Unicorn Girl: Episode 3 – “As the World Turns, with Candace”

Podcast: Unicorn Girl
Host: Charlie Webster
Date: August 25, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode explores the complicated reality behind Candace Rivera’s seemingly flawless life and career, delving into conflicting narratives from her past, especially her marriage to ex-husband Patrick, and the questionable foundations of her nonprofit empire. At the center is the question: was Candace a true visionary or simply masking deep deception?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Complexity of Candace’s Narrative

• Host Charlie Webster opens by highlighting how stories about Candace shift depending on who’s telling them, emphasizing, “when it comes to Candace, if you want to get to the truth, you have to question everything.” [00:01]
• The focus turns to Candace’s ex-husband, Patrick Leard, whose character and actions have been widely debated.

2. Patrick’s Account: The Marriage & Conflicts

• Meeting Candace

  • Patrick describes a serendipitous and romantic beginning on the Vegas Strip in 2005. [02:03]
  • “She was bubbly, and I’m very flirtatious, and that’s how it went down, honestly. We became serious within a few months.” – Patrick [02:52]

• Early Marriage

  • Moved in together, had two sons.
  • Candace was inspired to become a nurse after the loss of twin daughters.

• Financial Breach: The 401k Incident [07:09–12:54]

  • Candace pawned her wedding ring, lying about its whereabouts, which Patrick found hurtful but forgave.
  • The turning point: Patrick discovers his 401k had been drained by $80,000. Candace took the money and faked income to appear she was earning as a nurse.
    • “It was unreal. That was like, mind blowing to me that she was doing that to us, like to our family, our savings.” – Patrick [11:03]
  • Actual nursing school bill was ~$11,000, not $80,000.

• Final Straw: Credit Card Fraud [13:03–14:18]

  • Candace took out a business credit card in Patrick’s partner’s name, which led Patrick to immediately end the marriage and move out.
    • “That was the day that I packed up my stuff and I moved.” – Patrick [14:09]
  • Divorce and custody battles with Candace ensued for six years.

3. Candace’s Professional Reinvention and Exodus

• Birth of Exodus Tribe

  • After the divorce, Candace pivots to activism, launching Exodus, a nonprofit aimed at fighting human trafficking, leveraging her charisma and fundraising skills.
    • “Fundraising was something that Candace was good at. She could get a lot of people to believe what she had to say.” – Patrick [15:01]

• Team Building With “Besties”

  • Candace recruits inner circle friends in key roles — Danny Remington (nurse), Matt (marketing), Aura (admin), among others. [19:07–21:39]
    • Aura remembers, “She trusts me. And I said, I don't have any skills. I don't have an education. And she’s like, it doesn't matter…” [19:57]
  • Candace tells traumatizing stories of trafficking to motivate and inspire team loyalty, sometimes in inappropriate settings (e.g., bowling alley). [21:29]

• The Inaugural Exodus Gala (Pandemic, Masks, & Post Malone) [22:11–26:46]

  • Despite COVID, Candace insists on a lavish Great Gatsby–themed gala; promises Post Malone’s attendance (he never shows).
    • Candace blames security: “when you're a big celebrity, you can't have your name on a list because people will know you're coming.” [24:08]
  • Symbolic elements—like 17 candles per table, representing daily assaults trafficking victims may endure—are employed to drive emotional impact.
  • Survivor’s quote: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. That was the first time I ever shared my story publicly intentionally to help get funds.” [29:19]

4. Candace’s Personal Life: Drama and Double Lives

• Love Life Post-Divorce

  • Candace openly discusses her romantic escapades in videos to her online community.
    • “He put his hand up my shirt. Just telling you…there was all over.” – Candace [30:52]
  • Seeking Arrangement account for “dates” with wealthy men, sometimes receiving cash; friend Danielle is kept in the loop for safety. [31:47–32:45]
    • “She would tell me, like, oh my gosh, it was so weird. Like, they put cash in my purse at the beginning.” – Danielle [32:27]

• Blending Nonprofit with Personal Life

  • Survivor and admin assistants describe being swept into Candace’s world: errands, child care, social events, and blurred boundaries between legitimate work and Candace’s personal needs.

5. The Exodus Empire Expands – And Unravels

• CR House & Company

  • Amid all this, Candace starts a branding agency and gains local media attention. Exodus stages high-profile fundraising events and even claims a Mount Everest flag-plant. [34:06–34:48]

• Financial Transparency Issues

  • Co-founder Drew grows uneasy over lack of transparency and inability to access bank accounts.
    • “I finally said, hey, like, I need to…I need access to the bank account.” – Drew [34:48]
    • Candace claims $30,000 in the account; Drew finds only a few hundred dollars. [35:27]
  • Drew investigates Candace’s professional credentials—discovers she has no valid nursing license and failed her boards four times. [36:52–37:53]
    • “She was not a nurse practitioner. There was no licensure.” – Drew [37:09]
  • Drew resigns; Candace tarnishes his reputation and seizes control.
    • “She called an emergency board meeting and they all voted to kick Drew off the board. The fact that he’d already resigned didn’t seem to matter.” – Charlie [38:29]

6. The “Rescue Ops”—Fact and Fiction Blur

• Recruitment of Marisha and Bizarre Missions

  • Marisha, a real nurse/psychiatrist, is roped in to coordinate a clandestine heroin detox operation for a supposed trafficking victim in Wyoming.
    • “She goes, no, you can just get her off heroin there in some hotel. And I went, what? What?” – Marisha [41:14]

• Assistant Aura’s Frustrations and Afghanistan Stories

  • Aura grows uncomfortable with being asked to run personal errands on donor time; cracks appear when wild stories about purchasing weapons for Afghanistan evacuations surface.
    • “I was asked by Hillary Clinton to get people out.” – Candace [45:19]
    • “There was lots of guns and money…big AK47s just chilling outside their case.” – Survivor [45:35]
    • “All the gear total, like there was a million dollars worth. For sure…” – Matt [45:47]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Narrative Control
  • “When it comes to Candace, if you want to get to the truth, you have to question everything.” – Charlie [00:01]
• On Financial Deception
  • “It was unreal. That was like, mind blowing to me that she was doing that to us, like to our family, our savings…” – Patrick [11:03]
• On Galas and Image
  • “She wanted to be that organization that people came to because they were hungry to come outside and do something.” – Aura [23:28]
• On the Collapse of Trust
  • “I don’t believe anymore that this organization that I’ve created, tried so hard to create is actually going to be the engine that gets us there… she lied to me.” – Drew [36:44]
• On Blurred Boundaries
  • “If the donors are paying me to work with trafficking victims and I’m running to the store and doing her returns for her, I don’t think they would be okay with that.” – Aura [44:04]
• On Manic Expansion & Exaggerations
  • “I was asked by Hillary Clinton to get people out.” – Candace [45:19]
  • Description of weapons and money: “big AK47s just chilling outside their case.” – Survivor [45:35]

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:01 – Introduction, shifting narratives about Candace
• 02:03 – Patrick recalls meeting Candace
• 07:09 – 401k story: discovery and fallout
• 13:03 – Business credit card fraud triggers divorce
• 15:01 – Candace’s fundraising skills and Exodus beginnings
• 19:30 – Aura joins Exodus, revealed trust motivations
• 22:11 – The EUA-inaugural gala: chaos, symbolism, and Post Malone
• 30:52 – Candace details her dating life to her “for the love” group
• 34:48 – Co-founder Drew questions finances and Candace’s licensure
• 39:16 – Marisha recruited for “on the ground” rescues
• 43:49 – Aura reflects on Exodus work, pay, and Afghanistan operation stories
• 45:35 – Weapons and staged operations
• 46:03 – Episode wrap-up

Summary

Episode 3 of Unicorn Girl peels back the glittery veneer of Candace Rivera’s life, chronicling her turbulent relationships, disputed professional background, and the rocky rise of her anti-trafficking nonprofit. Through raw interviews and firsthand accounts—often contradictory—it becomes clear that Candace is adept at constructing narratives, winning loyalty, and masking unsettling truths. As colleagues and confidantes recount both their devotion and disillusionment, the episode leaves listeners questioning where vision ends and deception begins.