Blake, by various accounts, accepted these explanations. The couple dated, and in January 2004 they eloped. The absence of family announcements, the single witness, the elopement itself — these could all be explained, from Lori’s perspective, as privacy preferences. From Blake’s family’s perspective, they raised questions that were easier not to press.
She also worked. She identified herself professionally as having computer skills, including familiarity with C programming. She was a member of Texas Business Women. She worked at various points as a mystery shopper. She maintained the outward forms of a professional adult life. The resume she circulated, with its fabricated reference letter on Thai hotel stationery, was never detected as fraudulent during her lifetime.
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## The Blake Ruff Family and the Growing Distance
The Ruff family was prominent in Longview, Texas — a family with roots in the community, with social standing, with the kind of network that expected a new member to be welcomed in and integrated. Lori’s resistance to this integration was apparent from early in the marriage.
She managed her in-laws’ access to her life by limiting it. Questions about her family were deflected. Social gatherings were attended guardedly. When she and Blake had a daughter in September 2008, the protectiveness that had already characterized her relationship with the Ruffs intensified. The grandparents, who by all accounts wanted to be part of their grandchild’s life, found their access restricted in ways they found difficult to accept.
Blake’s parents, according to published accounts, encouraged him to consider ending the marriage. The marital counseling that followed did not resolve the underlying tensions. Blake moved back to his parents’ home in Longview and filed for divorce.