Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife not only documented the scandalous journey of a doctor who played with the lives of people, but it also made us privy to a man who played with the trust of a woman who believed him to be the man of her dreams. Benita Alexander believed that she was blessed to have a man like Paolo Macchiarini in her life, but soon, her castle of dreams shattered, and she got to know that she was with a fraud who could put on a straight face and betray her quite easily. So, let’s find out what Benita went through and how she conducted her own investigation to find the truth.
How did Paolo convince Benita to marry him?
Benita Alexander worked with NBC News when she met Paolo for the very first time. There were a million reasons why anybody would swoon at the sight of the famous doctor. He was an extremely charming man who had a way with words, and no matter where he went, he was able to grab everybody’s attention. He was well versed in almost five different languages; he was kind and humble; his discoveries had given hope to millions of people; and he had this George Clooney-ish aura that made people go gaga over him. Benita was one of the team members who was supposed to take his interview, and it was decided that, considering his love for bikes, they would shoot an entire sequence with him driving. Benita sat behind him on the bike, and she felt butterflies in her stomach as Paolo never missed a chance to flirt with a woman.
Benita felt overwhelmed by the fact that such a renowned medical practitioner who was sought after by the entire world was showing so much interest in her. She didn’t know what he saw in her, as she probably didn’t believe herself to be anything special. Soon after that NBC interview, they came into a relationship through the thought that there was a conflict of interest on Benita’s part that always troubled her. She knew that what she was doing was not ethical, but she was well aware of the fact that she was head over heels for Paolo and that she couldn’t stop meeting him. Paolo was the best boyfriend anybody could ask for. He took Benita on vacation to an exotic location, and they always stayed in luxurious hotels and ate in fancy restaurants. There was never a dull day with Paolo, and the best part was that the amount of effort he put into making each and every day special for his girlfriend was just unimaginable. At times, Benita didn’t know how he got the time to do so much for her and she literally felt that she was the luckiest woman on earth.
Benita also introduced him to her brother Matt and his wife, Sarah Alexander, and at first, she believed that Paolo would have a tough time integrating with them. But she was absolutely wrong, as Paolo made sure that everybody was comfortable around him. He cooked dinner for everybody, and all of them had a great time together. The kind of effort Paolo was putting into the relationship was just heartwarming, and Benita became pretty sure about the fact that he wanted to end up with the man.
How did Benita find out the truth about Paolo?
Benita Alexander, time and again, kept asking Paolo to take her to Barcelona, as he told her that he had a house there and that he spent most of his time there when he was not traveling. But for some reason, Paolo always kept stalling her, and every time they planned a trip to Barcelona, something or the other came up, and their trip got canceled. The first time Benita suspected the intentions of Paolo was when the New York Times article was published, and she was shocked to find out that he was being accused of such professional misconduct. Paolo Macchiarini had such an influence over her that he convinced her to believe that he was not at fault, and there were people around him who were jealous of his success. He created an entire narrative where he said that there was a lot of professional jealousy, especially in the field of medicine, and his colleagues didn’t like the fact that he was getting so much fame. Benita was thoroughly convinced, and she even helped him reply to the emails that had been pouring in since the time the article had been published. Paolo went to the extent of saying that he was a sniper who worked with the CIA, and it showed the kind of extent to which Paolo was ready to go to defend himself.
The wedding preparations had begun, and Benita knew that everybody, from the pope to the president, was going to be there. She believed that it was going to be the wedding of the decade, if not the century, and that it was one of the most anticipated events, especially for those who were invited to it. But one fine day, she got a message from one of the invitees that there were some irregularities pertaining to the wedding arrangement. The venue where the wedding was supposed to happen was not booked, and the people there told her that they weren’t even contacted by Paolo. The Vatican had no information about the fact that the pope was going to preside over the wedding, and it was then that it dawned on Benita that Paolo had lied to her all this time.
What did Benita find in Barcelona?
Even after Benita got so much information that proved that Paolo was a conman, she still wanted to visit Barcelona, as she had a feeling that something was going on there. And she was right, as Paolo Macchiarini already had a wife and kids, and they stayed in his Barcelona residence, which is why he never brought Benita there. Ana Paula Bernardes Pedrosa was Paolo’s wife, and he came into contact with her when her son Danilo was hospitalized. Danilo met his fateful end, and Ana Paula wanted to file a complaint and hold the hospital and the doctors accountable as she believed that it was because of their willful negligence that her son lost his life. That’s when Paolo started talking to her, as he was scared that he would also be held culpable in the scandal. Paolo knew how to work his way around, and not only did he convince Ana to not file a complaint against him, but he also wooed her enough that she was convinced to marry him.
During the ending of Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, Benita Alexander went to Barcelona with two of her friends, Leigh and Nancy, and that’s where she realized that her suspicions were not baseless and that he was actually the fraudster that the New York Times claimed him to be. Obviously, Benita was heartbroken, as Paolo had played with her trust. She felt like an idiot who believed in him and his weird cover-up stories even when the truth was right in front of her.
Where is Benita Alexander now?
Benita went on to establish a company named Barraca Productions because she wanted to fight for the cause of women who had been victims of fraudsters like Paolo Macchiarini in the past. She sought to empower them and let them know that it was not the end of the road and that they deserved much better in life. Benita is also working as an executive producer as of now for a true crime series for a television network named Investigation Discovery.
