Literary agent Colleen Oefelein knows a lot about living under the uncomfortable glare of a media spotlight she never sought. In 2007, she was working as an Air Force captain and chemical engineer when her boyfriend’s ex, equipped with a drilling hammer and an 8-inch folding knife, attacked her in an airport parking lot. The incident made news around the world because Oefelein’s boyfriend (now husband) was an astronaut, as was his former lover, who was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. The story, which became known as “The Astronaut Love Triangle, involved details so outlandish — like the fact that the perpetrator allegedly wore a diaper to save time — it eventually inspired a 2019 movie starring Natalie Portman.
It was a harrowing period and one Oefelein would never want to relive, but in a way, she tells me now in a soft voice that belies the commanding jobs she’s had in the past, that experience prepared her for the second time she would face a swarm of negative headlines — an attack that came in the form of a cancellation mob.
.png)
.png)
