After the film Gaslit by My Husband began trending on Netflix, the real-life trauma suffered by Morgan Metzer once again drew attention.
Morgan, now 38, is currently living in Georgia with the twin children she shares with her high school sweetheart, Rodney Metzer, who is now languishing in jail for his cruelty behind closed doors.
“It was very surreal,” the victim said about watching her own nightmare unfold on Netflix.
The real-life trauma suffered by Morgan Metzer once again drew attention after the film Gaslit by My Husband began trending on Netflix
Image credits: IMDB/Netflix
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
“I had to watch it a few times [until I was] like, okay, I can focus now,” Morgan recently told the Daily Mail after the movie began trending on Netflix.
She said she was glad to see her story raise awareness about gaslighting, which involves psychologically manipulating someone by denying events, twisting facts, or blaming the victim.
Actress Jana Kramer, whose ex-husband was sentenced to prison for trying to take her life, played the role of Morgan in the film
Image credits: kramergirl
“I have no choice but to turn that pain into power, and my power is to raise awareness for narcissism and gaslighting for women all around,” she said.
Morgan’s real-life story started with what seemed like a picture-perfect romance. She met Rodney when she was just 14 and he was 17, and the two quickly became high school sweethearts.
“I had an amazing time growing up with Rod,” she told the outlet. “We were the epitome of a great relationship.”
Rodney and Morgan’s story started with what seemed like a picture-perfect romance
Image credits: Morgan Metzer
The victim was 21 when she married Rodney in 2009.
For years, their relationship appeared idyllic, but a series of events led to the gradual breakdown of their marriage.
Rodney lost his brother Kevin to leukemia shortly after tying the knot. They then lost their baby boy in 2011.
The little one, who was named after his uncle Kevin, was born with a heart defect and lost his life a few weeks after birth.
Image credits: Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office
The same year, Morgan got pregnant with their twins, a boy and a girl, and welcomed them in 2012.
But the mother-of-two believes her ex-husband was still grappling with the immense grief.
He lost several jobs at the time and made several bad investment decisions, zipping through all of their savings.
Morgan was brutally attacked by a masked intruder, who turned out to be Rodney trying to be her hero in a dangerous situation
Image credits: Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office
Meanwhile, Morgan launched an interior design company that saw great success over the years.
As Rodney struggled with his own issues, he began mistreating and gaslighting Morgan and blaming her for him losing his jobs. He also claimed all their marital problems were her fault.
On one occasion, he threw himself down a flight of stairs and told the children their mother had pushed him.
Image credits: Netflix
Shortly after Morgan filed for divorce in 2020, Rodney told her he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and hadn’t told anyone else. He even showed her notes, claiming they were from his doctor.
The woman let him stay in her house at the time, telling him: “You’re the father of my children … I’m here for you.”
Despite being willing to help, Morgan refused to take him back even after he begged her to give their marriage another chance.
It is believed Rodney once threw himself down the stairs and claimed his ex-wife pushed him
Image credits: kramergirl
Morgan eventually asked him to move out of her house and thought she was on the cusp of a new life.
She went to sleep on New Year’s Eve 2020, feeling happy about finally separating from her ab*sive husband and grateful for her successful business and her twins, aged 8 at the time.
At around 1 a.m., she woke up to find a masked intruder standing in her room with a firearm and manipulating his voice to sound like Batman.
“Every woman’s worse fear is to wake up to that,” she told Fox 5 Atlanta in 2021. “That voice still to this day just haunts me when I sleep.”
The intruder pinned her down, repeatedly struck her with his firearm, and tried to strangle her twice.
Image credits: Cherokee County Sheriff
After zip-tying her hands behind her back, he s*xually assaulted her, put a pillowcase over her head, and left her on the back deck of her house.
“On his way out he kept saying, ‘You messed up. You’re going to be fine but we can’t say that about your ex-husband. You’re really going to miss him,’” she told The Sun in 2024.
Within a split second, Morgan tried to use reverse psychology, saying she loved and adored her husband.
“Instantly, the whole mood of the room changed. I wasn’t going to d*e,” she recalled. “He then decided to pretend like he was stealing jewelry or stealing bags, stealing my phone or whatnot. He started acting like an actual burglar, not a m*rderer.”
Image credits: Netflix
The intruder threatened to harm her if she tried to escape and left her out in the cold. After about 40 minutes, Rodney returned to the house and found Morgan still on the deck with the pillowcase on her head.
Morgan had a feeling the masked intruder was none other than Rodney himself, and investigators found a mountain of evidence confirming he was the perpetrator.
The same zip ties used during the crime were found in his vehicle, and a copy of the book 7 Ways to Be Her Hero was found in his apartment.
Investigators found a mountain of evidence confirming that Rodney was the perpetrator
Image credits: Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office
His internet search history included queries like “cancer letter from hospital,” “how to get sympathy from your ex,” “how to change the sound of your voice,” and “how long to choke someone unconscious.”
Morgan’s story was turned into a movie in 2024 for the Lifetime network. It began streaming on Netflix in March and climbed to the No. 1 spot on the platform.
As Morgan’s story is once again gaining attention, she spoke about her life today and how she’s been focusing on her children. She believes she lost her high school sweetheart “to a mental disease” and has been open to her twins about their past.
Image credits: Netflix
“I love bringing up good memories and things like, ‘Oh, if your dad could see you right now, he’d be so happy,’ or ‘You look just like your dad,’” she told the Daily Mail in the interview published this week.
“The bad doesn’t take away the good, and I always want to remember the good.”
Morgan said she doesn’t know if Rodney is getting any mental health support in jail as he serves out his 70-year sentence, which includes 25 years in prison and the remaining 45 on probation.
Jana Kramer’s husband Michael Gambino abused the actress and was convicted of attempted m*rder
Image credits: California Department of Corrections
Actress Jana Kramer, who played the role of Morgan in Gaslit by My Husband, was also in an ab*sive marriage to her first husband, Michael Gambino.
Michael choked Jana into unconsciousness and left her bleeding outside of their home in 2005, after which he was convicted of attempted m*rder. He was sentenced to six years in prison and was released in 2010.
He took his own life in 2012.
Lee Gabiana, who directed Gaslit by My Husband, was also reportedly a victim of physical and mental ab*se as a child.
She said directing the movie felt like telling her own story.
“There have been many times where I thought I was going to lose my life and the fact that Morgan and Jana were able to take these situations and live on and tell their stories and become the best versions of what they dreamt to be, that was my story too,” she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or s**c*dal ideation, help is available: International Hotlines
“Sometimes the person doesn’t actually reveal themselves until you’ve been married for a while,” one commenter wrote online
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