- Cyberstalker Matthew Hardy is the focus of Netflix's "Can I Tell You a Secret?"
- His victims shared how his actions affected their lives in the two-part docuseries.
Netflix's "Can I Tell You a Secret?" examines the case of the UK's worst cyberstalker, who was convicted in 2022 for harassing and intimidating dozens of young women online.
From 2009 to 2021, Matthew Hardy harassed at least 62 women, according to The Guardian, which produced a podcast of the same name that the series is based on. He used fake profiles to send abusive messages to his victims and their families, as well as their work colleagues.
The Netflix docuseries features interviews with several of Hardy's victims, including Lia Hambly, Abby Furness, and Zoe Jade Hallam, who recall their harrowing experiences as a result of his cyberstalking.
After Matthew was convicted in January 2022, many of the women affected were able to move on with their lives. Here's where they are now.
Zoe Jade Hallam is a model and a mechanic
In 2018, Hardy started using Snapchat to harass Hallam. It quickly elevated to phone calls, before he pretended to be her partner's father online and started explicit conversations with teenage girls using the fake account.
She told The Guardian: "My boyfriend's dad was a doctor. It was really damaging to his professional reputation. And I felt to blame. It was me that drew Matthew Hardy to him."
As mentioned in The Guardian feature, Zoe is a mechanic and a model. Back in April 2023, she worked with photographers on a set of bridal photos.
Lia Marie Hambly is an influencer with her own boutique business
Hardy started harassing Hambly in 2019, and would often call her from unknown numbers to give her abuse.
She told The Guardian: "He would say that he hates me, that I'm a bitch. Or he'd pretend to be me and talk to them," referring to the hundreds of calls Hardy made to her family and friends.
Hambly is an influencer with over 45,000 followers on Instagram, and also has her own boutique fashion business, Lia's Looks. The company sells swimwear, dresses, loungewear, and more.
Before starting her own business, Hambly worked as a paralegal. She used her legal experience to collect evidence that Hardy was stalking her. According to The Guardian, the file she built up was eventually 700 pages long.
Abby Furness is a dancer and model
The cyberstalker targeted Furness, a dancer and influencer, in 2019. He spread rumors about her sex life among her close friends and family, which led her boyfriend to break up with her. Furness told Vice the ordeal made her feel like Hardy had kidnapped her.
"For like two years of my life I felt like I'd been kidnapped, put into Matthew's basement; he'd taken my voice box and my skin, and just gone out into the world making awful decisions," she said.
Since then, Abby has continued with her career as a model and performer, including using firebreathing as part of dance routines and imitating Emma Bunton in a Spice Girls tribute act.
In 2023, Furness was a dancer and singer on the touring "Shrek" rave.