Mary Kay Letourneau's revealing conversation with first husband before her death

By Jo Abi|

When Mary Kay Letourneau met the student she would later be charged with raping, she was married to Steve Letourneau and they had four children.

Mary Kay's illegal relationship with Vili Fualaau was first exposed when the schoolboy was just 12. Steve divorced his teacher wife and gained custody of their children, and since the scandal he has lived a quiet life away from the media spotlight.

Now PEOPLE is reporting Mary Kay reached out to her former husband in the days before her death from stage 4 cancer on July 7.

"When it was clear that she wasn't going to make it, she made her peace with everyone in her life," a source told the publication.

Mary Kay Letourneau with her second husband Vili Fualaau. (ABC)

"She died having made peace with Vili, Steve and all six of her kids. Everyone said everything that needed to be said."

Steve and Mary Kay had been childhood sweethearts, and at her time of her arrest were living in Seattle with their four children: Steven Jr, Mary Claire, Nicholas and Jacqueline.

Steve gained custody of their four children and moved to Alaska where he remarried.
Steve gained custody of their four children and moved to Alaska where he remarried. (ABC TV America)

The teacher was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for child rape, and had two children with Fualaau before he was 15, despite court orders aimed at keeping the pair apart.

RELATED: Mary Kay Letourneau, US teacher jailed for raping former student, dies of cancer

Upon her release from prison, Fualaau was an adult and he petitioned the court to allow them to see each other. Mary Kay remained a registered sex offender in Washington state until her death.

Following their divorce, Steve and the couple's children moved to Alaska.

Fualaau has claimed it was Steve who discovered his relationship with Mary Kay.

Mary Kay and Steve Letourneau were childhood sweethearts.
Mary Kay and Steve Letourneau were childhood sweethearts. (ABC TV America)

In his book Un seul crime, l'amour (translated to One Crime, Love) he writes: "He came to my house and confronted me about it and told me if I don't want my mom knowing about this or anyone knowing about this, it was going to end.

"I was worried about everything, about Mary, myself and I said okay, I don't want this to get out anywhere. The fear of my mom's reaction and the thought of everyone being affected by it was one of my biggest fears, so I said, for the better of everyone, okay. It was kind of devastating."

Steve married but later was divorced from his second wife Kelly Whalen. The couple had two children, both daughters.

Mary Kay had reconnected with her older children, with with one of her daughters serving as maid of honour when she married Fualaau.

In a joint statement after her death, the Fualaaus and Letourneaus said they were "deeply saddened" about the loss, adding that Mary Kay died "peacefully" after a six-month health battle.

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