Fatal Vows


Genre: Crime & Investigation


Duration: 88 x 60’


Year of Production: 2012 – 2019


Production Company: CMJ Productions II Inc


Commissioned By: ID. Investigation Discovery USA and Canada, Canal D Canada, Astral Canada, Investigation Quebec Canada, AETN UK and C&I UK


Definition: HD


Love may be blind and marriage bliss, but divorce is murder

Fatal Vows traces the deadly and tragic journeys of marriages that go from mindful bliss to deepest, darkest despair. The series uses personal interviews, family photos, expert commentary and dramatic re-enactments to understand how the relationships deteriorate so tragically. Featuring such notorious cases as one young woman’s attempt to break free of her husband’s oh-so-loving arms and a California beach bum whose love for the high life pushes his marriage to the brink.

Series 7

Series 7 of the shocking series returns to expose the dark underbelly of so-called happy marriages. With murderous results. This series reveals a polyamorous trio descending into jealousy and hate, a family man turns killer when his world falls apart around him, and a couple’s perfect life, which finally cracks after decades of turning a blind eye to each other’s failings. From unwanted sex to out-of-control gambling to greedy ex-wives, nothing is too outrageous in this latest series of Fatal Vows.

Series 6

This gripping series returns to probe the depths of human psychology when a relationship goes sour. As marriages fall apart, divorce can turn deadly, leading some people to shocking acts they never imagined they were capable of, including murder. The series’ experts, Dr. Brian Russell, attorney, forensic and clinical psychologist, and psychotherapist relationship expert Stacy Kaiser, return to provide useful insights.

Series 5

When you promised to love and cherish your partner till death do you part, murder was most definitively not part of the holy vows of matrimony, nor even on the horizon. But in season 5 of Fatal Vows, it most definitely is. The series uncovers what forces compel one partner to turn so violently against the love of their life? What are the diabolical reasons for committing the final, gruesome act of murder? From one woman’s desperate fight to keep her ex out of her life to a philandering husband’s double life, Fatal Vows reminds us again that… Love may be blind, and marriage bliss, but divorce is murder.

Series 4

We’ve all wanted to kill our spouses, so what leads one partner to commit that final, gruesome act? Fatal Vows answers that question in episodes that range from the story of young couple who are torn apart when they become parents too soon only to re-unite twenty years later to one where a terrible car alters one couple’s lives leaving police to ask was it an accident or was it murder? From one couple’s tragic attempts to stay true in the midst of mounting debt and attempted suicide to another couple’s tempestuous second honeymoon, Fatal Vows shows us that… Love may be blind, and marriage bliss, but divorce is murder.

Series 3

Each hour-long episode of Fatal Vows objectively profiles the details of a settled and closed murder case associated with a couple's divorce. Each episode is objectively told from different sides, using court documents, public archives, stock footage and interviews with lawyers and involved family members, as well as dramatic recreations based on public legal documents published about each case.

Series 2

From blushing brides turned cold-blooded killers to smitten grooms with shocking dark sides, Fatal Vows examines the criminal psychology behind deadly divorces. Guiding viewers through actual stories of love gone wrong are psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser and forensic/clinical psychologist Dr. Brian Russell, who examine each couple to better understand how the marriage turned from flawed to fatal. Stylized re-enactments are supported by interviews with family, friends, law enforcement, and potential victims of the crime, while Kaiser and Dr. Russell provide analysis on unions that break down until divorce and murder collide.

Series 1

When marriages fall apart, divorce can turn ugly… sometimes deadly. Divorce can bring out the worst in people, sometimes leading them to do terrible, shocking things they never imagined they were capable of doing – including murder. Divorce is a fascinating mystery. One can’t help but wonder what went wrong? Throughout each episode we’ll watch as our protagonists transition from being a happy couple ‘in love’, to a hostile husband and wife battling for the house, the kids, cold hard cash or alimony. As the relationship collapses, each episode uses interviews and re-enactments to show how divorce can overwhelm a family to the extent that they become entwined in a murder investigation. The question is who killed whom and how did divorce drive this person to commit grisly, cold-blooded murder?

Series 1: 10 x 60' 2012
Series 2: 13 x 60' 2013
Series 3: 13 x 60' 2014
Series 4: 13 x 60' 2015
Series 5: 13 x 60' 2016 
Series 6: 13 x 60' 2018 
Series 7: 13 x 60' 2019