The cast of Can I Tell You a Secret? tackles the ramifications of cyberstalking to several women who were victimized by a dangerous stalker.
The true crime documentary from Netflix unpacks how a suspect named Matthew Hardy used social media to harass a plethora of women where he created fake accounts and used malicious and hurtful messages to take control of them.
Can I Tell You a Secret? premiered on Netflix on February 21.
Every Main Cast Member of Netflix's Can I Tell You A Secret
Matthew Hardy
At the center of Can I Tell You a Secret? is cyberstalker Matthew Hardy.
Hardy's desire for other women started in 2006, creating fake accounts to stalk his female classmates and students from different schools. His cyberstalking lasted for years.
Hardy pled guilty to harassing a former classmate in 2011 in which he received a restraining order and a suspended prison sentence for his odd ways.
The punishment did not stop Hardy from stalking more women, though, and he even targeted those who have large social media followings.
In January 2022, Hardy was sentenced to nine years in prison, but it was reduced to eight years in October 2022.
Lia Hambly
One of Matthew Hardy's victims is Lia Hambly, a paralegal and a boutique owner.
Lia recalled Hardy's menacing ways when it came to stalking her. The culprit's tactics included calling her many times and even impersonating her at one point.
Lia also said that Hardy contacted other people close to her, such as "a family friend, their boyfriend, or their husband."
She told the interviewer that the experience "will stay forever:"
“I think that will stay forever. I don’t think that will ever go away. Even when I watched the documentary, it still makes me emotional. It brings back that feeling of: why have you done this to me?”
Abby Furness
Abby Furness is a fire dance performer who was victimized by Matthew Hardy's intense cyberstalking techniques.
In the two-part docuseries, Abby revealed that Hardy's antics led to her breakup with her boyfriend after the stalker lied that she cheated on him. Hardy even sent sexy photos of Abby to her boss.
Hardy used a girl named Jodie to mess with her during the early days of the stalking.
Zoe Jade Hallam
Another victim who shared her side of the story in Can I Tell You a Secret? is Zoe Jade Hallam, a model from Lincolnshire.
Zoe unpacked how Hardy pretended to be a photographer who wanted to work with her and how the stalker used fake accounts (such as a girl named Tracey) to send messages to her and the ones closest to her.
Similar to his past victims, Zoe's conversation with Hardy started with the words, "Can I tell you a secret?" and it marked the start of the dangerous stalking schemes.
Amy Bailey
Amy Bailey is one of Matthew Hardy's earliest victims and his former classmate.
While Amy managed to tell the police about Hardy which led to a restraining order, she said in the documentary that he breached it several times.
Kevin Anderson
As a police constable, Kevin Anderson was assigned to work on the case involving Matthew Hardy.
Anderson used all of his resources and took his work to the next level to catch Hardy and let him pay for his crimes.
During his investigation, Anderson discovered that Hardy had been arrested 10 times already, but he kept getting away.
Anderson admitted, "This was the biggest stalking case [he's] ever seen."
Maria Hambly
Maria Hambly is Lia's mom who grew concerned about Matthew Hardy's persistence when it came to stalking her daughter.
Maria initially thought that it was somebody Lia knew or someone near them trying to destroy her and her family.
Sabrina Cowley
Sabrina Cowley was deeply terrified after he became one of Matthew Hardy's victims. She is also a mother which made it worse.
Similar to the other victims, Sabrina was harassed by Hardy by using her identity and sending her a plethora of threatening messages.
Nini
Nini, another victim, said in the docuseries that Matthew Hardy used to make up a lot of rumors about people along with their families and friends that would cause all of them to argue.
Nini was terrified about Hardy's schemes. She even sought the help of the police, but she revealed that they didn't take her accusations seriously.
David
David is Matthew Hardy's classmate from high school who described his former friend as a "stereotypical quiet techy guy in the corner who kept [his thoughts] to himself."
He admitted that he could've been different if he had been given the chance to learn how to be social and interact with people.
Joey
Joey, another one of Hardy's classmates, participated in the docuseries to share more details about him.
Joey said that his friend did not fit into the class, saying, "He spoke when he had to speak. His nerves and his shyness kept him in his shell."
Dr. Amy Pearson
Dr. Amy Pearson is a developmental psychologist who talked about autism and how many autistic people go through their lives without being diagnosed.
Pearson said that Hardy had a lot of bad experiences growing up, which led to "a lot of social exclusion."
Stuart Lumb
Stuart Lumb, a retired police officer from Middlewich, helped Amy overcome Matthew Hardy's crazy stalking antics.
Back then, Stuart was able to find out Hardy was the culprit after placing the phone number into their system. As a result, they issued a restraining order for Hardy to leave Amy alone.
Sirin Kale
Sirin Kale is an investigative journalist who took a deep dive into Matthew Hardy's story as part of a seven-episode Guardian investigation podcast.
Sirin unpacked Hardy's trial, interviewing his victims, and how stalking affected their lives.
Can I Tell You a Secret? is now streaming on Netflix.
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