Love, Your Favorite Unicorn | 1

Summary

Unicorn Girl – Episode 1: “Love, Your Favorite Unicorn”

Main Theme & Overview

This debut episode of Unicorn Girl dives deep into the enigmatic life of Candace Rivera—mother, entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, and social media sensation known as “One Fierce Mama.” Hosted by award-winning journalist Charlie Webster, the episode unpacks Candace’s carefully crafted persona and her rapid rise within online women's groups before her seemingly perfect world begins to unravel. Using interviews, social posts, and first-hand accounts, the episode explores the allure, complexity, and cracks in Candace’s fairytale, leaving listeners to wonder: was she a visionary or a master of deception?

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Social Media Unicorn: The Myth of Candace Rivera

• Candace’s online identity: Through the Instagram handle One Fierce Mama, Candace presents a relentless schedule blending business, motherhood, activism, and glamor. Her daily to-do lists, posted as Stories, project an image of effortless accomplishment and constant motion. (00:18–01:38)

  • Sample post:
    • “4:40 AM drop off Eldestad Airport soccer tournament. 6:55 am Snuggles with youngest before school.” (00:18–00:25)
    • “156 check safe house. Take stock of donations. 3:51 phone rings. It's a survivor. She's six months sober. So proud of her.” (00:50–00:59)

• Candace’s ultimate goal: To have seven companies, all generating seven figures, running before age 40. (03:04–03:33)

  • Quote (Candace explaining her ambition):
    • “My goal was to have seven companies that were seven figures running before 40. We're two years away.” (03:27)

2. The Origin Story: Book Group Sisterhood (“The 500”)

• For the Love group: Candace’s story begins in an exclusive Facebook group created by author Jen Hatmaker to promote her book For The Love. Out of thousands of applicants, 500 women were selected—a group that quickly transformed into a tight-knit, support-focused virtual community. (05:15–07:52)

  • Quote (Anneliese):
    • “Even though these 500 people lived all over the country, there was quickly just like a closeness about us. So that's where I first met Candace, kind of virtually before we met in person.” (08:14)

• Candace’s captivating presence: Known for her humorous, self-deprecating posts and oversharing about personal life, Candace became a “people magnet” in the group, culminating at an in-person book launch party where she cemented her “unicorn” status by showing up in a rubber unicorn mask. (09:55–14:39)

  • Quote (Erin):
    • “She was like the sun. Everybody just was drawn to her. She brought this unicorn head that she would wear, so that became the joke. And then it was, she's a one of a kind. She's a unicorn.” (13:36)

• Memorable moment: Candace’s viral video parading a unicorn mask at Starbucks, ordering a “unicorn unicorn drink.” (14:51)

  • Quote (Brandy):
    • “It was shared a gajillion times and I could not stop laughing. It was so funny. This girl is so funny. I love her.” (14:51)

3. Vulnerability & The Cracks Appear

• Shift in tone: Candace’s posts become more vulnerable, detailing marital struggles, suspected infidelity, and financial mistakes (notably, withdrawing from her husband’s 401k to pay school bills). The group becomes a lifeline during her unraveling marriage. (16:55–21:01)

  • Quote (Candace):
    • “I withdrew a large sum of money from his 401k...I realized I basically took all of his money that could have been earning a large interest.” (19:59–20:23)

• Online and offline support: Members like Erin provide physical refuge when Candace flees with her children during the separation. The online group’s judgment of Patrick (Candace’s ex) is shaped solely by her narrative. (21:22–22:27)

4. Building (and Losing) Community in Real Life (MOPS Group)

• Candace’s leadership: After moving to Utah, Candace embeds herself in the MOPS organization (a Christian mothers’ group), becoming a charismatic leader and support figure. She shares her story of infant loss each October and projects an image of having it all—much to the admiration and envy of fellow moms. (23:11–25:35)

  • Quote (Lacey):
    • “She had it all. People liked her. The church loved her. She always had her hand in everything...I really struggled with postpartum...and so I really needed something. I had worked up until I had my first baby. And so getting me out of the house was really important at the time.” (24:12–24:52)

• Blurring fact and fiction: Others (like Lacey and Danielle) are sometimes confused by inconsistencies—Candace sometimes claims to be a nurse, sometimes a stay-at-home mom. (26:23–26:56)

• Social life: Candace hosts parties and sleepovers, dazzling her circle with humor and outlandish stories—like being catfished using her own photos or wild medical tales from the ER. (27:35–29:15)

5. Divorce, Heartbreak, and Escaping Real Life

• Divorce finalized: The breakdown of Candace’s marriage is shared in real time with her online “tribe.” (32:58–33:41)

  • Quote (Candace):
    • “My heart is heavy. I'm getting divorced. Struggling. So many emotions. I love you all. I hate to be such a mess lately. I feel like I keep saying, how could it get any worse? And God's like, hold my beer. Lol." (32:58)

• Volunteering in Ukraine: With newfound time, Candace claims to use her nursing skills to escort orphans from Ukraine to the U.S., though not all her acquaintances were aware of her career as a nurse, raising some skepticism. (34:09–35:37)

• Losing more than marriage: While in Ukraine, Candace misses a custody hearing and loses both custody of her boys and possession of her house. (37:13–37:30)

  • Quote (Candace):
    • “He took full custody and possession of the home...Of course we have immediately put in a motion to set aside due to the whole was in Ukraine and couldn't get home.” (37:30–37:44)

• Seeds of doubt: Among her core supporters, skepticism grows about Candace’s stories and her ability to be in all places at once, “like a soap opera.” (37:56–39:07)

6. Excess, Exhibition, and the Next Act

• Maintaining appearances: Even as her life falls apart, Candace continues to play hostess, lead her group, and present a glamorous, unruffled front—even persuading friends into boudoir photo sessions at her home. (39:23–41:35)

• Foreshadowing future drama: The episode closes with a montage hinting at escalating stakes—cash hoards, guns, foreign intrigue, and schemes. Friends describe wild stories: Turkish prisons, US consulate impersonations, and more. (42:17–43:11)

  • Quote (Lacey, preview):
    • “I see Candace’s door open, and she has a ton of cash. 300 grand as far as my eyes could see. She hands me the phone really quick, and she’s like, pretend you’re the U.S. consulate.” (42:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Candace puts it all out there:

  • “Things I've been told this year. A single mom can't do all that and still be a good mom. You're not qualified. There's no way that could be real. You're fake.” (02:00)

• Book group bonding:

  • “We called ourselves the 500 because 5,000 people applied. 500 were accepted. So those 500 felt really special.” (08:05)

• On Candace’s humor:

  • “I'm staying at my sister in law's house for five days. Five days y’all...I have poop fright. The sun goes down on day number three...Pray for day four. I may be on the verge of death.” (09:55–10:36)

• Her intoxicating charm:

  • “She just was unicorn Candace. That's who she was.” (Anneliese, 15:21)

• On living a double life:

  • “She always looked like she was ready to go downtown...for me was hopeful, like, oh, once I get my crap together, once I get out of this fog, I can, I can be like that.” (30:13–31:17, Lacey)

• Foreshadowing drama:

  • “She will ravel in this. There’s always an undertone about her having a documentary made about her.” (43:11–43:15, Anneliese)

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Timeline/Timestamps of Major Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | |---------------------------------------------|---------------| | Introduction to Candace Rivera | 00:01–02:27 | | For the Love Book Group | 05:15–11:39 | | In-person meetup and Candace as unicorn | 11:39–15:34 | | Shifting tone: marital troubles | 16:55–21:01 | | MOPS and Utah community invasion | 22:21–31:17 | | Divorce, heartbreak, career confusion | 31:28–34:52 | | Volunteering in Ukraine, custody loss | 34:52–37:44 | | Seeds of skepticism among friends | 37:56–39:07 | | Candace’s hosting & dazzling leadership | 39:23–41:35 | | Teasers of upcoming drama | 42:17–43:11 |

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Original Tone and Style

Charlie Webster’s narration strikes a balance between skepticism and empathy, pulling listeners into both the legend and the reality of Candace. Interviewees recall events with warmth, bewilderment, and sometimes admiration—all tinged with a growing sense of unease. Candace’s own words (through social posts) are often funny, self-deprecating, and compulsively oversharing, adding genuine texture to the narrative.

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Episode Summary

“Love, Your Favorite Unicorn” sets the stage for a wild, mind-bending ride through the contradictory, compelling life of Candace Rivera. The first episode constructs the myth—social media perfection, community queen, lone survivor—while immediately hinting at deception, burnout, and things too good (or too wild) to be true. By the end, listeners are left craving answers to the tantalizing puzzle that is Unicorn Girl.

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Listen next for: guns, government intrigue, cash hoards, wild schemes, and the question—who is the real Candace Rivera?

Transcript

[Charlie Webster]

You open your phone, scroll through socials and there she is again. The woman who makes life look effortless. Perfect job, perfect kids, perfect hair. You can't look away even though you know no one's life is this perfect.

[Candace Rivera]

4:40Am Drop off Eldestad Airport soccer tournament. 6:55am Snuggles with youngest before school.

[Charlie Webster]

If you open the stories of an Instagram account called One Fierce Mama, you'd think it was true. Women can can have it all.

[Candace Rivera]

9:30Am Girls around mine Med spa training. Careful with the Botox needle. 12:45 School pickup for youngest.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Candace Rivera, also known as One Fierce Mama, updating her Instagram followers with everything that happens in just one day of her life.

[Candace Rivera]

156 check safe house. Take stock of donations. 351 phone rings. It's a survivor. She's six months sober. So proud of her.

[Charlie Webster]

Candice is a mother of two boys, a nurse, owner of several multimillion dollar businesses, CEO and founder of an anti human trafficking organization, GirlBoss.

[Candace Rivera]

4:28 Another survivor call. Don't give up. We'll get you help tonight. 6:15pm Check mail letter with Fancy Seal. It's Congressman Owens. Thank you Candice for all you do.

[Charlie Webster]

She's also on a United nations task force.

[Candace Rivera]

7:18 Working on UN Global Compact.

[Charlie Webster]

A mum of two dogs.

[Candace Rivera]

806 Take Dogs for Walk World Change.

[Charlie Webster]

History Maker Hell Shaker.

[Candace Rivera]

11:15Pm 40 emails and 100 texts to reply to. 12:08am finally sleep and good person.

[Charlie Webster]

The kind of person who can have it all. Like many of us, Candice was told she couldn't and she was determined to prove everyone wrong.

[Candace Rivera]

Things I've been told this year. A single mom can't do all that and still be a good mom. You're not qualified. There's no way that could be real. You're fake.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills, hosted and executive produced by me, Charlie Webster. This is a story about a woman named Candace who is a CEO, founder and global advocate. But I'll let her tell you about herself. My name is Candice Rivera and I.

[Patricia]

Am an anti trafficking abolitionist. I have a medical career and worked in trauma and emergency med, which is predominantly male. This is actually my 11th. Next year will be my 12th. So I'm almost in my 12th year of working in the anti trafficking field. I'm trying to run multiple companies, save the world and be a killer rock star mom in really high heels. I'm proud of being able to raise kids and house companies. My Goal was to have seven companies that were seven figures running before 40. We're to your way.

[Charlie Webster]

Damn.

[Patricia]

I knew I liked you and I'm proud of that.

[Charlie Webster]

That's Candace chatting on a couple of podcasts and even giving a keynote speech at a university. Not bad for someone who was a stay at home mum only a few years ago. In fact, it's almost entirely unbelievable. That's a bit of a theme when it comes to Candice Rivera. But before you start to pass judgments, let me tell you right up front, there's a lot more truth to this story than you might think. Investigating Candice has been a lot, and you are going to meet many people along the way so we can give you the full picture of who Candice really is. As you listen and start to shake your head, wondering how everything fits together, know that that's exactly what we've been doing this whole time. If you're up at 2am with more questions than answers, you're in good company.

[Lacey]

Give me a call.

[Charlie Webster]

I'll be awake. We're on this journey together. But I promise you, by the end of the series, this puzzle comes together. First, here's something that is 100% true. Candice grew up in Colorado Springs at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. She moved to the suburbs of Utah at 19 when she married a guy called Patrick Laird. Over the next 15 years, Candice made quite a name for herself. Our story starts in 20, back when Candace was approaching 30. At that time, Candace went by her married name, Candice Laird. That's where all this begins. And in a book group, but not one where you get together in person on the weekends. This one was on Facebook.

[Jen Hatmaker]

My name's Jen Hatmaker. I live just outside Austin, Texas. I've lived here for 25 years and I've got five grown kids. And I'm an author and a podcaster and a friend and a sister.

[Charlie Webster]

New York Times bestselling author Jen Hatmaker put the group together to help her promote her new book. The book was written for women, calling them to live an authentic life full of love. It was called for the Love. And so that's what the book group was called too.

[Jen Hatmaker]

We're gearing up to release it. There's all these essentially volunteers kind of in your social media followers. We put out just on socials. We're going to have a volunteer launch team. We've got 500 spots. We created a private Facebook group that was our hub.

[Brandy]

They gave us an advance release copy before they were gonna hit the shelves.

[Charlie Webster]

That's Brandy, a family therapist living in California, who was one of the 500 selected.

[Brandy]

And we had to just read them and then just start pulling our favorite parts, like comments, quotes, you know, and just start posting about it and telling friends. And then Jen's publishers, they took all of us who wrote about the book, like reviews, and then they picked like the top 20 or whatever. So we're all published in the books as like our, you know, our reviews. And so I have it and I'm in the first one. And it was just like so much excitement. And then at one point it kind of started getting real. And people would say, hey, can you just pray for my kid who got suspended yesterday? And here's what happened. And then people would just share life. And so we really got to know the hard stuff because it's a closed group and it's a private group, so nobody in the real world would see them posting this stuff. But it was like, help, my marriage is failing. Help, my son just got diagnosed with this heart condition. You know, like it was just real life. And it felt, I mean, we were all doing life with each other. And it sounds so I'm sure to anyone listening who's like, oh, they were Internet friends. But it was like more than that.

[Kimberly]

This like quasi exclusive, closed Facebook group sort of took on a life of its own.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Kimberly, a marketing professional from Tennessee.

[Kimberly]

It was like a really, really unique experience. We bought a car for a girl who was in the foster system who was aging out. Like, we did a lot of really good altruistic things for one another and for the greater good. It was a really wonderful community.

[Charlie Webster]

Not even Jen Hatmaker could believe how close the women in the group became.

[Jen Hatmaker]

It was nonstop activity on the Facebook page. Like, unless it was your full time job, nobody could keep up with it all. There was so much on the daily.

[Anneliese]

We called ourselves the 500 because 5,000 people applied. 500 were accepted. So those 500 felt really special.

[Charlie Webster]

That's speech therapist Anneliese.

[Anneliese]

Even though these 500 people lived all over the country, there was quickly just like a closeness about us. So that's where I first met Candace, kind of virtually before we met in person.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace was a prolific poster in the for the love group.

[Anneliese]

Everyone knew what each person's thing was. Candace's was these funny, embarrassing stories. A lot of it was almost like stream of consciousness explaining her thoughts and feelings as she's going through this experience. And then there's always some funny little one liner in there and some sense of drama.

[Candace Rivera]

Dear safe place. Well I have this boob, the one on the left. It has been abnormally sweaty and now has a dimpling like a second dimple. I powder it, deodorize it, bleach it, oxiclean it. It is still there. So jokingly Hubs and I nicknamed it Stinky Boob.

[Charlie Webster]

That's one of Candace's many posts in the for the Love Book group. She often refers to them as her sisters or tribe. Throughout this series you will hear Candice's social posts. They are her actual posts taken directly from her social media and are read by Emmy Jory.

[Anneliese]

She describes what's happening so that you feel like you truly are there or can see what she's doing and why she's doing it.

[Kimberly]

A lot of Candice's things were self deprecating and fairly funny scenarios about like being in a strange place spending the night and she had some anxiety about pooping in public, but they were hilarious stories.

[Candace Rivera]

I'm staying at my sister in law's house for five days. Five days y'.

[Danielle]

All.

[Candace Rivera]

And their bathroom is right in the middle of the hallway next to the kitchen, living and dining rooms where all 35 of my husband's family members stay. Eat, play cards. I am dying. I have poop fright. The sun goes down on day number three. Thin walled bathroom. You have won. Today we will meet again dear friends. Pray for day four. I may be on the verge of death. Love. You're oversharing. For the love sister. For the love of number two.

[Charlie Webster]

The for the Love women came from all corners of the United States, from California to the Carolinas. But distance didn't matter. The group got close almost instantly. It became a support and sounding board for all its members. Getting people out of bad relationships, crowdsourcing resources, or just being a safe place for those who needed it. They even made their own fuh the Love Merch.

[Kimberly]

Every Saturday morning you could be guaranteed that you would be laughing because everybody shares the memes that they have been collecting for the last week. So it has been like a really cool oasis, but also like a little land of crazy town too.

[Charlie Webster]

Despite only knowing each other through posts and comments, the for the Love Tribe became extremely close and the book that brought them together hadn't even been released yet. It was time to take things to the next level. An in person meetup.

[Brandy]

We all went to Texas to Gen Hatmaker's house and we had a huge party to launch these books.

[Charlie Webster]

For the first time they would get to be with each other and see the real person behind the profile picture, Jen Hatmaker offered up her farmhouse in Austin, Texas, for a celebration of the book's release.

[Jen Hatmaker]

It was such an extraordinary experience communally that I got the harebrained idea to invite them all to my house, all 500 of them. Like, would anybody want to come to my house and have a party together? And it was pandemonium, as you might imagine. Like, 350 of them came. They flew in from all over the United States, and we had a party in my backyard. And it was just a really special. Like, that'll be a real special season for me, probably forever.

[Erin]

That was the first time I'd ever traveled by myself.

[Charlie Webster]

For Erin, a midwife from Minnesota, for the love ignited something in her that she'd never felt before.

[Erin]

I went and stayed in a hotel.

[Lacey]

With people I'd never met before, and.

[Erin]

My husband's like, this is a little bit crazy. I'm okay with it, but this is definitely not you at all. So I'm sharing a bed with somebody.

[Lacey]

I've never met before.

[Erin]

It was.

[Anneliese]

It was kind of wild.

[Erin]

It was like seeing family that you hadn't seen in a really long time. Even though we never met, like, we felt like we knew each other because we'd spent the last nine months talking almost every day.

[Charlie Webster]

Amongst the hugging and screaming, the free desserts and taco trucks, there was one person everyone was drawn to. The unicorn of the group. Candace.

[Kimberly]

I met Candace there. She's very personable, hilarious, Just kind of like a people magnet.

[Erin]

She was like the sun. Everybody just was drawn to her. She brought this unicorn head that she would wear, so that became the joke. And then it was, she's a one of a kind. She's a unicorn. It started with the mask that she wore because it was so ridiculous. Like, it came out of nowhere.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace was a unicorn in more ways than one. She turned up to the party wearing a unicorn mask, and not the kind of cardboard one you'd make at school. It was a full rubber head, you know, that covers your entire face and neck that you might wear to a Halloween party. It had big blue eyes, huge teeth, and a gigantic horn on top. The other night, I told you that.

[Lacey]

I bought something in the middle of.

[Patricia]

The night that was freezing.

[Anneliese]

Ridiculous. And it came in the mail. And I love is the unicorn head. Those of you who did not believe me, the proof is in the horn.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Candace unpacking her newly arrived unicorn mask in a video she posted on Facebook.

[Anneliese]

Go get yourself a unicorn head.

[Charlie Webster]

Brandy remembers the unicorn head, too.

[Brandy]

There was a Starbucks drink that came out called the Unicorn. And Candace, she filmed herself dressed as a unicorn going through the Starbucks drive through and ordering a unicorn unicorn drink. And it was like a hidden camera and the barista was like cracking up laughing and it like blew up. It was shared a gajillion times and I could not stop laughing. It was so funny. This girl is so funny. I love her.

[Anneliese]

She was this kind of bright, shiny person that everyone knew these funny little things about her. So she, she just was unicorn Candace. That's who she was.

[Charlie Webster]

After a weekend of giggles, heartfelt conversations and sightseeing around Austin, for the Love hit the shelves and successfully made the New York Times bestsellers list. But that was not the end of the for the love group, it had become something so much more than a book group. The regular posting continued and Candice was front and center.

[Anneliese]

She was almost an oversharer. There were times she talked about like her intimate things with her husband.

[Erin]

She just would say, like, make sure you keep things spicy in your marriage and stuff. I remember she posted a picture of like a bow outfit to buy so that you could be unwrapped for Christmas. She's like, here, here's the link to buy this bow. Your husband will love it. We all thought it was kind of funny.

[Anneliese]

There was a whipped cream chocolate encounter with her husband that we heard all about. I felt like I knew her itinerary for the night sometimes with her husband because we would know beforehand that she had gone to the store and gotten the whipped cream and the chocolate and then afterward here that there was a stain on something or she had these kind of wild misadventures that she told us a lot of details about.

[Charlie Webster]

Candice was known as the fun loving unicorn of the group. But late in 2016, there was an unexpected turn in Candice's life. The tone of her post shifted. She turned to the group for advice about something she discovered on her husband Patrick's phone.

[Anneliese]

She was having some trouble with her husband.

[Candace Rivera]

Okay, ladies, I know this is a safe place and I'm gonna bare my soul a little bit. The last two days I have literally been sick to my stomach and lightheaded. I was going through his work phone. I never do that.

[Charlie Webster]

Haven't we all done something like that at some point? The temptation of seeing your partner's phone calling you to look at it and you just can't help yourself. You hope you won't find something, but deep down you're pretty sure you will. What is it that people say if you go looking for something, you will find it.

[Candace Rivera]

I sent him a dirty picture and told him to hurry home so we could have crazy sex. And I wanted to make sure that picture is deleted so that no one else saw that. But then I found this random text log. There's no name attached to it, and it suspiciously just started the day before.

[Charlie Webster]

This is what Candace was posting to the for the Love group. Alongside it was a picture of a phone with the messages coming from a number with a Salt Lake City area code, but that wasn't saved in the contacts. It said, I made it to work safely. Baby, baby, I love you and I miss you already. The response? Love you too. Annaliese was watching it all unfold.

[Anneliese]

I just got the feeling that he was just kind of slimy, kind of skeezy, that he had this affair. She was the mom who was working so hard taking care of the kids, and he was, you know, just taking care of himself.

[Candace Rivera]

We've been married for 11 years. Maybe if I didn't feel so fragile, I wouldn't be so insecure about this text, but I just don't know what to think. Can I please have a sounding board here and some advice and a whole lot of prayer.

[Charlie Webster]

The for the Love Women rallied around Candace with hundreds of comments. Here's the thing. It's not you. You can't blame yourself. You don't need to convince us you are a good wife or person. You shouldn't have to do that with him either. I am sick for you. Breathe in, breathe out. One minute at a time. You are so loved. You have a tribe here to help you. We aren't going anywhere. It became apparent that things weren't as they first seemed for Candice at home. Life was getting harder, especially when she took a job as a nurse practitioner working nights. And then there was another big blow to the marriage. But this time it was Candice's fault.

[Erin]

She got into a really big fight with Patrick. She used his investments to pay off her nurse practitioner school.

[Charlie Webster]

Candice told the group that she took money out of her husband Patrick's 401k, which is a private investment account in the US for retirement, like a private pension.

[Candace Rivera]

I withdrew a large sum of money from his 401k. I did it to pay for a large school bill that I know will eat a up monthly. So I just wanted to get rid of it. This isn't the first time I've made a dumb money mistake by not paying attention to something.

[Charlie Webster]

Candice handled the family's finances, and she was far from Perfect at it. But this was much bigger than any of the mistakes she'd made before.

[Candace Rivera]

I realized I basically took all of his money that could have been earning a large interest.

[Charlie Webster]

She kept posting in the for the love group, reaching out for support and reassurance from her friends as her marriage was starting to break down over this 401k money mistake.

[Candace Rivera]

He is saying that I took his money without his permission and that is stealing. I think he just feels like he's out a ton of money when really it paid our my school debt.

[Anneliese]

It made sense like, yes, you're gonna.

[Erin]

Make more money if you pay this off now.

[Charlie Webster]

That was not how Patrick saw it. Their marriage was falling apart.

[Candace Rivera]

Last night was hard. We slept in separate bedrooms. No words all evening.

[Erin]

She talked a lot about how Patrick was this terrible person.

[Anneliese]

My impression of him was that he was kind of emotionally abusive.

[Kimberly]

And she told me about how she was afraid to leave her kids with Patrick.

[Charlie Webster]

Candice felt like she couldn't stay in the house any longer. She turned to the for the love group for help. Erin answered the call providing a safe space 18 hours drive away in Minnesota.

[Erin]

She came up here because she was running from Patrick so she wanted a safe place to stay and he didn't know she knew anybody in Minnesota. So she came here.

[Candace Rivera]

I'm so thankful for a place to drive to and take the kids for fun. They will never know we were fleeing their dad.

[Charlie Webster]

But Candace couldn't stay with Erin forever. Eventually she had to return home to Utah. When she got there, Patrick was waiting.

[Candace Rivera]

He said he wanted a divorce because he felt betrayed and like I stole something from him. I don't even know what to say. Tribe I am just at a loss for words. I'm so hurt and broken and I love him and don't want a divorce.

[Erin]

I never met Patrick in person but I just knew what she told us of him.

[Charlie Webster]

The Father Love book group only knew Candace's husband Patrick from what she told them about him. They all had a strong picture of what he was like even though they'd never met him. The ladies in the book group were a safe place for her online. But Candace needed a community a little closer to home, especially with two boys under 10. Her youngest was only three. She found out about a group called MOPS.

[Lacey]

MOPS is a non denominational Christian program for mothers of preschoolers. It's a group of women who come together who have children 5 and younger. And it's primarily meant to help women who have babies because everybody knows that those first couple years of babies is really tough.

[Charlie Webster]

The storyline about her husband Patrick made its way to MOPS too.

[Lacey]

Patrick was the jerk that was Candace's husband. I know nothing about Patrick because he was the jerk.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Lacey. Lacey joined MOPS after she gave birth to her first child, and she met Candace there.

[Lacey]

I met Candace. At mops, you drop off your kids and get to visit and meet with other moms in the same life as you. And you could talk all things breastfeeding or formula or, you know, who's your doctor and just kind of get a reprieve from being a mom. It was everything I needed. I really struggled with postpartum. My first kid. I had my first when I was 29, which is old for Utah. Old for Utah. And so I really needed something. I had worked up until I had my first baby. And so getting me out of the house was really important at the time.

[Charlie Webster]

When Lacey got to mops, Candace had already worked her way up to the leadership team.

[Lacey]

She had it all. You know, people liked her. The church loved her. She always had her hand in everything. So, like, why wouldn't you want to be that, Especially as a new mom? It was everything I wanted to be. Yeah, glamorous, I guess, is what you could say. She has two boys. That was the whole basis of MOPS was you're there with your children. And Candace was known for this devastating story that she had her oldest son and then had a pregnancy. And October is infancy Loss Awareness Month. And so every October, our MOPS groups would do a meeting specifically for that to help the other moms in the group grieve for their miscarried babies. And so she would talk about her story, and she would bring in the picture that she had made with her angel twin girls in the picture with her family picture. So her life in MOPS was, I had twin baby girls, but that's why I have boys now, because my girls are in heaven.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace had a tattoo on her fingers. Two dots and two arrows. She said her boys were the arrows pointing to the dots that represent her girls in heaven. Candice was very open about her experience. She spoke about it every October for Infancy Loss Awareness Month.

[Lacey]

I just remember the shine that she had on stage. Just confidence, Just more confidence than I'd ever seen anybody in my life have, but not in a way that was scary or I just was like, I want to know her. Like, who's that? I want to get to know who she is. She was on the PTA at the time, the parent Teacher association with her school. She was very much involved in her kids lives. She would always tell me she was doing soccer, carpool, she was always at the soccer field. She didn't work at the time because we were all stay at home moms and that's why we were at moms.

[Danielle]

She said she worked as a nurse at a hospital.

[Charlie Webster]

This is Danielle. She had joined MOPS to find community after moving to Utah for her husband's job. As far as Danielle knew, Candace wasn't a stay at home mom. She was actually a nurse.

[Danielle]

We were having a bunco night. Candace said that she couldn't come to it because she'd be working because she worked a night shift at the hospital as a nurse. And she showed up to the event towards the end of it. She'd missed most of it, but we're about wrapping it up. And she shows up and scrubs and talks about like, oh, I'm so glad.

[Charlie Webster]

We got, you know, you guys could.

[Danielle]

All get together and we do this for community and then goes into talking about how she saved somebody's life. You know, like this person came into the ER and I was there to like, you know, just basically this like holding their test to stop the bleeding or I'm like doing the contractions while we're bringing him back to whatever. It was like just on and on about like I saved a life and showed up in the scrubs to do it.

[Charlie Webster]

When Danielle joined mops, she didn't know anyone in town, but she quickly made friends with Lacey and Candace.

[Danielle]

We all really clicked from the start. Like we all just really got along and had fun together. So Candace would always host at her house. We'd have our leadership nights at her house and we'd do sleepovers.

[Lacey]

So you know, you've got like 12.

[Danielle]

Adult women having sleepovers at Candace's house. And we'd rent like big old projector in Candace's backyard and watch movies in the backyard.

[Charlie Webster]

Danielle, Candice and Lacey would soon become a foursome. Another woman, Patricia, joined MOPS after she also moved for her husband's job.

[Patricia]

I had no one when I moved to Salt Lake City. So I was starting at ground zero. And the process that I learned by this being my third and we usually moved every two years, was that I tended to find community with neighbors and I tended to find community by going to a MOPS program. Candice was very proactive about inviting everyone over to her house and having mimosas and inviting somebody there to do our nails and creating fun. She'd also crack jokes and sometimes they would kind of push the boundary or whatever. But that was also refreshing in an environment like that. One night we went to this piano bar and I mean, I don't think much of the time I wasn't laughing. I mean, we were. My face hurt, my sides hurt. We laughed so much. She's the life of a party. It didn't occur to me until we were driving home that no one else talked. There was six or so of us women. And generally speaking, if you get a group of women together, it's not one person talking with the rest of them captivated by the one. It's generally tons of talking by tons of different people. But this stood out to me the whole time. Candace talked the whole time. She told this elaborate story about somebody had stolen all of her pictures and created this dating profile and was catfishing this very attractive fireman who decided that he was dating her and she had to prove to the dating company that those were actually her pictures and she had gotten the login and she just kept making jokes and comments about how slutty this other version of herself was. And I remember thinking, part of the reason why this is such a one sided experience is nobody else has a story that this, for lack of better word, crazy and out there. And I mean, there was no me too moment there. No one could go, oh, yeah, that happened to me the other day too.

[Charlie Webster]

As their friendship became stronger, Patricia, Danielle and Lacey joined Candace on the MOPS leadership team. Lacie planned all sorts of events with Candace for the MOPS women.

[Lacey]

I would say the thing with Candace is if she had an idea, we made it happen. One year she wanted to do a circuit themed kickoff for mops. We had like big events to help women get excited and she would go all out. It was always huge. Everything she planned was huge. Every meeting was huge. She just was very. She was very driven. I mean, she'd show up for MOPS meetings and you have to say, like, our meetings were in the morning, so. And it's with new moms, so all of us were in sweats and no makeup. Right? Like, that was kind of the thing is like, like come as you are kind of thing. But she would show up in heels and jeans and rings and bracelets and her hair was always down and it was, she was always flipping it and just. She always looked like she was ready to go downtown, which was kind of like, for me was hopeful, like, oh, once I get my crap together, once I get out of this fog, I can, I can be like that.

[Charlie Webster]

But behind the glamorous Exterior, Candice was also struggling with her own problems. She opened up to Patricia and the rest of her mops foursome about her impending divorce.

[Patricia]

She was in the process of getting a divorce from her husband. She was very preoccupied by what her next sexual relationship would look like. I just kept saying, I, I think if you find the right person, like that stuff falls into place. And it was the event of her marriage falling apart that really inserted her into my life. And, you know, I offered to just sort of hear her story and see if there was anything that I could point out to her that she wasn't seeing about the situation. And that's when she, she told me that he was really upset because she had stolen his 401k money to pay off her student debt. I kept asking, I don't understand, I don't understand the language within a marriage relationship about saying you stole. I thought it was your collective money. And what she had told me is that the financial advisor that they had had advised her to liquidate this and pay off the student debt that she had acquired getting her physician's assistance degree. Which all made sense when she posed it like that.

[Charlie Webster]

However much Candace tried to explain taking her husband's 401k, it didn't matter. Her husband was firm. The divorce was officially going through. She confided in the for the love group. A reminder. These are Candace's actual posts read by Emmy Jury Tribe.

[Candace Rivera]

My heart is heavy. I'm getting divorced. Struggling. So many emotions. I love you all. I hate to be such a mess lately. I feel like I keep saying, how could it get any worse? And God's like, hold my beer. Lol. I love him but he is getting a little cray and we may need to have a chit chat.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace was heartbroken after living her life one way for over 12 years, suddenly she'd have to adjust to being a single mom and sharing custody of her kids.

[Candace Rivera]

I found out I would not get the kids for Thanksgiving. My heart hurt and I was worried how hard it would be to not have the boys the entire Thanksgiving break.

[Charlie Webster]

But she now had some time and space to focus on herself and the things she loved to do. Candice had trained and worked as a nurse, and just as her life was getting flipped around by the divorce, an opportunity came up to give back in a huge way.

[Candace Rivera]

A dear friend's brother asked if any medical professionals would be available to help with their international adoption. They are adopting two boys with severe medical deficits from Ukraine and Russia.

[Charlie Webster]

For Lacy, it was confusing. She'd Never heard that Candace was a nurse.

[Lacey]

I remember there was one moment where I had overheard she was a nurse, and I thought it was strange. I overheard her talking about being a nurse and needing to go to the Ukraine to help children. And I thought it was weird because I thought, I've known you for five years, and you've never said you're a nurse. But then I thought, but that makes sense. She's so helpful. She would make a good nurse because, you know, like, you know, when you meet somebody who is a nurse, like, they kind of give off, like, that aura of nurse. So I didn't question it because I thought, well, that's weird. She didn't say anything about being a nurse, but that makes sense.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace was going to use her medical expertise and experience as a nurse to go over to Ukraine and escort two medically needy orphans on a plane to America. With her adoptive parents, Candace would oversee and administer any medical needs the boys had. It gave purpose to her first family Thanksgiving without her own two boys. Danielle encouraged her to go.

[Danielle]

It was over Thanksgiving, and she didn't have the boys that holiday. So it was like her first Thanksgiving without her boys. And she's like, they asked me to go. Maybe I should. And I. I was real, like, supportive. I was like, you don't have your kids. Like, why not? She was a nurse. I'm like, who better to go? Like, yeah, you should totally go help them.

[Charlie Webster]

Danielle had her own experience with adopting three children. Kanis FaceTimed her from Ukraine.

[Danielle]

One of the boys just wouldn't stop crying. And, you know, because I'm an adoptive mom, I was like, of course he's gonna keep crying.

[Candace Rivera]

Like, you.

[Danielle]

You have this idea of, like, I've given this child a baths and warm clothes and a comfortable bed. That doesn't matter. That child just wants what they know, you know? And so I would explain that to her. I was like. He just like. Like everything is uncomfortable to him. And so I was. I'd stay on the phone with her for hours, like, just listening and telling her, like, it's very normal.

[Lacey]

It's okay.

[Charlie Webster]

Both boys were very unwell, and it was a struggle to get clearance for them to travel.

[Danielle]

I know they had to work really hard to get both those boys clearance to come. And they were delayed, delayed, delayed. The Ukrainian government and officials who. Who give you the clearance to go didn't want to clear these boys for going. And she fought for them. She's, like, not going to back down, and she's going to push her way to get the answer she wants. They only got that clearance because Candace was there and wouldn't back down.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace was fighting to get two boys out of Ukraine, but back home in Utah, there was a hearing to decide the custody arrangements for her own two. Two boys. Candice thought she'd be back in time, but she was so delayed in Ukraine that she missed the court date. So she lost everything. She lost custody of her two boys and was ordered to leave the marital home she'd been living in since her husband filed for divorce.

[Danielle]

So she was awarded the house at the beginning of the divorce because Patrick had chosen to move out. And the judge said during court, I am not going to award you a house that you chose to move out of. And that that's very common here in Utah. So she had the house, but then she missed court and he got everything.

[Candace Rivera]

He took full custody and possession of the home. The order isn't signed yet. And of course we have immediately put in a motion to set aside due to the whole was in Ukraine and couldn't get home.

[Charlie Webster]

Once she was back from Ukraine, Candice posted a long update to the for the Love group with a play by play of all that had happened since she left. Anneliese from the book group was conflicted about the whole thing.

[Anneliese]

I admired her for the work that she was doing and it was really cool to know someone who is engaging in such meaningful work. But it was also confusing that it contradicted some of the other things she said were happening in her life. Why is she flying across the world to take care of these other children when her own children are at risk of being with their dad at all times and he's not a good person? I have a smaller group that I text with daily. We started texting about how we had just kind of questions or concerns or some skepticism. Well, what does she do in the medical field anyway? We didn't actually know. Maybe she alluded she was a nurse. Did we know she was actually a nurse? And there was just some questions about what she was doing, how she was related to this. I don't know. It seemed fantastical. It seemed almost. I think at one point we said it seemed like a soap opera.

[Charlie Webster]

Candace might have been ordered to leave her marital home, but she wasn't going to go quietly. She stayed in the house while she tried to fight the court's decision. Any leftover energy she had was spent on helping out with mops, especially on the leadership team with Lacey.

[Lacey]

We had a leadership meeting one evening and I couldn't make it. And So I went over to her house the next day and said, hey, just let me know, like, what I need to get caught up on, what I need to do for this week to get ready for our next meeting and all these things. And she said, well, our next meeting we're gonna talk about how powerful US Leadership are, like, how powerful women are and how strong we are. And so she said, last night we took pictures of like, portrait pictures of all the leadership team. I was like, okay, that sounds kind of cool. She's like, you should just come get him. And I'm like, okay, that sounds good. So, like, it was weird because we went up to her bedroom, which I thought, this is kind of weird. We're going to your bedroom. And she took me into her room and said, let's take some pictures. So we like, took a couple pictures of headshots or whatever. And she said, well, you know what? We should take boudoir photos. Your husband really liked to have boudoir photos. I thought, why not? You know, whatever. And so I was expecting, like, I had a tank top on. And so I was just like, okay, I'll just like wear what I'm wearing and just kind of make it work. It got strange when she went to her closet that was there, that had a line of clothing that was hanging up, which I didn't think anything of because I thought, oh, it's Candace. Of course. Candace has clothes and jewelry, like, hanging up next to her bed. Like, she's glamorous. That's what she is.

[Charlie Webster]

So it was positioned near her bed. It wasn't necessarily like you'd walk in her bedroom. Oh, and she's got stuff in a closet.

[Lacey]

It was positioned like next, like in the corner of the room. Yeah.

[Charlie Webster]

On display.

[Lacey]

Yeah, kind of. She had like a big wall of like all the jewelry and then like a little like almost like a clothesline of just like clothes hanging up.

[Charlie Webster]

Yeah. As if you were doing a fashion shoot and those had been pulled out.

[Lacey]

Totally. Uh huh. And so she said, well, here, why don't you wear this? And she pulls an outfit out and it was just like a one little dress thing. And I remember thinking, like, we're not the same size, but okay, you're tall.

[Charlie Webster]

You're about my height.

[Lacey]

Tall and slim. Yeah.

[Charlie Webster]

And she's shorter.

[Lacey]

A little bit shorter.

[Charlie Webster]

Yeah. More curvy woman.

[Lacey]

Yeah. I just thought, like, I trusted her. I didn't think anything of it. So I went into the other room, I put on the outfit and did like, necklaces and things. And so we took a couple shots of just, like, positioned around her bed and on the couch. And then it was, well, you should get naked. You should take a picture. That was naked.

[Charlie Webster]

Here's what's coming up this season on Unicorn Girl.

[Lacey]

I walked in and I saw, like, these big AK47s just chilling outside their case. I helped take tally of all of ammunition.

[Anneliese]

It was, we have an armory now.

[Lacey]

I see Candace's door open, and she has a ton of cash. 300 grand as far as my eyes could see. She hands me the phone really quick, and she's like, pretend you're the U.S. consulate.

[Candace Rivera]

I pull out a tourniquet and I.

[Lacey]

Go, oh, my gosh.

[Patricia]

I remember her showing me scars on.

[Charlie Webster]

Her body from where she was in a Turkish prison.

[Danielle]

She kept going like, we can sell your used underwear to make money.

[Lacey]

They were told to leave their home and run from the Taliban. They were risking their lives to run. Candace was on the phone with someone.

[Danielle]

She heard gunshots and was like, they're getting closer.

[Candace Rivera]

They're getting closer.

[Charlie Webster]

And the phone hung up. She will ravel in this.

[Anneliese]

There's always an undertone about her having a documentary made about her. She always wanted, like, some kind of documentary made.

[Charlie Webster]

Patrick, people have mentioned you, what they thought about you and what they were told about you.

[Anneliese]

There's two sides to every story, right?

[Lacey]

And if you only listen to one.

[Anneliese]

Side only get one perspective, that's all you'll ever know.

[Charlie Webster]

This has been Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills and hosted and executive produced by me, Charlie, Charlie Webster. Unicorn Girl is produced by me, Charlie Webster and Jackson McLennan. Original score and theme music by Ryan Sorenson. Editing and sound design by Nico Polella, assistant producer of Fact Checking by Emmy Jory. Candice's social media posts are also read by Emmy Jory, mixed by Little Big Room. Additional production support by Fun Meter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.