Woman 'still haunted' by messages from cyberstalker

A mum has opened up about how she was targeted by Netflix's Can I Tell You A Secret? stalker Matthew Hardy.

Kristen Dugdale, 31, was preyed upon by Hardy - labelled Britain's most notorious cyberstalker - who has been sentenced to nine years in prison. She first received contact in February 2019 from an anonymous Instagram account claiming they had crucial information about her then-husband.

This marked the beginning of a two-year nightmare which saw Hardy accusing the former model of having an affair with her then-husband's dad and exploiting her images to sell adult content. He even bombarded her with anonymous phone calls and insults - branding her "disgusting" and telling her to "stick to taking your clothes off".

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She became convinced it was someone she knew - leading to mistrust among those close to her, and causing a rift between her and her now-ex-partner. Kristen reached out to the police but the harassment didn't cease until Hardy was apprehended.

Kristen wasn't involved in the court proceedings against Hardy but police confirmed she was a victim of the prolific stalker. Hardy, who fabricated hundreds of fake social media accounts, is believed to have targeted 63 victims over 11 years, according to reports.

Speaking out for the first time, the mum-of-one said she's still haunted by his daily messages. She said: "I was scared for my life at one point I lost my confidence and my trust in people around me.

"Before I knew it was Hardy, this random person from a place I had never been to, I was questioning everyone around me. It affected my mental health, and it's not fair it's had a lasting impact on me, and I lost friends. I ended up getting into a lot of arguments with my ex over it. It affected our relationship."

Kristen, detailed how things quickly escalated when she began receiving regular phone calls multiple times a day and abusive messages from numbers she didn't recognise. She said sometimes he would call from withheld numbers and stay silent or breath into the end of the phone or send her texts saying he wouldn't leave her alone and reminding her that he knew her family, and calling her "fat".

Fake profiles pretending to be her started popping up on Instagram with some accounts even seeming to sell adult content using her images. The fake accounts reached out to photographers she had worked with in the past and old school friends.

She said Hardy contacted a photographer she had worked with and attempted to organise a photoshoot while sending suggestive messages. Kristen said the photographer even said Hardy had details of a conversation they'd had in-person - leaving her questioning whether her phone was bugged.

Kristen said that Hardy seemed to know the names of her friends and family - mentioning her ex-husband's friends names, and even their wives and girlfriend's names - which made her believe the person hounding her online was someone she knew in person. She added that Hardy became so brazen he messaged people she knew from his personal Facebook.

In one instance he contacted her and her ex-partner's dad directly to accuse them of sleeping together. Despite first contacting Wiltshire Police in September 2019, the campaign of abuse continued until Hardy was arrested - and all contact stopped.

Hardy was convicted in Chester Crown Court on January 26 this year following an investigation by PC Kevin Anderson with Cheshire Police. Kristen's final interaction with the cyberstalker was on October 26, 2020, when she told him she'd contacted the police.

Kristen said the experience has stuck with her and still affects her now. She said: "It was so scary at that time I started accusing people I knew, I didn't trust anyone."

"He seemed to know loads of really personal stuff about me, it was just awful, he alienated me from trusting some of my ex-partner's friends and even family."

"I found it strange in the end how he didn't even conceal his identity it was like he wanted to get caught but thought he was invincible and nothing would happen. The last thing I said to him is I wouldnt stop until he was in jail.".

Police Constable Kevin Anderson, from Northwich Local Policing Unit, confirmed Kristen was a victim of Hardy's. He added: "Having led on this case for more than 18 months I have seen the emotional distress and turmoil that Hardy has inflicted on his victims he did all of this while hiding behind his computer screen.

"The impact on those affected by his actions has been immense, causing some of them to change some of their daily habits, and live in constant fear that they were being watched. On other occasions, it caused them to lose trust in their friends and family members, and even led to the breakdown of long-term relationships.

"Thankfully, Hardy has now been held accountable for his actions, and his online activity has finally been brought to a stop. I hope that the conclusion of this case will provide some closure for his victims and enable then to rebuild and move forward with their lives."

Can I Tell You A Secret? is a multi-part series available on Netflix.

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