Lori Vallow Had 5 Husbands: The Men Who Married the ‘Doomsday Mom’
Lori Vallow, the “Doomsday Mom,” had five husbands total, including a high school sweetheart, William Lagioia, Joe Ryan, Charles Vallow, and Chad Daybell. Learn more about each of the men who married Lori as mentioned in the Netflix true crime docuseries Sins of Our Mother.
Lori Vallow’s first marriage took place shortly after she graduated high school
As Lori’s son Colby Ryan discusses in Sins of Our Mother, Lori was married “right out of high school” to an unnamed man. “Her first marriage did not last,” Colby explains.
William LaGioia is Lori Vallow’s second husband
After her first marriage, Lori married William LaGioia, Colby’s father. “My dad and my mom were in a bad relationship,” Colby says in the Netflix docuseries. Vallow was 22-years-old when Colby was born. “She didn’t feel like she wanted me to be in that [bad relationship] so she took me from that situation.”
Joe Ryan married Lori Vallow after a quick courtship
After leaving LaGioia, Lori married Joe Ryan, who her son describes as “sweet and lovable.” Lori and Joe had Tylee together, which made Colby a big brother.
Eventually, Colby says Joe’s attitude toward him shifted. “I don’t know if he started to be annoyed by me as a little kid, but everything I did was annoying to him,” he says in the docuseries. That experience got worse and ultimately resulted in physical and sexual abuse when Colby was 8-years-old.
In audio clips of Lori, she explains how her relationship with Joe turned her toward the Mormon temple. “I had been married to someone who was very awful and who raped my children,” she said. “I was going to murder him.” Instead, she “turned her life to the temple.”
Lori Vallow’s fourth husband was the late Charles Vallow
As explained in Sins of Our Mother, Lori’s next husband was Charles Vallow, who set met through the salon where she worked. “I think my mom married Charles because she did love him,” Colby says. “But I think a part of it was he was very financially secure. He could take care of us.”
Charles also had children of his own. When they got married, Colby says the family became “a unit.”
In 2013, the Vallow family grew when they adopted Joshua Jaxon “J.J.” Vallow. Kay Woodcock, Charles’ sister, encouraged Lori and Charles to adopt when her son had J.J. and couldn’t take care of him.
Charles and Lori moved to Hawaii in July 2014 and lived there until early 2019. In July that year, Charles was shot and killed by Alex Cox (via Fox).
Alex Cox is Lori Vallow’s brother
Alex Cox is another name that comes up a lot in Sins of the Mother, but he didn’t have a romantic relationship with Vallow — they were siblings. Janice and Barry Cox have four children: Adam, Alex, Lori, and Summer.
Chad Daybell is Lori Vallow’s fifth husband
Sins of Our Mother briefly explains Lori and Chad Daybell’s origin story. Lori first learned of Chad when she attended a 2018 conference in Rexburg, Idaho. Chad, who had two near-death experiences and published novels, connected with Lori about the afterlife.
Soon after, Chad, who was married to Tammy Daybell and raising five children at the time, was a guest on Lori’s religious podcast. After Charles’ death in July 2019, Lori moved to Rexburg to be closer to Chad. She and Chad got married in November 2019 — two months after Tylee and J.J. were reported missing in September.
Dive deeper into the Lori Vallow case. Watch Sins of Our Mother on Netflix.
How to get help:
- In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
- In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
- If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.
