Credit: Netflix

When a relationship is built on lies, it tends to unravel one thread at a time. And that’s exactly the story of Maternal Instinct on Netflix, which revisits how Taylor Parker’s intricate web of lies upended the lives of everyone around, especially Wade Griffin.

The young woman from a small East Texas town, who claimed to have come from a wealthy family, fell head over heels for local hog trapper Griffin in 2019. While their relationship took a rapid flight with both moving in together soon after, within months, Parker announced that she was expecting.

Although she had a doctor’s appointment with paperwork confirming the pregnancy and countless social media posts flaunting the baby bump, suspicion kicked in when she missed the due date. It was only after an active investigation from Griffin’s family’s end that they were finally able to track down Taylor’s mother, who revealed the unbelievable: “Taylor cannot have kids. She’s had a hysterectomy… And there is no money at all anywhere.”

But then came a girl’s day out with Reagan Simmons-Hancock, a 21-year-old New Boston native, who was actually pregnant at the time. What followed is Taylor’s 911 call, alleging that she’d just given birth and the baby wasn’t conscious. However, in reality, whatever unfolded was a calculated crime that took both Reagan and her unborn child’s lives when Taylor tried to steal her baby. While her web of deception couldn’t get any deeper, here are the three biggest lies Parker convinced Griffin with.

The three biggest lies told by Taylor Parker in Maternal Instinct

Taylor Parker’s mother cut off her supposed inheritance

As repeatedly mentioned in Maternal Instinct, Taylor Parker constantly said that her mother actively controlled her funds and her purported inheritance. “She told us her mother was going to get her cut completely out of all the money,” says a friend of Griffin, Roger Pate. “She wasn’t going to get nothing. She hated her mother and her mother hated her.”

At the same time, Wade Griffin believed his partner. He says, “Taylor just portrayed her mom just to be a pretty much a greedy monster. I was just kind of there, being as supportive as I could, but it was never-ending family drama.”

Taylor Parker’s wealthy background

When Wade Griffin met Taylor Parker, it was her simplicity that caught his eye. “She would make sure that she had a good meal cooked when I got home from work. She would take care of the animals. Anything I asked her to do, she would do, so she did pull her weight,” he says in the documentary. Yet, early on in their relationship, Parker claimed to have come from a really wealthy family and was also expecting $8million in inheritance.

Allegedly, her family were land owners who earned more than enough from royalties on oil and gas leases. She even revealed her intention of investing $20million in real estate, including Griffin’s ranch, to his friends and family. But when the realtors began background checking to ensure she’s a serious buyer, all they were met with were petty excuses about the lack of funds.

“All of a sudden, the money wasn’t coming like it’s supposed to,” says realtor Renee Harvey Lowe. The deal was never inked, and according to Parker, it was all her mother’s doing, who wanted to make sure she never had any money. “Once her mom found out she was pregnant, she was just kind of against her having any kind of kid with me that’s going to be getting any kind of inheritance like that,” Griffin said, believing Parker’s claims.

Taylor Parker’s pregnancy in 2020

Although Taylor Parker kept up with many lies, the biggest one was the announcement of pregnancy in 2020 amidst intense family drama. “One evening, she hits me with, ‘I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant,” he recalls. “I’ve never had kids before, so this was all a first for me, and she’s already had two,” he continues.

So, even when his friend, Stephanie Ott, called Parker’s mother, confirming all the lies she told, Griffin believed his girlfriend. “He said, ‘Her mom’s lying to you. She does all this stuff. She’s crazy,” Ott says.