Kriti Mehrotra
With Lifetime’s ‘Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story’ delving into the tale of how the titular teen found herself in conversion therapy as a high school sophomore, we get an original unlike any other. That’s because it comprises everything from how she fell in love for the first time to her accidental coming out and from her being forced to enter into a reparative program to her ultimate escape. Therefore, of course, we can’t help but wonder more about the couple who actually provided this “therapy” to the youngster, Tiana and Johnny Simms, as well as her girlfriend, Frankie Jackson.
Tiana and Johnny Simms Are Based on a Real Couple
Alex was 15 when she accidentally came out as a lesbian to her parents after they found a hickey on her neck, only for her mother to immediately make it clear that her sexuality was not accepted. In fact, as devout Mormons, they kicked her out of their Southern California home before suddenly showing up at the doorstep of the neighbor’s place where she’d been residing two weeks later. They had a lot of her items packed in the car, so when she asked where they were going, they told her they were driving her to her grandparents’ in Utah, where she would stay for a few months.
Little did Alex know that instead of her grandparents’ place, her parents would drop her off at the home of Tiana and Johnny Siale (Simms in the show), a local couple who treated “troubled” kids. They were actually friends of her grandparents from Church, so the Coopers trusted them to such an extent that they even handed over their parental rights to them until further notice. What they didn’t realize at the time was that neither Tiana nor Johnny was a high school graduate, let alone a certified professional – they simply had a lot of contacts that enabled them to run their business.
During Alex’s time in the Siales-creates program, they had 2 more “troubled” teens under their wings, all the while raising their own 3 kids – 12-year-old Victor, 11-year-old Joseph, and 9-year-old Sione. However, what really troubled her was the punishments for either trying to escape or not abiding by the path they believed God had for her, because it comprised verbal, physical, and emotional abuse. There were days when she was even forced to face a blank wall while wearing a backpack full of heavy stones to “feel the burden of being gay,” and it could go up to 18 hours at a time.
When Alex eventually managed to escape in the middle of the night 8 months later, she did so with the help of a school friend, a teacher, and a lawyer who had agreed to take her case pro bono. It took months, but she earned the right to refuse conversion therapy despite what her parents or legal guardians wanted, following which she chose not to press charges against Tiana and Johnny. She simply wanted to move on, but the precedent her case set was enough to change things for the Siales – they not only lost their jobs and were forced to shut down their program, but they reportedly also had their kids taken away from them by child protective services. So, today, they seem to be leading a life well away from the spotlight.
Frankie Jackson is Indeed Based on the Girl Alex Cooper First Fell in Love With
It was in April of her sophomore year when Alex first came across Yvette (who inspired the character of Frankie) through friends, only to quickly learn she is 18, a high school graduate, and gay. They gradually got to know one another to such an extent that they developed a comfortable, natural chemistry despite the age gap, which had the 15-year-old questioning her sexuality too. It didn’t matter to her that Yvette split her time between California and her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, where she cared for her grandparents; all she was feeling was that she was falling in love. Thankfully, her feelings were reciprocated, but then, suddenly, they were found.
For 8 months, Alex and Yvette had nearly no contact because the former was in conversion therapy, and when she did manage to escape, things had understandably changed. The duo officially parted ways in a romantic sense not long after, but it appears as if they have actually kept in touch at a platonic level over the years because they do genuinely wish one another well. From what we can tell, the once free-spirited Yvette still resides in Arizona, where she put herself through college by channeling all her resourcefulness into her education and vision for a better future. According to the last records, she has found her calling in the medical industry as a doctor.
Read More: Trapped: The True Story of Alex Cooper, Explained
