“I grew up taking care of people. In essence, I became the mother at the age of 8. I grew up taking care of people. And in my family, love equates to money. So when I look back now at what I did, I can see that I was looking for love by giving money.”
She knows its crazy, she says.
“I knew this wasn’t the man for me. But you’re conditioned.”
In April 2010, that conditioning led to her biggest mistake.
Whittier said one of his mortgage deals had fallen through and that he was on the hook for $2.6 million.
“He cried, ‘Monica, Monica, please help me. I’m begging you.’ He literally cried.”
“’Monica,’” she recalls, “’could I put a mortgage on your place? I’m stuck. I could lose my business.’ ”
“And something inside you says, ‘Don’t do this.’ But I did it,” Draper says.
She refinanced her mortgage to give him $90,000 . He agreed to pay her back $500 a month, and he did for 18 months. Then he disappeared.