RISK! Podcast: "The Lies That Bind"
Episode Date: October 14, 2025
Host: Todd Houston
Guests: Michelle Roberts, Andrea Dunlop
Overview
In this emotionally raw and deeply unsettling episode, “The Lies That Bind,” Michelle Roberts tells her jaw-dropping true story of surviving profound childhood abuse and betrayal within her family. Interviewed by Andrea Dunlop, host of "Nobody Should Believe Me" (a podcast deeply exploring Munchausen by proxy), Michelle recounts an upbringing defined by her mother's pathological need for attention, manipulation, and medical abuse—including the poisoning and eventual death of Michelle’s brother. This conversation transcends mere storytelling, unpacking the complex psychological landscape of family, truth, and recovery from institutional gaslighting and invisible wounds.
The episode is a conversation-style story, traversing themes of trauma, survival, and the painful process of understanding abuse from the inside—as well as the healing power of speaking out.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Michelle’s Early Childhood and Her Sister’s Birth
[03:15 - 05:59]
- Michelle describes a “pretty normal childhood” up until her sister was born prematurely.
- The medical fragility of her sister becomes the axis around which her world spins.
- Michelle is excluded from school and spends her days awaiting updates on her sister’s condition, feeling her existence and worth is tied to her sister’s needs.
Quote:
"Everything in my life revolved around her. So I stayed with my grandparents... My parents were calling themselves homeschooling me. But in reality, how do you homeschool a kid when you never see them?"
—Michelle Roberts [05:33]
2. The Unthinkable Truth About Her Mother’s Abuse
[06:07 - 10:15]
- Hospital staff notice disturbing inconsistencies in her sister’s condition, leading to the installation of cameras.
- Michelle’s mother is caught on video poisoning and suffocating her sister—deliberately causing medical crises.
- As a child, Michelle is only told that her mom "did some really bad things" to her sister; the severity is hidden from her.
Quote:
"They installed cameras in the hospital room they were staying in. They catch my mom poisoning my sister. She was caught on video suffocating her via her trach... She was seen on camera taking urine and feces out of my sister's diaper and putting it into her IV lines."
—Michelle Roberts [09:01]
[10:15 - 14:18]
- Michelle and her sister are removed from their mother's custody.
- Despite legal attempts, her mother’s rights are not fully terminated; visitation resumes.
- Michelle’s mother continually pressures her into feeling responsible for the family’s unity.
3. Patterns Repeat: A Fire, Legal Fights, and Narrative Control
[14:18 - 19:10]
- A mysterious fire at her childhood home (likely set by her mother) becomes a powerful event to further the victim narrative.
- Michelle remembers being manipulated into feeling like it was her duty to fix the fractured family.
- Her mother has another child (Michelle's brother, Colin) during this time, exacerbating Michelle's emotional turmoil.
Quote:
"She said, he's going to be what puts our family back together. And I remember at that age, just thinking, that's a strange thing to say."
—Michelle Roberts [19:07]
4. The Munchausen By Proxy Pattern Emerges
[19:10 - 27:09]
- After reuniting, Michelle’s mother turns attention to her younger brother, ultimately subjecting him to a staggering volume of unnecessary and harmful medical interventions.
- Michelle is made a caretaker for her siblings, further eroding her childhood.
Quote:
"I have another sibling that's sick. I have another sibling that's fighting for their lives. At a certain point, my parents sit us down and they are like, we're going to move to Alabama. I felt like that was the end of my world."
—Michelle Roberts [24:35]
5. Medical Abuse, Gaslighting, and Exploitation
[27:09 - 36:56]
- Michelle’s mother launches a high-profile blog chronicling her brother’s “illness,” attracting support, donations, and sympathy from their new community, none of whom knew her history.
- Michelle describes her mother's strategic use of her brother’s supposed illness for fundraising and social capital, while reality is distorted at home.
Quote:
"She would parade online and parade to anybody that would listen and, you know, wheel him in with his wheelchair into church, but then he was just up walking around that morning beforehand."
—Michelle Roberts [45:04]
6. The Tragedy of Colin’s Death and Its Aftermath
[38:34 - 49:46]
- Michelle recounts the devastating period leading to Colin’s death—her mother’s controlling behavior, erratic medical decisions (like repeatedly stopping and starting his tube feedings), and the emotional devastation.
- Eventually, Colin dies at nine. Michelle struggles to process her grief, constantly doubting her perceptions due to lifelong gaslighting.
Quote:
"I'll never forget the last time I saw him... he's playing Super Mario Kart... he stops and he looks at me and he said, 'Michelle, when I... when I die, do you think I'm going to heaven?'... He said, 'thank you. You helped me not be scared anymore.'"
—Michelle Roberts [44:41]
7. The Unraveling: Confronting the Truth
[49:50 - 56:37]
- Michelle’s journey to self-understanding is long and non-linear; "undoing the years of gaslighting."
- She describes the difficulties of holding onto reality when every part of her upbringing was subject to her mother’s manipulations—even on a micro-level about things as simple as "chemo curls" in hair.
Quote:
"Just being able to just like sit there and look at these old pictures and clearly identify that her hair texture is the same exact then years ago as it is now, and realizing I really just... she was so easily able to convince me somehow, even though I grew up with her."
—Michelle Roberts [55:38]
8. The Complexity of Abuse and Complicity
[63:23 - 68:53]
- Michelle details her father’s passive complicity—he witnessed egregious abuse but did nothing to stop it, a truth confirmed by her aunt.
- Both parents exist in a space where acknowledging the truth is impossible; for her father, admitting reality would be too devastating to bear.
Quote:
"My dad was sitting in the room in the corner in a chair while my mom is on video suffocating my sister... He doesn't do anything."
—Michelle Roberts [66:33]
9. Community, Stigma, and Public Reckoning
[70:38 - 79:18]
- Michelle describes the cultural difficulty in accepting maternal child abuse: "You might almost call it a myth or something, that like, a mother would not hurt her child."
- Going public via the "Nobody Should Believe Me" podcast and exposing her mother’s abuse to the nonprofit her mother was embedded in led to a wave of support and realization.
- Michelle’s coming forward “broke the spell” not just for herself but for her mother’s other victims and accomplices.
Quote:
"It's almost like seeing the person that I knew as utterly fake. She wasn't real... it truly did, like, you said, Todd, it felt like the spell was broken completely because I saw it for what it was."
—Michelle Roberts [75:03, 78:27]
10. Healing, Advocacy, and Ongoing Hope
[79:18 - End (~92:14)]
- Michelle reflects on her healing journey, how speaking out and building community is the only pathway she found toward recovery.
- She outlines her motivations: to help others feel less alone, to honor her brother’s truth, and to protect her young nephews who remain at risk.
- There’s acknowledgment of the limitations of “justice” after death, but a steadfast commitment to changing the narrative—and to warning others.
Quotes:
"If it helps one person not feel so alone... then it’s worth it."
—Michelle Roberts [89:32]
"My brother deserves to have his truth told, even if that truth is really, really ugly. Being able to take back the narrative from his abuser."
—Michelle Roberts [89:47, 90:16]
"My nephews... are not safe living with my mother. My hope is that I can put as much information about this out there... that it’ll save them."
—Michelle Roberts [90:25]
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
-
On the power of gaslighting:
“That feeling of believing somebody else before I would believe myself. You know, I would believe things my mother told me before I would believe myself, believe my own memory of it.”
—Michelle Roberts [58:00] -
On the myth of maternal safety:
“You might almost call it a myth or something, that like, a mother would not hurt her child... That’s one of the worst things you can think about.”
—Andrea Dunlop & Michelle Roberts [70:48+] -
On breaking the cycle:
"Truthfully, because I looked for a lot of ways. I looked for just about every other way I think a person could other than talking about it. And I tried a lot, and none of it worked until, you know, that first support group I was in for Munchausen by Proxy... just talking about it, it's incredible."
—Michelle Roberts [87:18]
Important Timestamps
- 05:33 — Michelle describes the family’s focus on her medically fragile sister.
- 09:01 — Revelation of her mother’s poisoning and suffocation, caught on camera.
- 19:07 — Michelle relays her mother’s disturbing comments about the new baby “putting the family back together.”
- 24:35 — Michelle describes her role in the family repeating: another sibling gets sick.
- 44:41 — Colin’s final moments and conversation about dying.
- 55:38 — Michelle observes the depth of her mother’s gaslighting: even over her hair.
- 66:33 — The chilling account of her father witnessing but ignoring abuse.
- 75:03, 78:27 — The "spell breaks"—Michelle and others see her mother for who she truly is.
- 89:32, 89:47, 90:16, 90:25 — Michelle’s motivation for sharing: solidarity, truth-telling, and protection.
Tone
Honest, emotionally raw, at times darkly humorous but always compassionate; the episode is both devastating and empowering, with Michelle’s bravery and clarity guiding listeners through the labyrinth of family betrayal and the redemptive power of truth.
Closing Thoughts
This episode is a testimonial to the devastating impacts of Munchausen by proxy, the insidiousness of familial gaslighting, and the profound courage required to break the silence. Michelle’s story not only honors her lost brother but serves as an urgent warning, wake-up call, and beacon of solidarity for those navigating similar horrors—and for families, professionals, and advocates confronting these realities.
Listeners are directed to resources like the Munchausen Support Network for support and further information.
For further context and journalism, listen to: [Nobody Should Believe Me (Season Six)] and the RISK! episode “Believe Her.”