Summary

• Can I Tell You A Secret left out crucial details about cyberstalker Matthew Hardy and the impact he had on his victims and their families.
• Many of Hardy's victims, like activist Gina Martin, were not featured in the docies, despite reporting him over 100 times to the police.
• PC Kevin Anderson, who solved the case, received an award for his exceptional work in investigating the extreme online harassment incidents involving Hardy.

This article contains mention of online harassment and bullying.

Netflix's new docies Can I Tell You A Secret? left out a lot of major details about Matthew Hardy, his victims, and what happened afterward. Whether it was the true number of stalking incidents that Matthew was involved with or what happened to the police officer involved, there has been a lot of off-camera drama that has happened since the docies premiered on Netflix in February 2024. It has deeply affected the girls that Hardy stalked as well as legal recourses for police departments.

Based on the Guardian podcast of the same name, the Can I Tell You a Secret? Netflix docies is about a series of stalking and harassment incidents involving serial cyberstalker Matthew Hardy. Using a series of fake profiles to pose as several women, Hardy spread lies and stories about them, causing severe anguish and stress. As a result, many of these women ended up with PTSD, even sleeping with weapons if Hardy decided to try and physically assault them. It wasn't until PC Kevin Anderson managed to put the pieces together and track down Hardy, eventually ending in his arrest.

8 Hardy Stalked Multiple Girls from One School

He was only a teenager when this happened.

Can I Tell You A Secret mentioned briefly that Matthew had started cyberstalking girls in his school but never really explored it thoroughly. When Facebook began taking off in the early 2000s, people everywhere began g up for it. This also included girls that Matthew went to school with. Just like the other women mentioned in the docies, these girls reported getting messages about their boyfriends cheating on them. According to one victim, she eventually went to the police after she got a message from Hardy saying that her deceased mother had been having an affair (via DailyMail).

7 Some Of His Victims Were Not Mentioned In The Docies

He was reported over 100 times to one police station

Activist Gina Martin reported him in 2016, but similar to the other girls that he had targeted, police did not take her seriously. In an exclusive interview with the Independent in February 2022, Martin revealed that Matthew Hardy had harassed her online starting in 2015 and even pretended to be her dead grandmother at one point. While Gina was not involved in the trial, the impact that Hardy had on her left her feeling anxious. Similar to other victims in Can I Tell You A Secret, Gina went to the police but was ignored. She is currently involved in campaigning for making looking up skirts a criminal offense in the U.K.

6 Abby's Family Was Targeted

Her aunt accused her of causing drama

Can I Tell You A Secret covered the reality of how damaging cyberstalking and bullying can be for victims but just barely scratched the surface of how it affected their families. This was especially true for Abby Furness, who had been harassed by Hardy since 2019. In an interview she had with VICE in 2022, Abby revealed that her family had also become targets. The docies mentioned that Hardy had even falsely claimed that Abby had slept with her uncle. But it does not mention that her aunt threatened to block Abby on WhatsApp if she didn't figure out who was behind everything. As a result, Abby's relationship with her aunt suffered.

5 Kevin Anderson Received The Investigator of the Year Award for His Work

He still works as a police officer for the Cheshire Constabulary

In October 2022, PC Kevin Anderson received the Investigator of the Year Award for his work on the Matthew Hardy case. According to the Birkhead News, Matthew "went above and beyond for the multiple victims of the extreme online harassment". As of this writing, Anderson still works for the Cheshire Constitution. While there has not been much on the Cheshire Constabulary or the Kent Police social media pages since Hardy's conviction, apart from the occasional angry note about the case. The docies does not mention anything about what happened to Anderson and little is known online about Anderson's current job status or his whereabouts.

4 The Author of the Original Podcast Still Follows the Case

Esquire U.K. listed it as one of the best podcasts to listen to

Another detail that was not mentioned in the docies was the impact that the podcast had on the public. Sirin Kale, the podcast's original author, has continued to write more about stalking and its impact on families in the years following, having written a followup article about the case in February 2024. In an article written by Esquire UK in January 2024, shortly before Can I Tell You A Secret premiered the following month, writer Tom Nicholson wrote that the original podcast was one of the best 68 podcasts to listen to in 2024. In Nicholson's own words, the podcast is different from other true crime podcasts due to "its unwillingness to shirk the complex issues at the story's heart."

3 Lia Hambly Is Now a Business Owner

She owns several boutiques in the U.K.

Having previously been a paralegal before she was a business owner, Lia Hambly was behind Matthew Hardy being put behind bars. With over 700 pages of evidence, Lia's experience was touched on heavily in the Netflix docies but not what happened after. According to her Instagram page, Lia currently has a huge following with over 46,000 followers, and she models clothing as well as talking about her cyberstalking experience. She also runs her own clothing boutique called Lia's Looks and models most of the clothes herself.

2 Matthew Hardy Will Be Eligible for Release in 2030

He may even get out earlier.

According to The Guardian podcast that inspired the docies, Matthew Hardy is currently in a "Category B" prison for stalking. In the United Kingdom, Category B means the staff thinks there is no chance of an escape (via Prison Reform Trust). Because of his crimes, Hardy is currently being held in an area for inmates who are at high risk of being attacked by other inmates. Hardy will be eligible for release in 2030 but he may see an even earlier release because many non-violent offenders receive early releases in the U.K. According to the podcast, Hardy may even be freed as early as April 2026.

1 He Plans to Stay Off Social Media Once He's Released

His mother revealed this on the Guardian podcast

While audiences heard from one of Matthew's relatives in the docies, it did not mention his immediate family or that his mother participated in the same podcast that talks about his crimes and background. In the fifth episode of The Guardian podcast, Matthew's mother, Donna shared her experiences watching her son go through school and his lack of from both the school and the prison that he is currently at. According to her, Matthew does not plan on returning to social media once he's released and she intends to help him through everything once that happens.

Sources: The Guardian, DailyMail, The Independent, VICE, The Birkhead News, Esquire UK, Prison Reform Trust