Love, Lies, and Murder: The True Story Behind Netflix’s Ed Gein Series and the Woman Who Almost Married a Monster
Netflix has done it again, darlings. The streaming behemoth’s latest offering, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, has landed with all the spine-tingling gravitas we’ve come to expect from the franchise—and yes, a fourth season is already confirmed. This time, the series plunges into the disturbing psyche of Ed Gein, portrayed with unsettling intensity by the impossibly chiseled Charlie Hunnam, whose transformation into the “Butcher of Plainfield” has left audiences simultaneously mesmerized and horrified.
The series doesn’t merely chronicle Gein’s grotesque crimes; it masterfully weaves together the threads of his actual atrocities with the Hollywood horror films they inspired. According to reports, Gein’s fascination with Nazi war crimes during World War II—particularly the notorious Ilse Koch, brought to life by the formidable Vicky Krieps—served as a catalyst for his descent into madness. It’s the kind of historical deep-dive that makes one’s skin crawl while simultaneously proving impossible to look away from.
But here’s where the narrative takes an unexpectedly intimate turn: the series explores Gein’s alleged relationship with Adeline Watkins, a fellow Plainfield resident played by rising star Suzanna Son. Their bond, forged through a shared morbid fascination with murder (yes, you read that correctly), forms one of the show’s most compelling throughlines. As their relationship intensifies and wedding plans materialize, Gein confesses his darkest secrets to Adeline—a revelation that shifts the entire dynamic of their connection.
Now, the question everyone’s asking: Did this relationship actually exist? The truth, mes amis, is frustratingly elusive. Gein himself never publicly acknowledged any romantic entanglement with Watkins, leaving historians and true-crime enthusiasts to piece together fragments of a story that may or may not be real.
What we do know is this: Adeline Watkins was indeed a real person who claimed to have shared two decades with the killer. In a 1957 interview with the Minneapolis Tribune, later syndicated by the Wisconsin State Journal, Watkins painted a portrait of domesticity that seems almost impossible to reconcile with Gein’s horrific crimes. She described him as “kind and sweet”—words that feel jarringly dissonant when applied to the “Plainfield Ghoul.” Her mother corroborated this sanitized version of events, noting his politeness and his insistence on having Adeline home by 10 p.m.
Perhaps most chillingly, Watkins revealed that Gein had proposed marriage—an offer she declined, fearing she couldn’t “live up to what he expected.” Their courtship allegedly included discussions about “every murder” they’d encountered in the news, casual conversations over beers at local taverns, though Gein apparently would have preferred milkshakes. It’s the kind of detail that makes the horror feel uncomfortably human.
The plot thickens, however. Just weeks after publication, Watkins publicly recanted, claiming the article was “blown up out of proportion” and contained “untrue statements.” She vehemently denied calling Gein “sweet” or claiming her mother had done so. Was she protecting herself from unwanted attention? Or was the original story fabricated? We may never know the complete truth, but Netflix has certainly given us plenty to obsess over.
