Love & Death turns the shocking true story of Candy Montgomery into a tense, slow-burn crime drama.
Created by David E. Kelley, the HBO Max miniseries — which premiered in April 2023 and arrived on Netflix on Dec. 1 — follows Candy (Elizabeth Olsen), a seemingly ordinary housewife in Wylie, Texas, whose quiet suburban world implodes after she begins an affair with fellow churchgoer Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons).
What starts as a carefully scheduled, “no-strings-attached” arrangement gradually becomes more complicated as emotions deepen — especially while Allan’s wife and Candy’s friend, Betty Gore (Lily Rabe), grows increasingly uneasy. Everything comes to a head in the summer of 1980, when Candy strikes Betty 41 times with an axe after a confrontation. The series charts the affair, the brutal killing and the sensational trial that followed.
Kelley drew heavily from the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson, which expanded on their 1984 multi-part Texas Monthly feature “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie.”
“When the project was first brought to my attention, there was a presumption against it because I like to make the facts up. So I thought, if the facts are already coming to me fully baked, what’s the point?” Kelley told the Herald Sun in May 2023. “But when I read the [Texas Monthly] articles, and I read the book, it was just too juicy, too rich, too delicious to turn away from.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(449x269:451x271):format(webp)/elizabeth-olsen-love--death-120325-b132df42477d403aba378a77623993b7.jpg)
Here’s how the real story compares to what you see in Love & Death.
Who Was Candy Montgomery?
As outlined in Texas Monthly’s “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I: Candy Montgomery’s Affair” and “Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, Part II: The Killing of Betty Gore,” Candy was seen as a “normal suburban housewife.” She was married to Pat Montgomery (portrayed in the series by Patrick Fugit), and the couple had two children, a son and a daughter.
In 1977, the Montgomerys moved to Wylie, Texas, settling into what Candy described as her “dream house in the country.” To neighbors and friends, the family looked picture-perfect. Privately, Candy found her marriage dull and unfulfilling and longed for excitement.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(618x354:620x356):format(webp)/lily-rabe-love--death-120325-90242a9fb5304e20911874b8cd3a730a.jpg)
After moving, Candy began attending the Methodist Church of Lucas, described by Texas Monthly as the “center of [her] universe.” It was there that she met Betty Gore, and the two women became close friends through church activities and social gatherings.
Who Was Betty Gore?
Like Candy, Betty was a suburban wife and mother living outside Dallas. She married Allan Gore in January 1970. After the birth of their first child, Allan took a job with an electronics company called Rockwell International.
In 1976, Betty began working as an elementary school teacher, but she reportedly struggled in the classroom and at home. According to Texas Monthly, she couldn’t manage her “unruly students,” and she also disliked being alone when Allan traveled for work.
Despite her dissatisfaction, Betty decided they should try for a second child and planned her pregnancy carefully so that the baby would arrive in midsummer, allowing her to avoid taking extra time off from teaching, the outlet reported.
Allan, meanwhile, grew resentful. He felt their sex life had become “completely mechanical.” As his marriage grew strained, he and Candy grew closer — a connection that began in 1978 when the two collided while going for the same ball during a church volleyball game.
Is Love & Death Based on a True Story?
Yes. Love & Death is directly based on the 1980 killing of Betty Gore and the investigation that followed, which focused on her friend Candy.
On June 13, 1980, Allan was away on a business trip when he became concerned that Betty wasn’t answering his calls, Texas Monthly reported. He asked a neighbor to check on her, but she didn’t come to the door. Allan then phoned Candy — who was watching their older daughter, Alisa — and Candy reassured him that Betty was probably fine.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(753x253:755x255):format(webp)/elizabeth-olsen-tom-pelphrey-love--death-120325-387d681152cf4108851e370c031ec6fa.jpg)
After repeated failed attempts to reach Betty, Allan grew more alarmed. Later that evening, a neighbor entered the Gore home and found their infant daughter, Bethany, alone in her crib — and “oceans of blood” leading to the utility room.
The neighbor called Allan to say that Betty was dead. Devastated, Allan called Candy around 11:30 p.m. to tell her what had happened and to ask if she could keep watching Alisa for the night. Candy agreed.
The next day, police revealed that Betty had been killed with an axe and that they had found a bloody footprint inside the house. Upon hearing this, Candy used garden shears to cut up her rubber sandals.
Did Candy Montgomery and Allan Gore Have an Affair?
According to Texas Monthly, Candy and Allan’s affair began after that summer 1978 volleyball game where they literally ran into each other. Candy thought Allan “smelled sexy” and began fantasizing about an affair.
One night after choir practice, she approached Allan in his car and told him she’d been thinking about him and wondered if they should act on their attraction. The feeling was mutual; Allan had reportedly considered Candy “one of the most attractive women in the church.”
At first, Allan hesitated, saying Betty was newly pregnant and that it would be unfair to her. But the boundary quickly blurred — he soon kissed Candy.
Months later, on Candy’s 29th birthday, they met for lunch and hashed out the “rules” of an affair, agreeing that if either developed real emotional attachment, they would end it.
Their affair officially began on Dec. 12, 1978, and continued for months. Even after Betty gave birth to their second daughter in July 1979, Candy and Allan kept seeing each other. Eventually, however, Allan and Betty decided to try to repair their marriage. He ended the affair with Candy, according to Texas Monthly.
Did Candy Montgomery Go to Jail?
No. Candy was ultimately acquitted of murder.
Because she was the last known person to see Betty alive, Candy quickly became the main suspect. Police questioned her several times, and for a while her alibi appeared solid — until Allan admitted that he and Candy had been having an affair, giving investigators a clear motive.
Candy turned herself in on June 26, 1980, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and was charged with Betty’s murder. She was later released on bail and received strong support from her church community. She hired attorney Don Crowder (portrayed by Tom Pelphrey in the series) to represent her.
Crowder enlisted Dr. Fred Fason (played by Brian d’Arcy James), a psychiatrist and clinical hypnotist, to help reconstruct Candy’s memories of the incident. Through hypnosis sessions, Fason said he uncovered childhood trauma that contributed to Candy’s rage as an adult and helped piece together what allegedly happened the day Betty died.
At her October 1980 trial, Candy testified that Betty confronted her on June 13 about the affair with Allan. Candy claimed that after she admitted to the relationship, Betty went to the utility room, grabbed an axe and attacked her. Candy said she managed to wrestle the weapon away, and in the ensuing struggle, she struck Betty repeatedly.
Candy hit Betty 41 times, stopping only “at the point of utter exhaustion,” Texas Monthly reported. She pleaded self-defense.
On Oct. 29, 1980, the jury found Candy not guilty of murder.
Where Is Candy Montgomery Now?
After the trial, Candy largely disappeared from public life. In 2010, The Dallas Morning News reported that she and Pat eventually moved to Georgia, where she began working as a certified family counselor.
Candy and Pat later divorced. Betty’s brother, Ron Pomeroy, has said in the documentary Candy and Betty that Betty’s parents, Bob and Bertha Pomeroy, ultimately raised Allan and Betty’s daughters, Alisa and Bethany, in Kansas.
