Stanford pupil who had lesbian affair together with her dean reveals dramatic tell-all

A former Stanford College pupil who uncovered her secret lesbian affair with a married dean greater than a decade in the past is bringing the scandal to the stage with a brand new play impressed by their relationship.

Olivia Swanson Haas, now 37, will debut “Mimi & Jo” in San Francisco on Sunday. The play revisits her 2012 relationship with then-Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims, who was 44 and served as dean of freshman and undergraduate advising.

Haas has described the the 90-minute manufacturing as each a love story and a cautionary story, in line with the Day by day Mail.

That includes two performers and unique music, the “queer coming-of-age” play follows two former lovers reconnecting a decade after their relationship ended whereas reflecting on the blurred traces between attachment, inventive partnership and abuse of energy.

The manufacturing builds on revelations Haas first shared in a 2024 essay referred to as “I Had an Affair With My School Dean,” which she says attracted greater than 100,000 readers.

Within the essay, Haas remembered beginning what she thought was a detailed friendship with the well-known college administrator — which later became a romantic relationship she stored secret from family and friends.

She wrote that the pair met in luxurious inns, close by motels and a mountain cabin south of campus, describing it as her first and solely same-sex relationship earlier than later figuring out herself as bisexual.

Haas stated conserving the connection secret was troublesome for her. She wrote that Lythcott-Haims checked Stanford’s insurance policies to verify they weren’t breaking college guidelines, however Haas nonetheless felt the connection put the dean’s profession in danger.

She additionally claimed Lythcott-Haims’ husband, Bay Space sculptor Dan Lythcott-Haims, knew in regards to the affair and at one level joked to his spouse: “Simply don’t purchase her a automotive,” in line with the Day by day Put up.

Haas stated she finally ended the connection after confessing it to her boyfriend and determined to stick with him. She stated her dad and mom have been “horrified” after studying what had occurred, and her mom anonymously reported the connection to Stanford, prompting conversations about manipulation and an abuse of energy.

The previous pupil additionally revealed that Lythcott-Haims contacted her through the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic to privately apologize, and the 2 finally resumed restricted contact, “though some days I’m undecided we must be.”

Lythcott-Haims left Stanford in 2012 and later turned a New York Occasions-bestselling writer centered on parenting and youth improvement. In 2022, she was elected to the Palo Alto Metropolis Council.

After Haas printed her essay final 12 months, then-Mayor Greer Stone and Councilwoman Vicki Veenker urged Lythcott-Haims to step away from committees tied to Stanford, colleges and youth psychological well being.

Whereas some former metropolis leaders defended her, retired decide and former councilwoman LaDoris Cordell referred to as the revelations “very troubling.”

“Whereas I used to be not ready of authority over her grades or educational standing on the college, being in a relationship with a pupil was inappropriate when it occurred 13 years in the past, and it might be inappropriate now,” stated Lythcott-Haims — whereas additionally apologizing to her household and former colleagues.

In Might, Lythcott-Haims stated she wouldn’t run for re-election and would give attention to her work as an writer and public speaker.

Haas has continued to develop “Mimi & Jo” since successful a Stanford alumni scriptwriting competitors based mostly on her story.

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