Can I Tell You a Secret? No! this is not a question but the title of Netflix's latest docuseries in which multiple women shared their ordeal of getting stalked online in the United Kingdom. Can I Tell You a Secret was released on Netflix on February 21, 2024, and ever since then it has started to garner headlines around the world. The two-part docuseries showcased multiple women sharing their horrific stories of online stalking by a person named Matthew Hardy. From Louis Theroux's production company Mindhouse, Can I Tell You a Secret is a true story based on The Guardian's 2022 podcast about the Matthew Hardy case. The Netflix's docuseries is Directed by Liza Williams. Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you have already watched Can I Tell You a Secret on Netflix and are wondering about real-life Matthew Hardy. Below is everything you need to know about Can I Tell You a Secret's Matthew Hardy-
Who is Matthew Hardy?
Matthew Hardy hails from Northwich, Cheshire. Hardy is a British cyberstalker who pleaded guilty to harassing at least 62 women online. He harassed and stalked women for a period of over eleven years making him one of the most prolific & notorious cyberstalkers in the United Kingdom.
Can I Tell You a Secret showcases multiple women narrating the ordeal they faced due to Matthew Hardy. As per UK media reports, Hardy used to target complete strangers, bombarding them with sinister messages, calls, and threats, and posing as them to contact friends and family. Due to his continuous stalking, Hardy left the innocent women battling anxiety and paranoia, fearing for their lives, and causing relationship break-ups.
Reports suggest that a woman named Lia Hambly who is now 26, was too scared to go out in her local town due to Hardy's online torment. Matthew Hardy even targeted a friend who was about to walk down the aisle, convincing the groom-to-be his bride was a cheat. Despite Lia's distress and anxiety, she painstakingly logged every incident, creating a file of over 700 pages, which eventually helped the authorities to put Matthew behind the bars.
Lia Hambly
What happened to Matthew Hardy and where is he now?
Matthew Hardy was arrested by Cheshire Police Officer Kevin Anderson, who looked into 100 complaints filed by 62 women across 11 years. In January 2022, Hardy, then 31, was sentenced to nine years in jail - the longest sentence ever handed to a cyberstalker in the UK.
To be precise, on 26th January 2022, Hardy was sentenced to nine years in prison and was told he would serve a minimum of four and a half years inside jail. Matthew Hardy had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of stalking with intent to cause alarm or distress, two counts of stalking without intent to cause alarm, and breaching a restraining order from 2013, when he was banned from using false details on social media sites. In October 2022, a court of appeal reduced Hardy's sentence to eight years after three judges agreed the starting sentence was too high. It means he continues to spend his time behind bars.