Deb Proctor was at work when her phone rang from an unknown number â a call that would shatter everything she thought she knew about her husband.
An investigator delivered the devastating truth to the Oklahoma woman: The man she knew as Jeff Walton was actually Ronald Stan, a Canadian man who disappeared 37 years earlier and was presumed dead after leaving behind a wife and two children.
“After gathering my composure, I went to my immediate executive and explained this bizarre phone call,” Proctor told Fox News Digital. “My colleagues were very concerned that my life was in danger, that maybe Jeff was in witness protection, and I had just blown it to some stranger who was not real, a so-called investigator.”
Proctor is coming forward with her story in the ABC series “Betrayal: Secrets & Lies.” Inspired by the “Betrayal” podcast franchise, the series explores how people from across the country survive scandalous confessions, financial ruin and acts of violence, among other hardships.
“Deb Proctors story is an incredible exploration of what happens when the person closest to you is living a double life,” Andrea Gunning, host of the “Betrayal” podcast, told Fox News Digital. “What stayed with me the most while working on Debs story was not just the scale of Jeffs deception, but the deeply human process of Deb rebuilding her life after the truth was exposed.”
It was 1998 when Proctor, a 41-year-old divorcee and mother of two sons, was ready to meet someone new. She decided to join a dating site, where she came across Walton, an Ohio State graduate and former football player who traveled and played golf â a passion of hers. She was intrigued.
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After a year of talking, they decided to meet in person. When Walton stepped off the plane and saw Proctor, he asked, “You will marry me, wont you?”
Walton moved in a few months later. They married in 2000.
“I felt like this was a person that I loved very much,” Proctor said. “I could see us traveling together, creating a life together. I felt hopeful about the future.”
But a year into their marriage, Walton was struggling to find work. Thats when he told her for the first time that he was a Vietnam War veteran. According to the podcast, Walton claimed that at age 18, he served in the Special Forces when he was captured and held prisoner. For months, he was tortured before eventually escaping by following a stream.
“[As a nurse] I had some experience working with Vietnam vets ,” Proctor said. “It really tugged at my heart. He had also uprooted his life, given up his job as a project manager at a large industrial construction company, given up everything just to be with me. He had given up everything for love.”
Proctors seemingly happily ever after was disrupted. Walton, who was unemployed, suffered a heart attack requiring ongoing care. The couple struggled to cover his medical expenses. Proctor, who had worked at the VA years earlier, tried to convince her husband to seek help as the bills piled up. But he refused to get healthcare, insisting he was dishonorably discharged and wouldnt be listed.
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“I was dumbfounded,” Proctor admitted. “Thats the biggest moment when I thought, Somethings not right here. I couldnt put my finger on it. I just kept insisting on going to the VA so he could get healthcare. We were going to go broke. It was just a 30-minute drive to the nearest facility. But he looked at me strangely and said, Im not going. I was in Special Forces. Because of what I witnessed and what I reported, my actions were illegal and unethical. They wont have me listed anywhere.”
“I kept saying to him, Youve served your country. There are records somewhere,” Proctor c
