Yumans to appear Monday on 'Dr. Phil Show'

Tune into the "Dr. Phil Show" on Monday and hear a Yuma couple's tale of getting married by a priest who turned out not to be a true man of the cloth.

"Father Brito" was a nationally known con man.

This is Gene and Maria Doten's second time sharing their story with TV viewers around the country. The owners of Gene Doten Photography last appeared on NBC's "Dateline."

This time it's Dr. Phil who gets to hear how the Dotens returned from their honeymoon in 2002, only to find out that the priest who had performed their wedding was a fake. The man who called himself "Father Fred Esparza" was really Fred Brito, whom "Dateline" has called "The Great Pretender" for portraying everyone from a doctor to a court-appointed psychiatrist.

"The Dr. Phil Show" brought the Yuma couple face to face with Brito for the first time since they all stood together at the wedding altar. Maria Doten said the encounter proved even more emotional than she had feared.

"I didn't know how I was going to react to seeing that phony father again," she said. "It was just very hurtful what he did to us."

Maria Doten stressed that the legalities of having a bogus wedding didn't bother her. It was always the religious implications that made her the angriest with the man who duped them.

"Jesus Christ was not present during our wedding. Our rings were not truly blessed. From a religious standpoint, he violated one of the sacred sacraments - marriage."

Brito came to be the priest at the Dotens' wedding because their priest was ill and the church recommended a priest who had been visiting and working in Yuma.

Gene Doten stressed what a time-consuming, yet truly exciting adventure the Dr. Phil appearance turned out to be for them. First a full film crew from Hollywood came to Yuma in August and interviewed the couple for a full day. Then the Dotens were flown out to the show's studio, which happened to be on the Paramount Pictures lot in Hollywood.

"The new 'Indiana Jones' was being filmed," Gene Doten said. "Harrison Ford was there so security was tough."

The couple raved about getting to meet Dr. Phil, whom they described as a really likeable guy.

"That guy is a real intellect," Gene Doten said. "He's real straightforward, too. He doesn't mess around with the petty stuff."

Maria Doten said she received closure from getting to finally face Brito and tell him exactly how he made her feel. She added that she and her husband probably won't appear on any more national TV shows, either.

"I think I would rather put this all behind me at this point," she said. "I got to say what I wanted to say this time."