The so-called “Aunt from hell” has something to say. Jennifer Connell, the Manhattan woman who sued her 12-year-old nephew, Sean Tarala, for hurting her wrist, spoke out about the lawsuit during an interview with the Today show on Thursday, Oct. 15. Sean was also on hand to support her.
As previously reported, the human resources manager, 54, sued Sean for $127,000 stemming from an incident that took place at his eighth birthday party in March 2011. At the time, Sean injured her when he jumped into her arms.
“We love each other very much and this was simply a case formality for an insurance claim,” Connell explained to Today’s Savannah Guthrie on Thursday. “I said in the beginning of this that I would never want to sue Sean. I’m no legal expert, but as I understand in Connecticut it’s not possible to name an insurance company in a suit in a homeowner’s insurance case.”
She continued: “An individual has to be named and in this case and because me and Sean had this fall together I was informed that Sean had to be named. I was never comfortable with that. I was explained to that it was a technicality.”
Connell lost the lawsuit in court on Tuesday, and admits she’s in “complete shock” with how quickly her case went viral. She’s since been nicknamed “Aunt from hell” and “worst aunt ever” on social media.
“[It was] all over social media. It just spun and spun,” she said. “It was really heartbreaking and painful and also walking into a film of someone else’s life. I have been just in shock since that happened.”
She added: “It hasn’t been a pleasant experience since the beginning.”
Sean, meanwhile, isn’t upset about the ordeal. “She would never do anything to hurt the family or myself. And she loves us,” he told Guthrie. “I love her and she loves me.”
Watch the video above.
