Doctors are supposed to be some of the most trustworthy people in our world, as are our intimate partners, so what happens when both love and medicine go terribly wrong? The story of Netflix’s Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, as told by Benita Alexander, answers that question.

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Dr. Paolo Macchiarrini seemed like the ideal partner. He was a cutting-edge surgeon in the field of regenerative medicine, he was well-traveled and spoke several languages fluently. So while doing a story on one of his groundbreaking surgeries, it’s no wonder producer Benita Alexander fell head over heels for him. Their relationship seemed perfect, too good to be true, but there was just one problem — it was. Before long, the truth about Dr. Paolo Maccharrini would come out, and when it did, Benita and the world of medicine would never be the same.

Who is Benita Alexander?

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Benita Alexander is an award-winning NBC news producer, she has been involved in several acclaimed journalistic projects, so when she was presented with a story on a new cutting-edge surgical technique, she jumped at it. While she had never heard of regenerative surgery, upon researching it, she found a doctor who was creating synthetic windpipes, bathing them in the patient’s stem cells, and inserting them surgically. The doctor’s name was Paolo Macchiarrini.

Prior to meeting Dr. Macchiarrini, Benita was a producer and single mom, navigating her career, a divorce, and parenting her young daughter. Little did she know, the story she was about to cover would change the trajectory of her life forever.

NBC followed the doctor as he attempted his cutting-edge surgery on a two-year-old patient, Hannah Warren. Dr. Macchiarrini’s caring bedside manner and cosmopolitan lifestyle began to win Benita over. Soon the two began an intimate relationship, and by 2013, they were engaged to be married.

What happened to Benita Alexander?

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Benita felt like she had stumbled into a fairy tale. Dr. Macchiarrini promised her a wedding officiated by the Pope himself, held in a castle, attended by star-studded guests, and followed by a perfect life in Barcelona. Benita pulled her daughter out of school, quit her job, and began planning for her picture-perfect wedding. Yet problem after problem seemed to surface.

First off, Dr. Macchiarrini’s patients were dying. Young Hannah Warren had unfortunately passed away, as had another of his patients, Chris Lyles. Yet upon further investigation, it seemed they were not the only adverse outcomes on Dr. Maccharrini’s resume. Many more patients suffered terrible outcomes before finally passing away. A New York Times article outlined the problems with Dr. Maccharrini’s methods and spotty research, and before long, Benita began to question everything.

Finally, on a whim, she and her friends flew to Barcelona, surprising Dr. Macchiarrini at his home — which, she discovered, he shared with a wife and two children. The wedding was a fraud, no plans had been made, and even her ring, which was claimed to be valued at $100,000, was worth little more than $1000. The disgraced doctor allegedly has five children in total, though he told Benita he had none.

Benita revealed the unbelievable tale to a Vanity Fair writer, and soon her story came out in print. As the press began to dig even deeper into Dr. Macharrini’s horrible lies and crimes, the good doctor’s name and reputation soon began to fall.

Where is Benita Alexander now?

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Benita continues her pursuit of justice on behalf of herself and the patients of Dr. Maccihiarrini. She has followed his case, spoken out against him, and helped provide evidence to reveal his twisted lies. She continues to be an advocate for herself and for all those Dr. Macchiarrini has harmed. She participated in the Netflix documentary Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife, telling her story in hopes that it would help others.

She is the CEO of Berraca Productions, and hosts a podcast, Benita and the Berracas, in which she interviews others who have experienced fraud. She participates in interviews and podcasts, revealing the red flags of conmen like Macchiarrini, and how the public can spot them both professionally and personally. Many conmen participate in similar patterns, as was the case with Dr. Death and Bad Vegan’s Sarma Melngailis’ story. Benita helps point out what those patterns are. She encourages others not to undermine their own intuition, and to continue to ask questions until they get answers. She now produces the show Crimes Gone Viral andlives in New York City with her daughter and husband.

Somehow, Benita has managed to pick up the pieces and move on with her life, a chance that many of Dr. Macchiarini’s patients will never have. He took two of the most precious roles in society, that of a doctor and a lover, and used them to betray those who trusted him the most. Yet Benita Alexander is not allowing that to be the end of her story, she continues her fight for justice.