Conviction Before Marriage: Despite Her Nine-Year Relationship With Lou Pearlman, Tammie Hilton Cleared Her Name As His Girlfriend

Lou Pearlman was not married; however, he did consider his good friend Tammie Hilton his girlfriend, while Hilton didn’t feel the same way.

Key Takeaways

• Lou Pearlman is known to have run the longest Ponzi schemes in American History.
• Lou passed away in Federal prison in 2016 without getting married.

Highlighted for his conmanship, Lou was accused of running one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in United States history, leaving more than $300 million in debts.

With already three series and documentaries made under Lou’s name, the latest three-part limited series is scheduled to be released on July 24, 2024, and uses passages from his autobiography in the form of an A.I.-generated Pearlman.

Known for exploiting some of the biggest boy bands of the 90s, including “Backstreet Boys,” “NSYNC,” and “O-Town,” Lou used to love the attention he got from attractive young male singers.

With young singers emerging out of Lou’s room late at night with unbuttoned pants and sheepish grins, it was evident to most that his attention wasn’t of good motive, while few denied such allegations.

A parent of a Backstreet Boys member even complained about inappropriate attention from Pearlman. However, in hopes of getting a career paved into some of the biggest boy bands, most boys took the attention as a price they paid for fame.

Was Lou Pearlman Married?

While Lou’s inappropriateness was an open secret to most, Tammie Hilton was the boy band mogul’s supposed girlfriend.

Hilton visited Pearlman while serving a 25-year federal prison term in Atlanta. She explained to the media that they were not “an item.”

Despite her nine-year relationship with Lou, Hilton cleared her name as Lou’s girlfriend with one of Pearlman’s former executive assistants, Amanda, claiming Hilton and him to be just friends.

Besides this particular instance, the news about Pearson getting married didn’t progress forward as he was convicted of 25 years in prison right after pleading guilty to money laundering and false statements during bankruptcy.

In Case You Didn’t Know

• Pearlman was the first cousin of the musician Art Garfunkel.
• Pearlman was featured in the third season of American Greed in the “Boy Band Mogul” episode in 2009.
• On December 13, 2019, Pearlman was the subject of an episode of ABC’s 20/20 titled “The Hitman: From Pop to Prison“.