Ahead of the 30th anniversary of Nicole Brown Simpson’s death, her family and friends are sharing stories about the woman behind the headlines in a Lifetime docuseries.
The life and murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, airing June 1 and 2, portrays OJ Simpson’s ex-wife as a woman born into an idyllic family and raised in a “bubble.” Nicole had just turned 18 when she moved into a friend’s Hollywood apartment and got a job as a hostess at the Daisy, a celebrity restaurant and nightclub. OJ, who was twelve years her senior and married, saw her there in June 1977 and pursued her.
Nicole’s sisters – Denise, Dominique and Tanya Brown – lend their voices and never-before-seen home videos to tell her story. Family friends say the NFL star wooed her with his lavish life, moved her to his Brentwood estate and molded her into a Hollywood trophy wife. They also say the abuse started immediately – and Nicole’s diaries, which she kept in a safe with photos of her bruises, help tell that story. After they divorced, Brown’s friends and family claim he stalked her and hid outside her home.
Nicole’s friends Kris Jenner, Faye Resnick, Robin Greer and Kato Kaelin are among the 50 participants. That includes former police officers who responded to Nicole’s 911 calls and detectives who investigated the fatal stabbing of Nicole and Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994.
Here’s what we learned from the first two episodes.
Nicole experienced violence during her first date with OJ Her roommate, David LeBon, recalled coming home from work and saying she met “a football player” who “kept coming in.” She agreed to a date with the Naked gun actor, initially unaware that he was married and expecting his third child. OJ picked up the teen in his Rolls-Royce. When Nicole came home that evening, the zipper on her jeans had been ripped off. She told LeBon that OJ had been “a little forceful.” LeBon wanted to confront him, but Nicole stopped him. It was too late, Dominique said. For Nicole it was ‘love at first sight’.
Nicole’s friend compared Rockingham to the Playboy mansion. Nicole’s friend D’Anne Purcilly said OJ tried to turn his new girlfriend into a starlet. Another friend, Robin Greer, said the party always took place at the couple’s estate — after OJ’s first wife, Marguerite, and his children moved out — and compared Rockingham to a “slightly cleaner version of the Playboy mansion,” with celebrities and beautiful women walking around. . Nicole was “the lady of the house” running the show, but let OJ be the show.
Denise witnessed the abuse and photographed Nicole’s bruises. OJ’s infidelity led to frequent outbursts. Denise recalled an incident before the couple got married when she was drunk and told OJ that he was taking her sister for granted. An enraged PB grabbed Nicole by the throat and pinned her against the wall, Denise said. Denise was unaware of any other abuse until OJ was arrested in 1989 for spousal abuse, to which he pleaded no contest. Nicole asked Denise to photograph her injuries, which included a split lip and a black eye. Denise didn’t know what happened to the photos until after Nicole’s death. They were found — along with her sister’s will, a diary documenting the abuse and letters OJ wrote apologizing for some of the violence — in a safe.
OJ proposed to Nicole after she caught him with another woman. Seven years after they started dating, Nicole left their house after seeing OJ with another woman. To win her back, OJ proposed the next day. “Everything [would] change” after they married in February 1985, Denise said, Nicole thought. ‘He becomes a new person. She wanted to believe it.”
Nicole said OJ wouldn’t allow her to give birth vaginally and breastfeed. Their daughter, Sydney, was born in October 1985. Denise said OJ was horrible to her sister during her pregnancy, calling her a “fat ass” and telling her she needed to go on a diet. He also made controlling decisions, including requiring Nicole to have a C-section and not to breastfeed. In 1988, Nicole gave birth to their second child, Justin, while OJ was having a rendezvous at their marital home, family friend Judie Manto said. In the wrongful death lawsuit filed against OJ by the Brown and Goldman families, he admitted to having a years-long affair with Tawny Kitaen.
OJ went on a homophobic tirade when Nicole let a gay man hold Justin. While on vacation over Christmas 1988, a fellow restaurant owner fell in love with the child and held him. When he gave the child back to Nicole, he kissed the baby on the head and “all hell broke loose,” according to Denise. In a video of OJ’s friend Al Cowlings discussing the incident during a deposition, he said Nicole replied to OJ, “Why are you worried about him being gay?” Your father is gay.’” (The PB: Made in America documentary insinuated that OJ’s father was gay and that they had a complicated relationship.) Denise said that OJ went “crazy” over Nicole. Nicole wrote in her diary that OJ had her “over the balcony” that night and that she was afraid he was going to kill her.
Nicole’s mother didn’t want her to leave OJ The Heisman winner was very close to Juditha and regularly called his mother-in-law to tell her his side of the story amid arguments with Nicole. When OJ was arrested for spousal abuse, Purcilly called Juditha and was surprised when she pointed a finger at Nicole. ‘Well, you know how she can have a sharp mouth,'” Purcilly recalled saying. “I think: Hey?” Manto recalled telling Juditha, who died in 2020, that Nicole should separate from OJ while she determined her next step. She said Juditha disagreed, saying that because OJ was away a lot, Nicole had to try to “avoid him and live her own life” while “keeping her family intact.”
Nicole left OJ in 1992 – experiencing ‘independence’ for the first time. Greer helped Nicole find a place to rent and told OJ she was leaving him. Nicole’s boyfriend Ron Hardy said that at age 32, Nicole experienced independence “for the first time in adult life.” She made new friends, drove around Brentwood in her Ferrari and went out. She also complained to Resnick that OJ was “stalking” her and hiding in her bushes. Kaelin, who lived in Nicole’s boarding house, was there after OJ broke the front doors off the hinges after seeing Nicole kissing her boyfriend Keith Zlomsowitch through her window. The children were at home and “terrified,” Purcilly said. A police officer said it was quite common to respond to calls from Nicole about PB from the rental property.
Nicole’s friends claim she was dating OJ’s boyfriend Marcus Allen. Resnick said Nicole was comforted by Allen, also an NFL star, during her divorce and things turned romantic. Greer said Nicole saw Allen as “the new and improved PB” but “didn’t want anyone to know they were pursuing this case.” Nicole wrote about Allen in her diary, saying that he made her feel special, but noting that she should have taken his engagement into account. In an archival interview, OJ said Nicole told him she had slept with Allen. In the footage of the statement, he talked about warning Allen to stay away from Nicole. Allen denied a sexual relationship with Nicole.
Nicole briefly got back together with OJ before splitting for good in May 1994. Nicole felt like OJ would never leave her alone, Denise said, so she tried their marriage one last time in late 1993. Resnick and Greer said Nicole again found him too controlling and declared the relationship officially over. She received the divorce settlement money and bought her Bundy Drive home in January 1994. Purcilly said OJ sent Nicole a letter from his lawyer saying he was going to report her to the tax authorities and that she was “angry that he and threaten the children. .” Nicole told Juditha that a set of keys to her house and the front gate were missing and she was concerned that OJ had taken them, according to former LAPD Detective Tom Lange.
OJ reportedly fumed over Nicole’s recital outfit. The Browns went to the Sydney dance recital and Denise recalled that it was the first time OJ had not been invited to sit with the family. He was not invited to Mezzaluna, where the Browns were dining, but drove past the restaurant. Nicole told Denise that he followed her “all the time.” Back in Rockingham, OJ complained to Kaelin about the miniskirt Nicole was wearing and found it inappropriate. He also said he was going to play hardball with her by reporting her to the tax authorities
Sometime around 10pm that evening, Nicole was nearly decapitated after being stabbed outside her new home. Goldman, the Mezzaluna waiter who delivered Juditha’s forgotten glasses, was also fatally stabbed. OJ was acquitted of double murder in 1995. In 1997, he was found liable for their deaths in a civil suit brought by the Brown and Goldman families.
For anyone affected by abuse and in need of support, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you are unable to speak safely, you can log on to thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.
The life and murder of Nicole Brown Simpson airs June 1 and June 2 on Lifetime.
