The Grenade | EP 1 | Season 3

Summary

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Burden of Guilt: "The Grenade" (Season 3, Episode 1)

Host: Nancy Glass
Podcast: Burden of Guilt (iHeartPodcasts | Glass Podcasts)
Airdate: July 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

Theme:
In this season premiere titled "The Grenade," Nancy Glass delves into the real-life story of Cindy, whose seemingly normal divorce from her husband Steve spirals into a devastating, high-stakes custody battle. The episode explores how lies, legal tactics, manipulation, and vast resources can upend lives—highlighting the consequences of one desperate act and the ripple effects on an entire family. Listeners are introduced to Cindy’s journey, her marriage, the cracks that formed, and the devastating events triggered by her new happiness—all culminating in a shocking phone call that marks the start of her family's unraveling.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Shock of Parental Alienation

• Introduction to the Case (02:07–04:13):
  • The episode opens with news clippings and commentary about a $21 million jury award and a case of "parental alienation on steroids."
  • Cindy’s reflection: "I never, ever thought something so small and inconsequential would lead to me losing my kids for life. I mean, my kids want nothing to do with me." (02:47, Cindy)
  • The setup frames the story as a cautionary tale about the destructive potential of lies in family court.

Cindy and Steve: A Love Story’s Unraveling

• Meeting Steve (05:35–08:28):
  • Cindy recounts how she met Steve during a ski trip, after escaping a disastrous blind date and being rescued by Steve’s snowshoe tracks.
  • "And it was just like an instant kind of karmic moment." (07:44, Cindy)
• Marriage and Family Building (08:42–13:17):
  • Their shared background as geologists, humble wedding, and Steve's intense focus on saving and retiring early.
  • Cindy’s journey through difficult pregnancies, including the joy of having twins after loss.
  • "Those first two years, you don't remember anything... you are in a state of survival." (13:17, Cindy)

Success, Stress, and Growing Apart

• The Strain of Success (16:50–19:16):
  • The couple’s company, Wildcat Minerals, thrives, but the business puts stress on their relationship as Steve becomes increasingly absent.
  • Friend Mandelyn describes Cindy’s exhaustion and Steve’s disengagement: "She’s home with the kids all day long, never gets a break. He goes and travels for work. When he gets home, all he wants to do is nothing." (18:10, Mandelyn)
• A Mother-in-Law’s Interference (19:16–20:41):
  • Steve’s mother, Aleyda, steps in as the nanny, intensifying household tension and undermining Cindy’s parenting authority.
  • Cindy describes feeling outnumbered: "It was his mom and him against me." (20:26, Cindy)

Wealth, Change, and Marital Collapse

• Money Alters Everything (21:15–22:29):
  • The sale of their company marks a turning point—Steve’s newfound wealth brings out controlling and extravagant tendencies.
  • "Some people change with money and some people do not. And he was definitely changing." (21:44, Cindy)
• Marital Drift and Final Separation (22:45–25:38):
  • Cindy’s attempts at new ventures further strain the relationship.
  • Steve’s nonchalant response to Cindy’s plea for marital advice: "When you’re really exhausted, you leave dishes in the sink at night." (25:13, Cindy)
  • Cindy asks for a divorce after Steve hits on their nanny and becomes threatening: "He said, 'I'm never going to allow you to leave the marriage, and I'm not going to allow you to have the kids.'" (25:38, Cindy)

Coparenting and the New Beginning

• Attempted Amicability (23:56–24:49; 28:54–30:41):
  • Initially, Cindy and Steve co-parent amicably, splitting custody equally and maintaining civility.
  • Steve moves on quickly, marrying Christine. Cindy is relieved: "I actually congratulated him and he was actually upset that I had that reaction." (29:29, Cindy)

Cindy's New Relationship with Kenny

• Meeting Kenny and Building a New Life (31:23–38:16):

  • Cindy meets Kenny, a kind, reflective man, at the restaurant in her condo, and they immediately connect.
  • "Kenny is a catch. He's very good looking... I'm checking out boxes left and right, and I can't find anything I dislike about this guy." (33:57, Cindy)
  • Their relationship deepens naturally—Kenny bonds with Cindy’s children, supports her ambitions, and eventually moves in.

• Facing Small Town Gossip (38:16–38:31):

  • Cindy anticipates rumors: "People are gonna think that you're a gold digger..." (38:16, Cindy)
  • Kenny assures her: "I liked you well before I found out about all of this." (38:28, Kenny)

The Engagement – and the Grenade

• A New Start Dashed (38:53–40:42):
  • Cindy and Kenny get engaged in Hawaii. Cindy shares the good news with her daughter, but happiness is short lived.
  • The next day, Cindy receives a life-altering phone call from a DHS caseworker: "The voice on the other end told Cindy her kids were not coming home to her." (40:58, Nancy Glass)
  • Cindy’s devastated confession: "And I said, what do you mean you're taking my kids?" (41:04, Cindy)

The Aftermath and Season Tease

• Devastation and Foreshadowing (41:11–43:13):
  • Family and friends express disbelief at the allegations and Cindy’s treatment.
  • "This wasn’t an investigation. This was a prosecution." (41:24, Law Enforcement/Prosecutor)
  • Cindy’s poignant summation: "You are throwing a grenade at a family. You are destroying a family." (41:33, Cindy)
  • The episode ends with teases of further financial intrigue and shocking developments to come.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[This is] the case where a jury found parental alienation on steroids." (02:42, Nancy Glass)
• "I never, ever thought something so small and inconsequential would lead to me losing my kids for life." (02:47, Cindy)
• "Some people change with money, and some people do not. He was definitely changing." (21:44, Cindy)
• "He said, 'I'm never going to allow you to leave the marriage, and I'm not going to allow you to have the kids.'" (25:38, Cindy)
• "You are throwing a grenade at a family. You are destroying a family." (41:33, Cindy)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 02:07 | Episode thematic setup; shocking custody case | | 05:35 | Cindy and Steve’s meeting and relationship | | 11:18 | Cindy’s difficult childbirth | | 16:50 | Impact of career, business stress on marriage | | 19:16 | Tension with Steve’s mother as nanny | | 21:15 | Wealth shifts dynamic, Steve changes | | 23:56 | First steps to separation and attempted harmony | | 25:38 | Threats after asking for divorce | | 28:54 | Post-divorce lives, Steve remarries | | 31:23 | Cindy meets Kenny, their connection grows | | 38:53 | Cindy and Kenny get engaged | | 40:42 | Cindy receives devastating call from DHS | | 41:33 | Cindy’s "grenade" quote; season preview |

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Episode Tone and Style

• Language:
  Authentic, emotional, and conversational—anchored by Cindy’s vulnerable retelling, textured by interviews with friends, family, and legal observers, and Nancy Glass’s empathetic narration.
• Tone:
  Gripping, suspenseful, and deeply personal, with a sense of mounting tragedy as the family’s life unravels.

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Closing Thoughts

"The Grenade" sets up Season 3’s exploration of how one explosive event detonates through a family’s life, laying bare the failures of justice, the pain of betrayal, and the search for redemption. Listeners are left with empathy for Cindy and many questions—invited to journey through the coming revelations of this harrowing true story.

Transcript

[Cindy]

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[Cindy's Daughter]

What?

[Glynn Washington]

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[Nancy Glass]

In the past, I've said we're going to tell you a story unlike anything you've ever heard before. But this one, this one is something totally new and totally shocking. We'll start with the newscast from Colorado,

[Cindy]

but we begin here on night 30

[Nancy Glass]

with the jury awarding more than $21

[Cindy]

million to a couple in Steamboat Springs. Cindy got a lot of money.

[Cindy's Daughter]

$21 million. And that was a huge amount of money.

[Steve's Critic / Family Court Commentator]

There's no way I can wrap my brain around someone doing this to their own child.

[Nancy Glass]

The case where a jury found parental alienation on steroids.

[Cindy]

I never, ever thought something so Small and inconsequential would lead to me losing my kids for life. I mean, my kids want nothing to do with me.

[Nancy Glass]

This is a story about how far someone will go, the lies they'll tell, and the lives they'll ruin in order to get what they want.

[Cindy's Daughter]

I had to choose between the truth and my family. And I had to choose the truth.

[Steve's Critic / Family Court Commentator]

Why would you start dating a wealthy woman and then abuse the children?

[Cindy]

The judge in the family court said, I'm going to take your kids away. Cindy's effectively been erased from her kids lives.

[Nancy Glass]

We're going to tell you about a family destroyed by damage that can never be undone.

[Cindy]

There was a lot more going on in the background.

[Steve's Associate / Critic]

It's the worst example I've ever seen of what somebody can do when they have unlimited resources.

[Cindy]

One side wins and the other side loses. And in the end, the people who lose the most are the kids. It's probably one of the most tragic cases I've seen.

[Steve's Associate / Critic]

This is a guy who's very used to just paying money and getting his way.

[Nancy Glass]

Three children are at the center of this, and one parent who's determined to control the narrative.

[Steve's Associate / Critic]

I'm not this asshole, like just trying to pull these kids away from Cindy. I don't think they're safe.

[Nancy Glass]

I'm Nancy Glass and this is season three, A Burden of Guilt, Episode one, the Grenade. When I first learned about this, it sounded like it was all about child abuse allegations and they were serious. But were they true? Or were they just made up to weaponize children and punish a spouse in the cruelest way possible? But before we go there, let's meet the people involved at the center, a mother of three named Cindy. Cindy's an early riser. Every morning she has the same routine. She takes her dog out, makes a cup of coffee, and grabs her iPad. Lately, she's been using one of those language apps to learn French.

[Cindy]

One of my kids decided last semester he's going to learn French. So I'm trying to get some conversational phrases that I can use with him. I also do the New York Times puzzles and connections. I love that game.

[Nancy Glass]

Her most pressing goal is always the same. Just to keep her mind occupied.

[Cindy]

I would recommend anybody going through this situation that they have a good, good distraction. Because when you're in the learning part of your brain, you can't be stuck in that emotional part of your brain.

[Nancy Glass]

Okay, let's go back to the beginning here. In 1997, Cindy was in grad school to become a geologist. One weekend, her friends organized A ski trip. Cindy tagged along. She was single at the time, and her friends decided to set her up on a blind date. She met the guy on the mountain, but right away, things on the slopes did not go well.

[Cindy]

Within an hour, I'm having problems. I'm getting blisters, and I'm like, I gotta pull over and put something on my feet. And he says, okay, see you later. And he takes off and he leaves me. And I'm like, okay, I'm already not liking this guy.

[Nancy Glass]

Well, who can blame her? Left all alone, Cindy managed to put some bandages on her feet. And then she tried to find her way back to the ski hut.

[Cindy]

I'm already starting to panic a little bit because I'm by myself and I'm falling down and I'm falling in creeks and I'm still by myself. And I'm like, okay, just follow the track, Cindy. You'll be fine. All of a sudden, the tracks kind of spread out in this big meadow. And I don't know which way to go. I'm starting to get really worried now.

[Nancy Glass]

That's when Cindy noticed some snowshoe tracks. So she followed them and eventually found her way back to the ski lodge.

[Cindy]

I'm soaked. I'm soaked to the bone. I'm ready to go in tears right now. Like, oh, God, God. Hold it together, Cindy. You don't want to ruin it for everybody.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy noticed a 20 something guy putting away his snowshoes.

[Cindy]

And I said, are you the snowshoer? And he goes, yeah, why? I said, dude, you just saved my life. I just want to let you know that.

[Nancy Glass]

She explained how his tracks led her back to the ski hut.

[Cindy]

And we kind of really headed off.

[Nancy Glass]

The snowshoer was named Steve. He was a couple years younger than Cindy. Unlike Cindy, he grew up in a small Midwestern town. And get this, he was also a geologist. The same career. Cindy was about to begin.

[Cindy]

And I said, oh, well, lucky you, I'm a geologist too. I said, I'm in geophysics. And his eyes just lit up. And it was just like an instant kind of karmic moment.

[Nancy Glass]

So that weekend, Cindy ditched her blind date and got to know Steve. At the time, that was an easy decision, one she didn't expect would change her life for better and for worse. At first, Cindy and Steve had a long distance relationship. They later moved in together and met each other's families.

[Cindy]

I thought Steve was the epitome of the perfect, functional, normal family. And so I'm like, oh, this is normal. This is kind of Cool. So I was really attracted to it because it was the exact opposite of my situation.

[Nancy Glass]

That's because Cindy's parents had been divorced for as long as she could remember. Her dad remarried when she was 4 and Cindy primarily grew up with her mom.

[Cindy]

My mom was a stay at home mom up until the divorce and then she went and got a degree in accounting. Basically from age 4 to 9. I didn't see my mom a lot, so I didn't really get a, you know, a nurturing type environment of somebody staying at home baking cookies kind of thing. My experience was a lot of neglect. Not really involved mother, especially not emotionally.

[Nancy Glass]

Finding Steve was a breath of fresh air. His parents had a long term marriage and lived on a farm in the Midwest. She felt a sense of stability around Steve's family that she had never experienced growing up. A few years later, Cindy and Steve tied the knot. At the time, Steve was 32 and Cindy was 34.

[Cindy]

I hear this report on the news and it was something along the lines of if you're not married by 35 years old, you're never going to get married. So planned a wedding within a few months. And so by October we're married. And I turned 35 the very next month. I'm like barely under the wire.

[Nancy Glass]

They had a small wedding on a budget.

[Cindy]

Everything was about how can we save money. We got married on a Wednesday because it was cheaper. I mean, this is how cheap we were. My dress was $99. It was a great dress though. For 99 bucks I got a good deal.

[Nancy Glass]

You see, Steve had a dream of retiring by the age of 50 and that meant working hard and saving every penny they could. Shortly after they got married, Steve and Cindy decided to put their geology expertise to use and start their Wildcat minerals. Wildcat was a player in the fracking industry. This was in the early 2000s, at the start of the fracking boom in the U.S. their company quickly took off. Cindy and Steve's dreams were coming true. Within their first year of marriage, Cindy was pregnant. A baby girl was on the way and everything went smoothly until Cindy went into labor.

[Glynn Washington]

Ah,

[Cindy]

I was in like a 30 hour labor and I wasn't progressing. And all of a sudden they lost her heartbeat and they came rushing in and ripped everything out of the wall. And I ended up with an emergency C section. So all I remember was somebody yelling knife and out came a baby.

[Kenny Hampton]

And

[Cindy]

fortunately she was fine, she was healthy.

[Kenny Hampton]

So it was really scary,

[Cindy]

really scary.

[Nancy Glass]

After that harrowing labor. The months that followed were some of Cindy's happiest times as a mom.

[Cindy]

She was wonderful. God, it was really the best, best year of my life.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy knows not everyone can have the luxury of being a stay at home mom. But it gave her a priceless opportunity. After having her daughter, Cindy wanted more children. But having them was difficult. Over the next four years, she had three miscarriages. She made her peace with being a mother of one and got rid of everything her daughter outgrew. But of course, as soon as she did that, she found out she was pregnant.

[Cindy]

That's the key if you want to get pregnant. Just give away all your baby stuff, all your maternity clothing, and you just give up. You're like, I'm done.

[Nancy Glass]

And this time she was having twins, two boys.

[Cindy]

And I was almost 41 when I had them. So it was a very, very high risk pregnancy.

[Nancy Glass]

And this pregnancy was especially hard on her body.

[Cindy]

I had to thin my blood out the entire time and I had to take shots in my gut twice a day.

[Nancy Glass]

Just as her daughter turned four, Cindy went into labor with the boys. They arrived both healthy and happy. Suddenly, Cindy and Steve's household became a family of five.

[Cindy]

Those first two years, you don't remember anything and thank God you took a lot of video and a lot of photos because you really, you don't sleep. You just, you're so sleep deprived. You are in a state of survival.

[Nancy Glass]

It was chaotic, exhausting, all consuming. But for Cindy, it was the life she wanted.

[Cindy]

I am really glad I was able to stay at home with my kids and watch all those really early years. I give credit to Steve to be there for them every day.

[Nancy Glass]

Today, Cindy's children are teenagers. Her daughter is in college. Her twin boys are learning how to drive, but Cindy hasn't had custody of them since 2019.

[Cindy]

Time is just like the weirdest thing. You're like, God, it's been six years. It's hard to believe when you say the word six years, but it feels like yesterday.

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[Nancy Glass]

Before we go any further, I should tell you that Cindy asked us not to use her children's real names on the podcast. Once Cindy became a mother of three, raising her kids became her full time job. That left Steve to be the face of their company, Wildcat Minerals, and their business was growing fast.

[Cindy]

Steve was gone Monday through Friday. For the most part of our relationship, it's like that movie 50 First Dates.

[Nancy Glass]

Just before the birth of their twins, Cindy quit working for the company we

[Cindy]

had really expanded very rapidly in a very short period of time, having three children. So there was a lot of stress on the relationship. And on top of that we had twins. And that's when things started really going bad with Steve.

[Nancy Glass]

How many times have you heard that story that work gets in the way of a marriage? In this case, it was a company that was started by both Cindy and Steve and now it seemed like Steve was married to the company. Their friend Mandelyn witnessed it firsthand.

[Mandelyn (Friend of Cindy)]

When I first met Cindy, they were kind of going through this difficult time that a lot of couples go through. She did most of the parenting and she was exhausted.

[Nancy Glass]

She remembers seeing Cindy at a school bake sale.

[Mandelyn (Friend of Cindy)]

She's like, man, I just want to go on a date with my husband. You know, she's home with the kids all day long, never gets a break. He goes and travels for work. When he gets home, all he wants to do is nothing. He just wants to be home. Doesn't even want to sometimes interact with the kids.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy started to feel more like Steve's employee than his wife and partner, both in marriage and with their company.

[Cindy]

I was a stay at home mom and he's now the breadwinner. And so his behavior towards me changed. That he shouldn't have to do anything around the house and that I'm just supposed to be this doting wife and have dinner on the table by six o' clock every evening and he doesn't have to do anything.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy was struggling all week. So she and Steve came up with a compromise. They'd hire a nanny. Well, that nanny turned out to be Steve's mother, Aleda. Steve moved Aleda nearby, but very quickly things became heated between Cindy and her mother in law.

[Cindy]

She thinks that Steve is the brainchild behind Wildcat and it was all his idea and I'm lucky to be married to Steve.

[Nancy Glass]

At first, Cindy bit her tongue. After all, Lata was there to help. But Cindy felt no matter what she did, especially when it came to parenting, she was always in the wrong generational parenting, it's different.

[Cindy]

It's different in each generation. So you're fighting their type of parenting and their style of parenting. Because a mother in law or your own mom is going to do it however they want to do it.

[Nancy Glass]

In Cindy's eyes, Aleyda was overstepping boundaries. Like when she took her daughter bra shopping and she was only six years

[Cindy]

old, she goes, I think she needs to start wearing one of these.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy turned to Steve for support, but he didn't see a Problem with what was going on.

[Cindy]

He comes back and he says, well, she doesn't think she's done anything wrong. She was six years old. She doesn't need a bra.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy was seeing her mother in law through a different lens.

[Cindy]

I thought he had a really good family. I thought he did. And it didn't turn out that way. I felt like it was his mom and him against me.

[Nancy Glass]

This was one of those situations where no one was going to win. And the marriage suffered because of it.

[Cindy]

We drifted apart. I didn't feel supported.

[Nancy Glass]

In 2013, a private equity group purchased Cindy and Steve's company. It meant a huge payday. It also meant stepping away from day to day management of their business. This was the life preserver their marriage needed. But that isn't how it worked out. Here's their friend Mandolin again.

[Mandelyn (Friend of Cindy)]

I think when they sold their company is when things really got out of control.

[Nancy Glass]

Suddenly, Steve abandoned his penny pinching ways.

[Mandelyn (Friend of Cindy)]

Money changes people. With Steve, it was always everything had to be so elaborate and over the top. And he just had this control and power and just I'm gonna do what I wanna do kind of mentality.

[Cindy]

Some people change with money and some people do not. And he was definitely changing. Money was changing him. He wanted private jets, he wanted a beach house. He wanted to take his friends there and show it off.

[Nancy Glass]

This was not the life Cindy had imagined.

[Cindy]

I spent more time with them and I'm like, whoa, I'm not sure I'm liking what I'm seeing here. And I did not like who I was becoming with Steve. I really didn't. I was getting nasty and angry and pissed off all the time. Every time there was a problem in the marriage. Steve wanted to move. Fresh start, new beginnings. And it never helped. Once you get settled in within a year, you're having all the same problems, you know.

[Nancy Glass]

The last place they moved was Steamboat Springs, Colorado. That's where Cindy began investing in real estate. She used her money from the sale of Wildcat to buy some rental properties. She also invested in a children's store and a clothing shop.

[Cindy]

And Steamboat Steve did not like that very much at all that I was starting a new business. That really bothered him.

[Nancy Glass]

At the time, their daughter was seven and the twins were three. They also hired a new nanny in Steamboat, a woman from the area. But the fresh start wasn't working. I talked with Cindy's stepsister, Lisa about the marriage.

[Lisa (Cindy's Stepsister)]

She didn't share with me at that point in time that there really was any issues. In fact, we started talking about renewing our wedding vows together. She would have been celebrating her tenure and I would have been celebrating my 15 year old wedding anniversary.

[Nancy Glass]

Seemed like a lot of fun. They planned a dual vow renewal party. They do it at Cindy and Steve's beach house in Florida.

[Lisa (Cindy's Stepsister)]

We picked out our cakes and music and everything. Oh, God, I just got so excited thinking about all that. I mean, we just thought that that would be the cat's meow. And that plan never, never came to fruition.

[Nancy Glass]

That's because Cindy and Steve decided to separate.

[Cindy]

When we separated In June of 14, we actually got along quite well. We're being nice to each other. Having lunch even once a week together, snowboarding together.

[Nancy Glass]

They may have disagreed on a lot of things, but they both wanted what was best for their children. They shared parenting 50. 50 meaning Cindy would have the kids one week and Steve the next.

[Cindy]

I mean, we were really trying our best to make it easy, especially on the kids.

[Nancy Glass]

Then Steve decided he didn't want to end their marriage and asked for a second chance.

[Cindy]

He says, I've worked on myself now for nine months. I've been in therapy. I know I was responsible for a lot of the problems in the marriage. I'm being accountable for that now. I'll take 80% of the responsibility here. Just give me another chance.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy gave it one more try, but that didn't last long.

[Cindy]

Towards the end of the relationship, all we did was argue. I actually said to Steve, I said, hey, is there anything I can do to make this marriage any better? I mean, just tell me, I'll do it. And he got this thoughtful look on his face. He goes, yeah, yeah, there is. He's like, when you're really exhausted, you leave dishes in the sink at night. It just kind of pisses me off to wake up to that. I just said, all right.

[Nancy Glass]

His response kind of stunned Cindy. She expected Steve to say something a little deeper, more profound. She was working around the clock to keep the house running, so she felt like his complaint about the dishes was just an insult. According to the Denver Gazette, Cindy ended their marriage after Steve propositioned their nanny.

[Cindy]

That's when I asked for the divorce. And I think when he started feeling more and more insecure about it, he started getting threatening. And he said, I'm never going to allow you to leave the marriage, and I'm not going to allow you to have the kids.

[Nancy Glass]

They did get divorced, but that was not the end of it. Something else was brewing, something that would eventually destroy their entire family.

[Cindy]

Steve is the type of person that if I were to describe him. He's gotta be right and he's gotta win.

[Glynn Washington]

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[Nancy Glass]

Cindy and Steve's 11 year marriage came to an end in February of 2016. As part of their divorce, they agreed to share parenting of their three children, meaning Cindy had her kids every other week. By the time the ink was dry on their divorce papers, Steve met a woman who would become his second wife, a petite blonde named Christine.

[Cindy]

They started dating the day we divorced. They started getting a little bit more serious once her divorce finalized.

[Nancy Glass]

But here's the thing. Cindy wasn't upset about Steve moving on. Quite the opposite.

[Cindy]

I actually congratulated him and he was actually upset that I had that reaction.

[Nancy Glass]

After divorcing Steve, Cindy felt free. They both decided to stay in Steamboat Springs so they could share 5050 custody easily. Cindy stayed in their condo while Steve moved out. Cindy is really beautiful. She has striking shoulder length white hair and the financial security most people would dream of. But still, she didn't know if anyone would want to date her.

[Cindy]

I was in this really weird space of when you're 47 years old and you got really young kids because I had my kids late and you're out in the dating world again. The dating pool is pretty small for me.

[Nancy Glass]

And she hadn't dated since the 90s. A lot had changed with my girlfriends here in Steamboat.

[Cindy]

I was like, what app am I supposed to be on? Well, it's the app that says yes, I'm available. And I'm looking, I'm like, is that true that I have to put myself on an app that says I'm available so that people are open to approaching me? I'm like, I'm not doing that. I want it to be completely organic. It's got to happen naturally, the old fashioned way.

[Nancy Glass]

That was her first condition. And rule number two, I didn't want

[Cindy]

a date in Steamboat. There's not a big pool of people to pick from here. And also on top of that, it's just I didn't want Steve in my business.

[Nancy Glass]

Since Steve also lived in the small resort town of Steamboat Springs, she didn't want to ruffle any feathers.

[Cindy]

He didn't really want the divorce. I knew that. So I just felt like it was just a better idea not to date right in front of him, you know, kind of thing. If I dated outside a Steamboat, I felt like better, you know, I wasn't going to trigger any emotions there for him.

[Nancy Glass]

And then something unexpected happened. Cindy was out with some girlfriends, having dinner at the restaurant in her condo building. That's when she locked eyes with an attractive 40something guy named Kenny Hampton.

[Cindy]

And it was just that moment of, where do I know this guy? And I was so distracted by the sense of familiarity with him at that moment that I was having a really hard time even focusing on, hi, my name is Cindy. Nice to meet you.

[Nancy Glass]

Kenny is a couple years younger than Cindy. He's tall with short white hair and bears a striking resemblance to Eric Dane, the guy who played Dr. McSteemey on Grey's Anatomy. But that wasn't why he looked so familiar to Cindy.

[Cindy]

Turns out we have been kind of shadowing each other probably for about 15 years.

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy learned that she and Kenny had lived in many of the same places at the same time. Most likely they crossed paths, but never officially met until that day. And talk about serendipity. Kenny worked as the general manager of the restaurant in Cindy's building. Cindy was a regular at Kenny's restaurant. She was either there with her kids for dinner or with her girlfriends for a glass of wine. And despite how smitten they were with each other, they kept it professional.

[Cindy]

I was under the impression he had a girlfriend. He was under the impression I had a boyfriend. And so we just kept this nice friendly interaction all the time, chit chatting to get to know one another.

[Nancy Glass]

After a few months of casual conversation, Kenny made the first move.

[Cindy]

He says, you know, let's maybe go out and have a drink sometime. That was the beginning.

[Nancy Glass]

Their first date led to a second and then a third. In between, they talked and texted like a couple of teenagers.

[Cindy]

What really stuck out was how he was very reflective of past relationships and what was right and what didn't work. Never said a negative thing about any of his exes. He said there was only one girl that he considered getting married to and she broke up with him. And so he never thought it was ever going to happen because he never got super serious with anybody after that.

[Nancy Glass]

By the summer of 2018, Kenny left his job at the restaurant. And when he wasn't job hunting, he spent his time with Cindy.

[Cindy]

Kenny is a catch. He's very good looking. He's down to earth. He likes to fly fish, which I like to fly fish. And he loved camping and that was a huge thing. So I'm checking out boxes like left and right, and I can't find anything I dislike about this guy.

[Nancy Glass]

They had a lot in common. They both came from humble beginnings in small Towns and had to make their own way. They grew up in the generation that played outside until the street lights came on. They shared a love of travel, board games, and being outdoors. Kenny was in his mid-40s, but unlike Cindy, he had never been married and didn't have kids. And Cindy was wondering if he would ever get serious with a divorced mother of three. Three young children. But that didn't faze Kenny. In fact, he made it a point to compliment Cindy's parenting.

[Cindy]

He says, you're one of the few parents I've seen that brings their kids into a restaurant and doesn't hand them a phone or an iPad or some electronic device. You're actually interacting, talking and present with your children.

[Nancy Glass]

At first, it was just Cindy and Kenny. Then Cindy included her children on their dates.

[Cindy]

I have young kids. And when Kenny explored that, he's like, I really like this. I missed out on this, and I'm really enjoying it. And then the kids really took a liking to him very quickly. It started with a camping trip that we took, and he was super helpful, chopping wood, doing all these wonderful things, fishing with the boys. I'm like, huh? So it was just as enjoyable for him to hang out with my kids. That was the biggest thing of all my boxes to check.

[Nancy Glass]

And Kenny valued being in the moment, taking in natural beauty, and he supported her. Cindy worried it was too good to be true. Her blueprint for romance had always been flawed. Her parents divorced when she was just 4, and her own marriage to Steve barely lasted a decade. So when Kenny came into Cindy's life, she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It didn't.

[Cindy]

We were going to Flaming Gorge, which is our ultimate favorite spot in the world. He was driving, and he's holding my hand,

[Kenny Hampton]

and I was. I was thinking to myself, oh, my God, I want to tell this guy how much I love him. And I didn't. I didn't know when to say it. But he turned to me and he says, I just want to say how much I love you. And I just burst out, and I said, oh, my God. It's exactly what I was thinking to say to you.

[Cindy]

When you have those moments, you can remember everything. Where I was, what song was playing.

[Kenny Hampton]

It was just really amazing.

[Cindy]

I'm sorry.

[Nancy Glass]

Early on, Cindy knew this wasn't just a connection. This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She loved the person she was when she was around him. The feeling was mutual for Kenny. He eventually introduced Cindy to his parents, and Cindy will never forget what Kenny's mom told her.

[Cindy]

She goes, man, he just loved you from the minute he met you. He was talking about those kids like they were his own. And he just saw you as his family immediately.

[Nancy Glass]

And that's what happened. A few months later, things got real. First Kenny moved in with Cindy, and then they started talking about the future.

[Cindy]

So I said to Kenny, I'm like, look, if you can't find anything in the restaurant business, I would like to have you managing my properties.

[Nancy Glass]

She wasn't doing him a favor. Cindy's retail stores and Steamboat were taking up most of her time. She needed help with her other properties as well. It would be a huge leap of faith for Kenny. Leaving his career to work for his girlfriend was a big gamble. But he had spent his whole career working in the hospitality business, and those 60 and 70 hour work weeks were getting old. So he went to work with Cindy. As you can imagine, that gave a lot of people in their small town something to talk about.

[Cindy]

I said, look, people are gonna think that you're a gold digger or, you know, that kind of thing. I don't think that you're into that. And he goes, no, no, I'm not. I liked you well before I found out about all of this. And I said, okay, well, you gotta tolerate that whispering and gossip and stuff like that.

[Nancy Glass]

A gold digger would be one of the least offensive things people would eventually call Kenny. We'll get into that later. A year later, Cindy and Kenny's relationship was stronger than ever. They had their eyes on the future, and the time seemed right to move out of Cindy's condo and begin to look for a new home.

[Cindy]

So Kenny and I walked into this house and we felt it. It was almost like when we start dating. This is it, you know, this is the house.

[Nancy Glass]

She pictured herself making a life here with Kenny and her three kids. A new, happier family. Cindy made an offer on the home. The week before they closed, Cindy and Kenny planned a trip to Hawaii. The kids would be with her ex husband, Steve. For Cindy and Kenny, the vacation had a special meaning. They were on the verge of joining their lives together. One night, they went to a luau. There was music, dancing, and a proposal. That night, under the velvet pacific sky, Cindy and Kenny got engaged. They were finally stepping into the big, happy family Cindy had spent a lifetime chasing. Their path ahead seemed golden. Cindy teased the big news to one person.

[Cindy]

I did text my daughter and said, hey, I got something important to tell you. And I didn't tell her what, because that's not something you Want to put in the text?

[Nancy Glass]

Cindy and her 13 year old daughter had a special bond. And that summer of 2019, she had been asking about the future.

[Cindy]

She goes, well, are you two ever going to get married? Because I want to be your bridesmaid. I want to braid your hair, I want to pick out the dress. And I said, look, if we ever get married, I absolutely promise that you will be standing next to me.

[Nancy Glass]

And that promise to her daughter was why Cindy teased the news to her future bridesmaid.

[Cindy]

I was super excited that night and I probably shouldn't have said anything at all. And that launched the disaster that happened the next day.

[Nancy Glass]

The joy of Cindy and Kenny's engagement died with the sunrise. Because that next day, Cindy got the phone call that changed everything.

[Cindy]

When I got the call from the DHS caseworker, I'm like, you gotta be kidding me.

[Nancy Glass]

The voice on the other end told Cindy her kids were not coming home to her.

[Cindy]

And I said, what do you mean you're taking my kids?

[Lisa (Cindy's Stepsister)]

She stood behind the truth, and they didn't like that.

[Law Enforcement / Prosecutor]

The cops came into my house and threw me in handcuffs.

[Cindy]

You guys just disrupted and traumatized my kids when you could have made a five minute phone call.

[Lisa (Cindy's Stepsister)]

Cindy told me point blank what the allegation was. And we were just like, what?

[Law Enforcement / Prosecutor]

This wasn't an investigation. This was a prosecution.

[Lisa (Cindy's Stepsister)]

You can read all the documents in the world about the case and it doesn't make sense.

[Cindy]

You are throwing a grenade at a family. You are destroying a family.

[Nancy Glass]

This season on Burden of Guilt. The story takes shocking turns and brings us to places far beyond anyone's expectations.

[Cindy]

She got a lot of money from a settlement.

[Cindy's Daughter]

There was such a huge amount of money.

[Cindy]

Once that happened, things took a serious turn.

[Steve's Critic / Family Court Commentator]

The payment of that settlement occurred only days before these allegations arose. So there's no way that it's a coincidence.

[Cindy]

Deep down inside, I knew something like this might happen.

[Kenny Hampton]

And so there's a lot of guilt.

[Nancy Glass]

And Jill meets Cindy's fiance, Kenny, who bore the burden of guilt.

[Law Enforcement / Prosecutor]

You know how embarrassing this is for me. You know how hard it is to throw this out there to the world. He was trying to get me killed.

[Cindy's Daughter]

Thank God there was videotaped recordings where you can go back and go, what was really going on here

[Mandelyn (Friend of Cindy)]

and who

[Cindy]

told you a man sexually assaulted you? My dad. Your dad told you? Tell me what your dad said and

[Nancy Glass]

you'll never believe who brought this story to our attention.

[Steve's Critic / Family Court Commentator]

I'm not surprised that this story found you. I'm a little surprised at how it found you.

[Nancy Glass]

Thanks for listening. If you're enjoying Burden of Guilt, subscribe rate and review the series with five stars. Hopefully that helps other people find our show. Are you curious about what the people involved in this look like? Do you want to hear bonus content? Just check out our Instagram account at Glass Podcasts. You can reach out to the Burden of guilt [e-mail] that's burdenofguiltpodmail.com Burden of Guilt is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcast. This series is executive produced and hosted by me, Nancy Glass, produced by Todd Ganz also produced by Ben Federman and Andrea Gunning. Additional production support provided by Carrie Hartman. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Our Associate producer is Jade Abdul Malik. Our production manager is Kristin Melchuri. Our iHeart team is ally Perry and Jessica Krejczyk. Audio editing by Tanner Robbins Audio mixing and mastering by Anna MacLean and Matt D'. Aldechio. The burden of Guilt theme is composed by Oliver Baines Music library provided by MIB Music. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app or Apple Podcast.

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[Cindy]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.