Hallie Rubenhold

Crippen had only recently become a widower.

His wife, Charlotte, died under mysterious circumstances in Salt Lake City.

And they were quickly married.

They were not very well suited to one another.

Belle had a very vivacious personality.

I mean, she was a performer and she was much younger than him.

And he decided he didn't want any children.

And so he had her sterilized.

He had her ovaries removed when she was about 21.

And I mean, that's pretty shocking, because if you're a woman in the Victorian era, the one thing you are told you're supposed to be is a mother and a wife, and she couldn't be a mother.

So as a real testament to who she was, she could have really wilted under that major disappointment in her life.

And instead, she decided to reinvent herself as an opera singer.

and she took opera lessons and she fashioned herself into an opera singer.

And then when they moved to London, she decided to again reinvent herself as a musical performer because that part of her life didn't take off.

She didn't become as successful, famous as she wanted.

She then threw herself into charity work and became the treasurer of the Musical Ladies Guild and devoted her life

to fundraising for poor women and children in the music hall and raised an enormous amount of money and to the point where she was actually recognized by the music hall ladies guild and there was a big celebration held in her honor and there were photos of her in the newspaper what do you think she saw in crippin i think she saw

a man who had all the makings of what would be an ideal husband in the Victorian era.

So, you know, Crippen may not be too appealing to women today.

I mean, at least I hope he isn't appealing to women today.