Obsessed with The White Lotus season 3? Then you’ve probably heard the buzz about its possible link to the real-life mystery behind The Staircase. Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his wife, Kathleen — but did you know another woman, Elizabeth Ratliff, died years earlier in eerily similar circumstances? Her case became a key part of the prosecution’s argument. Now fans are wondering: could the Ratliffs in White Lotus be a nod to that twisted tale? Honestly, we’re way more into the real story — so we went straight to the source. We caught up with Michael Peterson himself, and here’s what he had to say:

Now that the country switched hands, who do you think is running it—Melania Trump, Elon Musk, Mr. Putin, Donald Trump, whoever is behind Bitcoin, or aliens?

Trump’s in charge. No question about it. If Elon Musk moves in closer, it might cause freaksion. Trump doesn’t like to share anything—especially power.

Whatever he wants, he gets, because he has such power with MAGA people, and Republicans are terrified of him.

In America, when people lose hope, they tend to storm the Capitol or not vote. In other words, they resort to violence or inaction. What do you do when you lose hope?

You give up. You roll over. But there’s another option—keep pushing, and vote.

What fictional character do you associate yourself with?

There isn’t one. Kathleen, years and years ago, after reading my books, said, “My God, you are all the characters. You are the CIA agent, the ambassador, the priest, the nun.”

If you had a small dinner party of four or five people, who’d you invite?

Christ, Buddha, and Confucius. I would ask them what they think life is really all about. I think I know what it’s about, but what I’d like to know is—what comes after? We all want to know. I was raised Catholic—you know, “You’re going to Hell for this and that.” It was constant fear. I don’t believe that. What I want to know is: what comes after death? Is that just... it? And if so, that’s okay. Buddha didn’t believe in reincarnation. But if there were such a thing, I’d like to come back as me—so I could correct the mistakes I made.

What mistakes?

Haha. This isn’t going to be Crystal Mangum’s confession. I was married to my first wife, Patricia (she died a couple of years ago), and I was young—and often not kind. I wish I’d never said anything rude or mean to her or to my children, who keep telling me, “Dad, you weren’t a good parent after all.”
So yeah... let me go back and fix those things.

We noticed many important women in your life have died. What’s your stance on that? Is it some kind of curse?

Does lightning strike the same place twice? Turns out—it does.

A few years ago, Ivana Trump fell down the staircase and died. Were you there??

No.

Watch the filmed and more in-depth interview with Michael Peterson here.

Illustration by Taylor Homes. Photo by Matt Ramey.

Michael Peterson

Spencer Brown