Kriti Mehrotra
With Lifetime’s ‘I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco’ pulling back the curtain on the ordeal of a young family woman whose entire world turned upside down in May 1992, we get a gripping biopic. The titular mother of two was shot in the face just outside her Long Island home by her husband’s teenage mistress, so the film chronicles her journey towards healing through her own perspective. However, despite the absence of confessional interviews, this Mary Jo Executive Produced original remains poignant thanks to the dramatic, in-depth recreations of all her experiences.
I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco Recounts Every Aspect of the Attack on the Survivor
Lifetime’s ‘I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco’ kicks off from the early days of the titular woman’s life as a New York native, and how she fell head over heels in love with Joey Buttafuoco in school. The high school sweethearts joyously tied the knot after a five-year courtship in 1977, following which they moved to Long Island, welcomed two loving kids, and eventually settled in Massapequa. That’s where they were able to establish a daily routine of sorts despite some personal troubles over the years, making them seem like an unwaveringly idyllic family from the outside.
However, everything changed on May 19, 1992, just as Mary Jo was finishing up her normal routine of waking up, sending the children to school, and doing small chores at home. That’s when a young woman rang the doorbell and introduced herself as 19-year-old Anne Marie, who wanted to inform her that Joey was having an affair with her 16-year-old sister. The family woman was shocked, so she asked the stranger to leave, only for the latter to then suddenly take out a gun, aim it right at her face, and pull the trigger once before fleeing.
Since Mary Jo was shot in broad daylight on the porch of her suburban home, it didn’t take long for her to be found, rushed to a nearby hospital, and taken into emergency surgery. The operation lasted 7 hours, yet doctors still could not remove the bullet that had broken her jaw, severed her carotid artery, and then lodged itself right between her brain and spinal column. There was worry she may not make it out alive, but not only did she have a remarkable recovery, but she also identified her shooter before learning the whole truth about the situation.
I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco Explores Her Struggles in the Aftermath of the Attack
While Mary Jo’s injuries reportedly left her deaf in one ear and partially paralyzed on the right side of her face, it was arguably her husband’s betrayal that emotionally hurt her the most. After all, the ensuing investigation into her case brought to light the fact that her assailant was actually Amy Fisher, a 17-year-old who had been having an affair with Joey since July 1991. According to records, the teenager had shown up at her boyfriend’s house to confront him about their relationship, but she gave a partially fabricated account upon seeing his wife.
As per Mary Jo’s statements over the years, she did not leave Joey even after he was imprisoned for a year on the charge of statutory rape of a minor because she was really struggling. “I wasn’t strong enough (to leave him and be alone),” she said in an interview. “I was physically sick, I was mentally sick… I had post-traumatic stress disorder. He was very good to me and very good to the kids, taking care of us. We had a close-knit family… We were together 20 years before all of this.” In fact, she claims that by the mid-1990s, she was depressed, suicidal, and dealing with addiction.
The media frenzy that came with Amy’s trial didn’t help Mary Jo either, especially as it paved the way for her family home to end up being a sort of tourist attraction in the years to follow. The shooter’s parole in 1999 after seven years in prison brought the case back into the limelight, which was also triggering for the family woman because she was trying to move on from the past. Things did improve a little for her after the Buttafuocos all relocated to Los Angeles, California, yet it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that she got back on her feet with the help of rehab as well as therapy.
I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco Concludes With How the Survivor Has Rebuilt Her Life
Although Mary Jo’s journey towards healing was relatively long, she now understands it was precisely what she needed because her trauma was physical, mental, and emotional. According to records, she ultimately filed for divorce from her high school sweetheart in 2003, following which she started afresh, gradually evolved into a motivational speaker, and even found love again. Sadly, her second marriage to Nevada native turned New York businessman Stuart Tendler did not pan out either, but all these experiences gave her a clear sense of how strong and resolute she can be.
Coming to her injuries, Mary Jo has since undergone several facial reconstructions as well as nerve restoration procedures to gain back the symmetry on her face. However, it wasn’t until the late 2010s that she got back her ability to smile. Since then, she has even had surgeries to help her hearing and prevent any infections, especially as the bullet still remains lodged at the base of her brain, right near the spinal column. Therefore, her partial facial paralysis and hearing loss remain too.
Read More: Amy Fisher: What Happened to Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s Shooter?
