming involved with him and by falling in love with him, I was breaking this cardinal rule in journalism that you don't get involved with a subject of your story, and even though when we did fall in love, it was, we were at the end of the production of the story, we kept it quiet because of that. Um, you know, they come in and I'd say, "Welcome to your closet." Benita Alexander's documentary chronicles her fairytale romance with a celebrity surgeon that turned into a scam. And it's presented to me by Paolo, it's not even about our wedding or about our love story. [00:34:26] Matthew Christopher: You put your, I am going to make the most gorgeous dress you've ever seen. It was kind of romance on steroids. And somehow, when I read that email, I guess all those little red flags that I had been ignoring, the things that were eating at my gut, I just knew. It was, it was a huge change and a huge change for my daughter. Macchiarini convinced Alexander that the Obamas, the Clintons, the Beckhams, Elton John, and John Legend were few of many personalities to attend their wedding. Together, they'd spend long weekends traveling to different countries, like Mexico, Russia and Greece. The way he used stem cells with his plastic tracheas would eventually develop into something quite extraordinary where you could use stem cells to target organs or other areas of the body where the, where there was a medical problem. The qualified journalist then began working at a string of local television stations. Benita Alexander, and swept her off her feet with a marriage proposal and promises of a wedding . again. (Pasadena, Calif.) - This Valentine's Day, Investigation Discovery (ID) presents a love story gone wrong with HE LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING, the astonishing true tale of the love affair between award-winning investigative news producer Benita Alexander, and the brilliant, world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.What started as a picture-perfect dream relationship between two people at the . She soon discovered that as she lived an apparent fairy tale romance -- with someone who not only seemed to care for her and her daughter but also lavished her with expensive gifts and trips -- others were already searching for the truth about Macchiarini. And so now his son, who I think was about 8 or 9 at the time, was in Brazil with her family, and he was engaged in this very difficult and complicated fight to try and get his son back, and such a loving father. Cetir died waiting for the lung transplant she desperately needed. They had already decided to marry in Italy, where Macchiarini wanted a Catholic wedding despite rules against remarriages. to search for ways to make a difference in your community at There was no evidence the Obamas had heard of him, either. Benita Alexander thought she had found her modern day Prince Charming. She was able to get the Vatican to verify that he had never been the pope's personal doctor. [00:22:38] Bob: What Benita doesn't know at the time, she couldn't have known, is that Hannah's death also sparks the interest of the European journalist named Bo Lindquist, a Swedish filmmaker, he's already working on a documentary film about Paolo, but it isn't designed with a happy ending in mind. I mean I, I loved NBC. I had to understand what happened and why. And these were all couples that were quote-unquote living in sin, you know, they had children out of wedlock, or whatever. I loved everything about it, and to be sort of plunging into the unknown, even though I felt very secure with Paolo, happily in love. I mean things don't move forward if we don't have people who are willing to, you know, you know, push things a little bit and he, he was that guy, you know, and he, he was very fascinating. We had 300+ people coming from all over the world. Benita Alexander has been working as a Macchiarini at NBC News. [00:18:58] Bob: I love you in rose petals on the bed. Which clearly would completely change the face of, of medicine and, you know, all these people that been told they have no hope or no chance, it, it would be, it would be a gamechanger, right. She was just like a little ray of sunshine, and a) I was just, it was so devastating when she didn't make it. "Paolo was a really good listener," Alexander said. "He seemed like he was the miracle man," she said. [00:25:56] Bob: How did he take to being questioned? Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. See the shocking new details about Paolo Macchiarini's alleged medical crimes, new interviews and new revelations Friday on "20/20" at 9 p.m. [00:23:20] Bob: Bo also spent many months following Paolo around the world, getting to know him, getting Paolo to open up to him. "I wanted to get all the information that I could before I really confronted him.". She later tied the knot with a ballroom instructor Edson Jeune in 2012, yet even that didnt work out. The procedure uses the framework of a plastic tube lined with the patient's stem cells and is intended to help them replicate into a healthy version of the failing organ. In June 2013, they flew to Venice for what Alexander called an incredibly romantic weekend.. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. My friends and my family all adored him. Death podcast. "I put it all in a message. It does so much unnecessary damage. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. View our online Press Pack. I was just kind of like, um, 'cause Benita's so awesome and like, you know she was totally in love with him. And when we went to Boston to interview Dr. Macchiarini, when he came in, it was um, I was with a colleague, and he, he came into this bar where we had arranged to have a coffee with him just to say hello the night before the interview, and you know there's, he's a very charming, good-looking man. Hearings are expected to begin in 2022. The Karolinska Institute commissioned an external investigation into the allegations. However, while filming with Macchiarini, Alexander's ex-husband, the father of her young daughter, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. Hung the phone up on him. `` people were coming, '' said! 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