Stanford student who had lesbian affair with her dean reveals dramatic tell-all

A former Stanford University student who exposed her secret lesbian affair with a married dean more than a decade ago is bringing the scandal to the stage with a new play inspired by their relationship.Olivia Swanson Haas, now 37, will debut “Mimi & Jo” in San Francisco on Sunday.The play revisits her 2012 relationship with then-Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims, who was 44 and served as dean of freshman and undergraduate advising.Haas has described the the 90-minute production as both a love story and a cautionary tale, according to the Daily Mail.Featuring two performers and original music, the “queer coming-of-age” play follows two former lovers reconnecting a decade after their relationship ended while reflecting on the blurred lines between attachment, creative partnership and abuse of power.The production builds on revelations Haas first shared in a 2024 essay called “I Had an Affair With My College Dean,” which she says attracted more than 100,000 readers.In the essay, Haas remembered starting what she thought was a close friendship with the well-known university administrator — which later turned into a romantic relationship she kept secret from friends and family.She wrote that the pair met in luxury hotels, nearby motels and a mountain cabin south of campus, describing it as her first and only same-sex relationship before later identifying herself as bisexual.Haas said keeping the relationship secret was difficult for her.

She wrote that Lythcott-Haims checked Stanford’s policies to make sure they were not breaking university rules, but Haas still felt the relationship put the dean’s career at risk.She also claimed Lythcott-Haims’ husband, Bay Area sculptor Dan Lythcott-Haims, knew about the affair and at one point joked to his wife: “Just don’t buy her a car,” according to the Daily Post.Haas said she eventually ended the relationship after confessing it to her boyfriend and decided to stay with him.She said her parents we...