Nichol Kessinger opened up about dating Chris Watts without realizing he was still married & talked about the moment he told her his family was ‘gone.’
When Nichol Kessinger met Chris Watts through work, she believed he was a single man. After he introduced himself to her in June — Nichol had worked in the environmental department with an Anadarko Petroleum contractor, while Chris was an operator — the two began seeing each other romantically by early July. “When he spoke to me, he was very softspoken. He appeared to be a good listener,” she told the Denver Post. At the time, Watts said that he was separated from his wife, Shannan, and that he was nearing the end of their divorce proceedings. “I believed him,” she admitted.
During their relationship that lasted a couple of months, Chris also made her believe that he was looking to find an apartment for himself and his girls, and Nichol urged that they take things slow as the two saw each other four of five times a week. However, on August 13, that all changed.
The two had been texting normally that day, before Chris texted her to say that his family was “gone.” He said that Shannan had taken their daughter to a playdate and had not returned. His tone was apparently “emotionless.” Nichol opted to not lose her composure over this news, especially since Chris was so calm about it. And then, reporters showed up to Chris’ house. “I was very confused why the media was at his house,” she admitted.
And after that, Nichol started learning the truth about Chris and his family, that he was still married and that people had been trying to call Shanann throughout the day. “When I read the news, I found out he was still married and his wife was 15 weeks pregnant,” Nichol said. “I thought, ‘If he was able to lie to me and hide something that big, what else was he lying about?’” At that point, Watts kept changing his tune about the situation with his wife, and kept dodging Nichol’s questions about what had happened with his family in a back-and-forth that seemed “off.” Eventually, Nichol texted him, asking him what he had done, and Chris said he’d never hurt his family. “It got to a point that he was telling me so many lies that I eventually told him that I did not want to speak to him again until his family was found,” she revealed.
After hearing about his confession, she was devastated. “I just felt so, so sad,” she said. “He’s a liar. He lied about everything.” “I don’t think there is a logical explanation for what he did,” she admitted. “It’s a senseless act, and it’s horrific.”