Runaway bride: Decision 'life or death'

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 6/17/05

[Crackingham]

In her first interview since her famous cross-country flight in April, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks has called her decision to run away "the best mistake I ever made."

Wilbanks said that even though the search for her inconvenienced a lot of people and worried friends and family, it forced her to seek help, which she admitted she badly needed.

The entire interview will be aired by NBC next Tuesday at 8 p.m., with excerpts to be shown on the "Today" show Tuesday and Wednesday.

NBC released a partial transcript of the interview with Katie Couric today:

RE: Her feelings about the night she disappeared:

Wilbanks: That night, in that moment, it really became a life or death decision for me.... So I got on my bus. Were there other alternatives? Sure there were. But that's all I knew at that moment, Katie. And then I was very ashamed. And felt so guilty for the people that I have hurt. And how, you know, how this has affected many people's lives. But at the same time, it's the best mistake I ever made.... It allowed me to realize that I desperately needed help. And it humbled me enough to ask for that help. And that was what I did. And that's what I'm getting now.

Couric: When you were in Albuquerque, you called 911. And you relayed a very detailed story about what had happened to you. Why?

Wilbanks: ... when he [Wilbanks' stepfather] told me, you know, the capacity of this, I panicked even more. And... I just... made up a story...I was so scared. I didn't know what else to do, and I made that story up. I mean just right then and there. I hadn't planned the story, but... am I embarrassed about that? Absolutely.

[kharaku]

A heroic contest of lack-of-wits between interviewer and interviewee.

[anniegetyourgun]

I guess she wouldn't be the first to characterize marriage as a life and death decision.

[k2blader]

*LOL* No doubt.

[Rebelbase]

"the best mistake I ever made."

Becuase she's $500,000 richer?

[ncountylee]

Oh the Humanity - we must do all that we can to allow this "victim" feel good about herself. NOT

[Sacajaweau]

Does she mean the "most lucrative" mistake she ever made? And now, she won't have to shoplift either.

[over3Owithabrain]

Every time this bugeyed overinflated boobed selfish thoughtless bitch opens her mouth she makes her and her dimwit fiancee look even worse.

[Idisarthur]

"Wilbanks: How? Maybe I watched too many cops and robbers movies... it is scary that it came so easy for me. That scares me to death. And I'm trying to figure out why it was so easy for me. Because I did, I gave great detail. I don't know. Can you say I work well under pressure? I don't know."

You moron, stop using Hispanics as your escape.

This White Man would have handled Wilbanks rather handily.

It's KEnneth Allen Mc Duff.. a Texas Killer, Now Executed. A white killer.

[Mr. K]

"it's all about ME" mentality

[fatnotlazy]

"Wilbanks said that even though the search for her inconvenienced a lot of people and worried friends and family,..."

****

Inconvenienced? Worried? Lady, you still don't get it, do you?

Wonder how much of her $500,000 or whatever she's getting for her book (not to mention money for personal appearances) will she use to reimburse the law enforcement agencies for their "inconvenience" and pay back all the family, friends, neighbors and total strangers who "worried" about her over the days she was missing.

Selfish spoiled brat.

[Dallas59]

[wildwood]

hey, hon, i got an idee. let's plan a weddin' and make it a HUGE weddin', the HUGEST weddin' ever, with, like, i dunno, TWENTY EIGHT bridesmaids and groomsmen..we'll make it a GALA affair, make em all buy fancy dresses and outfits that are only appropo for, say, a HUGE southern weddin', and then, then we'll send out invitations and i'll go ta at LEAST nine showers and get ALL THIS STUFF and then, then...

oh, i got it! i'll run away, and you can tell everyone i've disappeared and everyone will think it's true because i'll, i'll, oh, i dunno, i'll cut my hair and leave it on the sidewalk so everone'll think flyin' dinosaurs took me and then, then....

idn't this the best idee ever? NO one would EVER think i'd run away from such a HUGE weddin' but that's what i'll do...i'll get those suckas out in hollywood to interview me and make a movie about mah LIFE and how HARD it was to deal with all the pressure of HUGE weddins' and then the teevee shows'll run all these specials on the pressures of HUGE weddins' and people will come n see mah life on teevee.

ain't that just the grandest plan you ever done heah? what choo think bout ma lil ole plan?

purty funny, ya ask me, but ah betcha ah can get mah name in all the papers.

[wildwood]

i prefer this bridal veil anyway.

[Cecily]

That absurd picture of her is pathetic. A 32-year old woman walking through the airport with a multi-colored beach towel on her head, clutching a teddy bear she informed the world she had named "Al" for Albuquerque.

She is truly insane.

[auntyfemenist]

I was just thinking the same thing. And this interview, what the he$$ is she babbling about? Someone needs to dart this olive oyl look alike and drag her off to a nice asylum somewhere so we never have to hear of her again.

And, didn't her fiance have a clue she was nuts? People like this show signs from the start. Enough of this idiot already.

[Max7]

Am I mistaken, or is the fiancee STILL the fiancee? This woman has some real serious problems and he's still going to MARRY her? Poor (future) kids. Mom's a nut and Dad knew it and married her anyway. He's weak. Nice. But weak.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Here in Atlanta the media is playing this as if the $500k was cash up front in the book deal. I don't know a lot about the publishing business but I have to believe it is a contingent contract (if she writes a book, and if it sells greater than x units in y period of time...then she gets $500k). If it's a pure advance and she fails to publish - the publishing firm gets the $ back. I think this is a very risky matter for a publisher to pay that much money for. The shelf life of interest in her may not be as long as it takes to write, print and distribute - and more importantly - a great deal of the relevant information is now in the public domain. About the only thing we do not know is how she felt about his element or that, or what her thought processes were like - and I think most of us not only do not care - we actively do not want to learn about the thoughts of such a misguided and perhaps psychiatrically disturbed person.

[GVnana]

LOL!

[cubram]

Did she get a breast augmentation? I haven't seen many pictures of her, but saw some film of her last night, and she seems to have experienced some Britneyesque "development"