WHEN shadowy ‘terrorists’ threatened to kidnap and torture her children, Mary Turner Thomson’s life became “true psychological torture” – and she felt the only way out was to pay nearly £200,000 in ‘ransom’ payments.
The flogged her flat, car, life insurance policy and possessions over the threats to her ex-CIA agent . But then one phone call changed everything…
Mary Turner Thomson was married to bigamist conman and paedophile William Allen Jordan Credit: Supplied
Now 61, she is due to go on her first date in 20 years Credit: Supplied
A stranger on the other end of the phone told her: “I am the other Mrs Jordan.”
They met up later that day and in the 12 hours that followed, a .
Among the most twisted truths was that while Mary was pregnant with their first child, Jordan’s other wife and their family nanny were also expecting.
US-born Jordan, who Mary met on an online dating site in 2000, had justified his absences, including six months away while she was pregnant, by claiming to work for the CIA as “the man in the van IT nerd, not a spy”.
He had produced photos of “dead children in the streets” while away on assignment and even severely damaged his feet to bolster his claims as he spun other convincing lies.
The other Mrs Jordan, who had stuck by him in spite of “numerous affairs” including fathering two children with their nanny, was told he was a Ministry of Defence intelligence officer. She had been told Mary was a fellow agent, part of a cover story to protect them.
The deception came to an end in April 2006, in that illuminating phone call, and now Mary knows of at least 26 victims of Jordan’s romance and financial fraud.
He also fathered 14 children, although she speculates the real number is considerably higher.
Mary, from , also discovered husband of four years Jordan was a convicted paedophile. He was deported in 2009 after two-and-a-half years in jail for bigamy, fraud and failing to register his address as a sex offender.
Jordan has since been jailed in the US too and inspired a proposed ‘rape by fraud’ bill in New Jersey, that hoped to make it a crime for a person to engage in sexual activity with someone while representing as someone they are not.
The horrifying ordeal left Mary unwilling to date again for two decades.
But, after rebuilding her life, she is now due to go on her first date, which she credits to the ADHD Coaching Agency. They helped her heal from her trauma and learn about why she was susceptible to this type of abuse.
Mary’s story was told in the ITVX docuseries The Other Mrs Jordan: Catching The Ultimate Conman Credit: Circle Circle Films/ITV
Mary thought her children were at risk from terrorists because of her husband’s elaborate lie about working as a spy Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
Mary, now 61, tells The Sun: “In the weeks and months after I found out the truth, weirdly I was almost relieved to no longer be in that situation.
“I was relieved knowing that the shadowy people who were threatening to hurt my children in this psychological shark-infested frenzy, weren’t coming after us. It was just him.
“I gave him all the money I had – £198,000. I sold my flat, my car, everything I owned trying to make sure my children weren’t killed by insurgents – like the type of people who happily flew planes into the Twin Towers.
“When I found out my children weren’t in danger and it was just him, the money didn’t matter. What he did to me was utter psychological torture.
“It was like waking from a coma and realising you’re in love with Captain Jack Sparrow, a fantasy, not Johnny Depp. The person I thought I loved was a complete fabrication.”
Before her new search for love, Mary suffered “absolute terror” at the thought of romantic interests getting close to her, which she attributes to highly-manipulative Jordan.
She believes having ADHD made her more at risk of his tricks and that he rewired her nervous system through psychological tactics, which meant romance triggered her fight-or-flight response.
“I’m not an anxious person but I had this visceral fear of someone trying to kiss me or crossing the friendship boundary, it made it feel like I was coming face-to-face with a sabre-toothed tiger,” Mary said.
“Everything about the ADHD makeup makes you more vulnerable to toxic relationships and eight more times to be addicted to things. Gaslighting and lovebombing are more powerful to us too. It can be a minefield without coaching.”
Mary first received a message from Jordan on a dating site back in 2000. They clicked immediately, which she attributes to him “being a chameleon to match whatever personality he encountered”.
Early on, she nearly ended it multiple times due to him not showing up for dates. After, he would “apologise profusely”, spout an excuse and displayed “very contradictory behaviour” including proposing after two months.
Suspicious of his absences, Mary looked him up on Companies House – a registry of businesses – and found an address. At the location, she spotted children’s toys in the garden.
Mary’s husband abandoned her while she was pregnant, pretending to be in a warzone Credit: Supplied
Upon confronting him, Jordan said: “I’ve got something to tell you. You don’t have to believe any of it, but it will all be proved in time.”
Jordan claimed he was recruited by the CIA while at university, working for them as an IT specialist, and the house Mary had visited was a safe house dressed to look like a family home, part of his cover story.
By 2001, they were co-habiting and Mary was pregnant with their first child together, Eilidh, now 24. They later had son Zack, 21.
Jordan was often at their Edinburgh home during weekends and ‘worked away’ in Manchester or London during the week. In reality he was spending time with his other families.
“I’d later discover three of us were pregnant at the same time,” Mary says. “And the other Mrs Jordan and nanny were pregnant when he contacted me on the dating site.”
Jordan went to extreme lengths to make his lies convincing.
Once while ‘dispatched to a warzone’ where forces were bulldozing buildings with people still inside, he sent Mary photos of dead children and called her from a satellite phone, giving her updates apparently gleaned from the news.
When Jordan finally returned, when their daughter was three months old, his feet were “all mangled, cracked and black” from “escaping the destruction.”
“The other Mrs Jordan revealed he did that damage to himself by wearing shoes two sizes too small for weeks to create ‘evidence’ of where he had been,” Mary says.
By June 2005, Jordan claimed he was working for a major IT company and a prominent politician, often paid £10,000-per-month.
He then claimed a former undercover operative, working for the same firm, had looked up his address and was blackmailing him, threatening their family’s lives.
“He said they would kidnap our children, cut off parts of their body and send it to us in the post unless we came up with the money,” Mary says.
Jordan was imprisoned in the US for theft by deception and impersonating a government official Credit: Supplied
Mary is due to go on her first date in two decades, which she credits to ADHD Coaching Agency Credit: Supplied
“But they always wanted more – £10k, £5k, £500, £50, small amounts, big amounts, it went from one thing to another and ended up at £198,000. I sold everything.”
The lies began to unravel when Jordan was arrested in January 2006 for fraudulently spending £4,500 on a credit card belonging to a fiancee to pay off a hire-purchase car.
Police discovered the vehicle was registered to Mary. They also found a marriage certificate for his other wife, a taser in the vehicle and that he didn’t have a driving licence.
Officers contacted Mary and revealed he was also a convicted paedophile. As a sex offender, he should have registered his address and was to be tried in court.
Mary kicked Jordan out of the home but he insisted the sex offence charge was part of a CIA operation and provided someone ‘close to the case’ to ‘confirm it’ on the phone.
“He said his ‘victim’ in the crime had signed papers to get him into prison to uncover a paedophile ring, by getting information from another offender,” she recalled.
On the day of the court verdict, Mary was called by the other Mrs Jordan – who found her number in one of his notepads – and between them they worked out the truth.
Jordan denied everything and while trying to wheedle his way out, flipped between begging her not to leave him, indifference, charm, fury at her ‘disobeying him’, demanding a visit to ‘explain’ and asking for forgiveness.
He rarely accepted any blame. In his only real admission, Jordan apologised while drunk.
Jordan told Mary she deserved better and when asked why he did it, he replied: “Oh, Mar, I am just a b*****d, don’t you know that now?”
“That was the only time I saw a glimpse of the real him,” Mary says. “Everything else was a facade and all the money was gone.”
In December 2006, Jordan was jailed for five years for bigamy, failing to register his whereabouts as a sex offender, stun gun possession and other dishonesty offences. He served half his sentence before being deported back to the US.
Remarkably, Mary holds no anger or bitterness toward Jordan. She considers that pointless, as for a “psychopath” like him, he will never change or feel any form of remorse.
Since going public and writing her memoirs, The Bigamist and The Psychopath, Mary has discovered 26 other victims of Jordan.
One lady was left homeless while pregnant, another’s family was “ripped off”, a third has vowed to never date again and another thought he killed himself after he vanished.
Mary is aware of 14 children fathered by Jordan, but speculates “it’s more likely to be 40”. Most don’t have contact with him, some have been told he is dead.
Her story was turned into the 2023 docuseries The Other Mrs Jordan: Catching The Ultimate Conman.
Despite labelling herself “the poster girl for the risks of online dating”, Mary is back on the scene again, which she credits to the ADHD Coaching Agency.
Meanwhile Jordan was jailed for three years in 2015, for defrauding a New Jersey partner out of £3,700, theft by deception and impersonating a government official.
That case spurred a lawmaker to push for a specific offence of ‘sex or sex acts committed by fraud’ – when a person presents a false identity. It was not passed but was widely debated.
Reflecting on Jordan, Mary said: “I have learned about psychopaths and what he did wasn’t personal, he will do that to every friend, date, business contact, anyone in his life.
“It’s like a cat playing with mice. People expect me to be angry and bitter but I refuse to give that to him. I deserve to live the happiest life for me.”
Mary received help from the ADHD Coaching Agency, which matches children, teens and adults with accredited trained coaches trained in ADHD and other neurodivergent coaching, no diagnosis required. Visit: www.adhdcoachingagency.com
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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