Missing American boater Lynette Hooker had previously split with her husband in the years before he became a suspect in her disappearance, telling a pal she was scared of being at sea with him.
The 55-year-old mom hasn’t been seen since her husband, Brian Hooker, 59, alleged she was swept away in rough seas after falling from their dinghy in the Bahamas more than a week ago.
A friend has since shared with CBS News a series of texts Hooker setn her in 2024 alluding to troubles in their nearly 25-year marriage.
“I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I’m not going back,” Hooker texted her friend, Marnee Stevenson, in early 2024, according to screenshots of the texts.
“We were married 21 years. Our marriage lasted 6 weeks cruising,” she said of their doomed attempt at sailing together.
“It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him,” she added in another message.
Roughly a month later, Hooker suddenly informed her pal that the couple had since reconciled, according to the messages.
“Looks like things are on the up and up,” the friend responded.
The texts surfaced after the missing woman’s husband was nabbed last week over her disappearance.
Brian, who remains in custody but has denied any wrongdoing, told authorities his wife fell into the water and was swept away by powerful currents as they were returning in the dinghy to their yacht.