Nichol Kessinger Looked For Wedding Dresses, Was Planning Life With Chris Watts
Oct. 23 2020, Updated 8:13 p.m. ET
One week before Chris Watts murdered his wife, Shanann Watts, and his two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, Nichol Kessinger — the woman he was having an affair with — was thinking about their future together.
So much so, on August 4, 2018, Kessinger "searched Google for wedding dresses" for over two hours, documents obtained by OK! reveal. Additionally, Kessinger also "searched Google on topics related to 'marrying your mistress.'"
On August 19 — six days after Watts committed the heinous crime — Kessinger "searched the internet on topics related to Amber Frey (the mistress of Scott Peterson; he murdered his wife and unborn child). Her searches included Frey’s book deal, her net worth and ‘did people hate Amber Frey,'" the files read.
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Kessinger met Watts, 35, when they were both working for Anadarko Petroleum — he was an operator while she worked in the environmental department. The pair started seeing each other in early June 2018, despite him being married.
When the two first started hanging out, Watts "did not have a wedding ring on his finger" and "he never mentioned he was in a relationship and did not initially mention his children," the documents revealed.
Behind the scenes, Watts was having issues in his marriage, but he couldn’t help but profess his love for Kessinger and even wrote her some steamy love letters.
In one note obtained by OK!, which was for Kessinger’s birthday, he wrote, “Your energy is so insane. You heat me up, you make me melt and then you cool me down like rain. Big things will happen this year!”
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“Dreams will come true,” he added. “That smile (that stare), that laugh (that giggle) gets me every time!! You are truly an amazing, inspirational and electric woman that takes my breath away every time I see you! You are wonderful! Don’t EVER stop being you!!! Happy birthday!!!”
On August 13, 2018 — the day he killed his family — Watts “FaceTimed” with Kessinger and told her that he was “cleaning his home.” However, Kessinger didn’t think anything was strange since Watts “always” made sure things were tidy.
Three days later while talking to authorities, Kessinger was enraged that Watts had not told her the truth about his life. “It’s not fair. It wasn’t fair to me in the first place, it wasn’t fair to her in the first place, it wasn’t fair to any of us in the first place, you know,” Kessigner told authorities, referring to Watts’ lies.
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In November 2018, Kessinger told The Denver Post that she couldn’t believe she spent time with this monster. “If he was able to lie to me and hide something that big, what else was he lying about?” she said. “I don’t think there is a logical explanation for what he did. It’s a senseless act, and it’s horrific.”
Now, Kessinger is keeping a low profile and even applied to change her name in Jefferson County, Colo., after the explosive affair, the Daily Mail reported.