Texted Lies, Whispered Truths: Jason Collier's Story by Terri Browning (great novels to read .TXT) 📗

closer to God, which was amazing. But on the other side of the fence, I see the struggles and the things she held over my head and the broken promises she made to me. That causes me to pause on what I would do. I love her, but we would have to seek professional counseling together and individually. And be in agreement that we would work on the hurts we cause each other.

LD: What is the positive you want to come out of this chaos and mess you have brought into your life and your children’s lives?

JC: I hope that if someone who is growing up, or someone in a strained relationship, looks at my situation as an example and learns from the mistakes I made, it can have a positive outcome. I want people to know there is still hope. They don’t have to do what I did to seek attention at home. All they have to do is communicate and seek out help—professionally, if possible. I hope my story can get out there so people can learn. Be encouraged by seeing what my kids are going through, and what I’m going through, not to make the same mistakes I did and see that it doesn’t have to be this way if they get help before it gets out of hand.

LD: You said in the book that you crave sexual attention. Do you consider yourself a sex addict?

JC: No, I don’t consider myself a sex addict because most of what I was craving was the companionship. I enjoyed being with someone in public, walking around with them, and the public displays of affection, holding hands, arms around each other, kissing.

Sex was a secondary benefit. My craving was just companionship. I have narcissistic tendencies, but I don’t see myself as a sex addict.

Terri Anne Browning (TAB): *At the last minute cutting into the Q&A* Hey, sorry to just crash your interview—Takes a sip of my iced decaf skinny vanilla latte. Hey, it’s like 9 p.m. in Virginia, people!—but I have a question…and just a warning, it may have a follow-up question…or two.

LD: Please do, TA!

TAB: So, Jason, there have been a few women who have stated that you are in a relationship with them and you have kids together. One said you were in Iraq, have been married for a year and have a child. The other said you have been together for three years with a child. However, Candie may or may not have mentioned that you had a vasectomy. Was she speaking the truth?

JC: Yes, she is right. I had a vasectomy in 2012 while still married to my first wife, M. We were done having children, and the doctor explained to us that it would be easier on me to have the procedure than it would be if M had her tubes tied.

TAB: I have a follow-up question. Did you wear protection when you had sex with any of those women?

JC: No…

TAB: Then I definitely have a follow-up question to my follow-up. Have you been tested for STIs and HIV since all of this blew up?

JC: Yes. The same week that everything went viral, I got tested for both, and everything came back negative.

LD: Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions, Jason. TA and I have appreciated you taking time from your already chaotic life to sit with us and tell us your story. We realize this must have been very difficult with everything still continuing to be unresolved, but we are thankful you allowed the two of us to tell your story.

Now turn the page to read the debunked lies Jason has been able to set straight for us.

Lonnie Debunks the Lies

One of the big things I saw come out of the Jason Collier dumpster fire was people coming out of the woodwork with some untruths to be part of this story.

Why?

To be included.

To get some of the attention the original poster was getting.

Only they know why they chimed in by posting untruths.

A lot of people were quick to believe what some of these women—and a few men—were posting. Below are a couple “lies” that were eventually debunked. (I’m only using initials of the posters so as to not give them more credit)

Facebook User: She posted on Facebook pretending to be Jason’s first wife, stating she was still married to him and wanting some answers.

This was someone just looking for attention—she was not Jason’s first wife.

Others came forward on social media, claiming to be married to Jason and the mother of his children, each of them stating that their children were toddler-aged. It may be true that they are, in fact, married to a Jason Collier and have children with him, but they are most definitely not married to this particular Jason Collier. And since he had a vasectomy in 2012, then had all the tests done to ensure he was no longer able to procreate, he couldn’t possibly be the father.

Yet Another Facebook User: She posted on Facebook that she had a friend who had been in a relationship with Jason since she was fourteen years old—FOURTEEN YEARS OLD!

I don’t care who you are and what you have done. That is a serious accusation and something that should never be said IF IT’S UNTRUE. The original poster allegedly posted later she did it to “prove that people will believe anything these days.” Still not cool. That post could have opened the door to a whole new set of issues.

In the weeks following Jason’s story, another Jason Collier was arrested. He is forty-four and also lives in Texas—Nacogdoches County, Texas, to be exact. After undercover authorities posed as a fourteen-year-old girl, and this particular Jason had been told straightaway of the girl’s age on several occasions over the course of their weeklong online friendship, he made plans to meet up with her and was promptly arrested for online solicitation of a minor.

I’m sure most of us played the game Telephone