Psychologist reveals ominous reason why real life Martha became a stalker in Baby Reindeer

A clinical psychologist has revealed the terrifying and ominous real reason why the real life Martha decided to become a stalker in Baby Reindeer. Dr Alan Underwood is a psychologist at Queen Mary University of London and has revealed that Martha shows characteristics of both an “intimacy seeker” and an “incompetent suitor,” which are grouped as “relationship seekers.”

He told The Telegraph: “There are five typologies of stalker: the rejected stalker, the resentful stalker, the intimacy-seeking stalker, the incompetent suitor and the predator. In the show, it’s hard to tell exactly what type Martha falls under; she shows characteristics of both an intimacy seeker and an incompetent suitor. Broadly, these two types are grouped as relationship seekers.

Via Netflix

“An intimacy seeker is someone who is driven to form a connection with someone else but often doesn’t have the social skills to do so. In some cases, they believe they are already in a relationship with someone despite all evidence to the contrary. They will often target people in the public eye. It is usually driven by a delusional disorder, which means in these cases we seek to get them into hospital treatment because their behaviour is rooted in a mental illness.

“The incompetent suitor type tends to be younger – their behaviour emerges in their early 20s, as they’re leaving home and trying to develop relationship skills. Their conduct is characterised by a lack of social skills and understanding of appropriate social behaviour. They won’t pick up on signs of disinterest and often engage in stuff that is socially unacceptable and can terrify people.

“Often, they have some sort of autism spectrum disorder and will go from one victim to another, engaging in the same behaviour, failing to recognise that it always ends badly. Whatever the type of stalker, there are common factors that drive and motivate their behaviour.”

The “real” Martha, Fiona Harvey, recently did an interview with Piers Morgan where she told him that she “is not a stalker” and has never spent time in prison. “It is completely untrue and very career damaging,” she said. “I want to rebut that. I’m not a stalker. It’s just complete nonsense.”

Baby Reindeer is available on Netflix now – For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes about Martha and her stalking like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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• Baby Reindeer: A forensic psychiatrist explains why Donny was such ‘easy prey’ for Martha

Featured images via Netflix and YouTube.