To the outside world, Chris Watts presented himself as the quintessential quiet suburban husband and devoted father. But behind that soft-spoken demeanor lay a disturbing double life—one filled with secret encounters, hostility toward his family, and a sudden, alarming capacity for darkness.
In a dramatic account detailing the months leading up to one of the most notorious crimes in recent American history, Amanda McMahon has come forward claiming she engaged in a secret affair with the convicted killer long before his household shattered.
Her recollections paint a troubling portrait of a man who could pivot from mundane, flirtatious bantering to unsettling aggression in the blink of an eye.
A Parking Lot Meeting and a Double Life
According to McMahon, the pair first crossed paths in 2017 after matching on the dating app Tinder. What began as digital small talk soon shifted to text messages, eventually leading to a casual first meeting in a Chick-fil-A parking lot.
From the very beginning, McMahon says, Watts was already minimizing the existence of his family. Rather than introducing Shanann as his wife, he dismissively referred to his pregnant partner merely as his “baby mama.”
Following that initial meeting, the encounter moved to McMahon’s home, where the two watched the psychological thriller Shutter Island and engaged in consensual intimacy. But it was during this encounter that McMahon says she caught her first glimpse of the volatile nature hidden beneath Watts’ calm exterior.
Without warning, she recalled, his mood flipped dramatically.
“In the snap of a finger, he went from normal to crazy,” McMahon revealed, describing how a sudden surge of physical aggressiveness left her terrified to speak up or push back.
“He Did Not Like That Poor Woman”
Beyond his sudden shifts in demeanor, McMahon recalled the deep-seated resentment Watts held toward his wife. Long before the public knew Shanann’s name, Watts was allegedly painting a venomous picture of her behind closed doors.
According to McMahon, Watts routinely hurled bitter insults at Shanann, labeling her a “f***ing psycho” and a “gold digger,” among other disparaging remarks.
“He did not like that poor woman,” McMahon reflected, pointing to the profound hostility that seemed to simmer just below the surface of his outward marital life.
To substantiate her claims, McMahon shared copies of text messages she says were exchanged between the two during their connection. On the surface, the messages appear almost trivial—a casual dance of digital banter:
-
McMahon: “Morning bud”
-
Watts: “What’s new pretty lady? When can we eat tacos together?”
-
McMahon: “Sounds like a plan”
-
Watts: “This could get out of hand. I like it.”
In hindsight, that final line—“This could get out of hand”—takes on a deeply chilling overtone given the horrific events that would unfold just months later.
Cutting Ties Before the Tragedy
McMahon says her involvement with Watts was brief. After meeting him on at least two more occasions, she made the decision to sever all ties in March 2018 by changing her phone number.
At the time, McMahon was navigating a difficult custody battle of her own and admitted she had been using the distraction to “numb” her personal grief. While she initially viewed Watts as just another ordinary guy, the unsettling red flags ultimately drove her to walk away months before his home became a crime scene.
Five months after McMahon cut contact, the horrifying truth about Chris Watts erupted into global news.
In August 2018, Watts strangled his pregnant wife, Shanann, inside their Frederick, Colorado home. He then smothered his two young daughters—four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste—before hauling their bodies to a remote oil site operated by his employer, hiding the young girls inside crude oil tanks and burying Shanann in a shallow grave nearby.
A Legacy of Lifelong Sentences
After initially playing the grieving husband on national television and pleading for his family’s safe return, Watts’ charade crumbled under interrogation. Following a failed polygraph test, he confessed to the killings.
In November 2018, to avoid the death penalty, Watts pleaded guilty to the murders. He was handed five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, ensuring he will spend the rest of his days behind bars at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin.
For those who crossed paths with Watts before the tragedy, the memories serve as a stark, lingering reminder of how easily deep darkness can hide behind a seemingly ordinary smile.