Verne Troyer was completely blindsided by his ex-girlfriend, Ranae Shrider, who leaked the couple’s sex tape to the media.
Verne is finally coming forward to explain his side of the story and to tell us a little more about the woman who could have sabotaged his career.
Q. How are you doing?
VT: “It’s hard right now. I’m avoiding the public right now because I don’t know what somebody’s going to say, or say to me, or anything like that. Unfortunately, I haven’t done anything except stay in my house right now.”
Q. What kind of support network do you have? Do you have people who are calling and checking up on you?
VT: “I have family, friends. You know, I have a lot of people here. It’s just, even if I go out with them, I’m still afraid of what somebody’s going to come up and say. So I’ve just been keeping it very low key.”
Q. Tell us how you feel about your privacy being invaded.
VT: “First off, the fact that I could be so close with somebody and then for them to do this, almost casually … that’s the biggest thing that gets me. Also, yeah, it is my privacy. It’s my private life, and it’s not meant for the public to see. That’s my life. So, it’s just been hard.”
Q. How did you guys meet?
VT: “We me at the Playboy mansion. (Laughs) It was a little less than a year ago. It’s been only like seven months ago. It was a New Year’s Eve party.”
Q. Was it hot and passionate right away?
VT: “It was slow. I was off working. I was in London doing The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, so I was busy in the beginning of our relationship. It was mostly just phone conversations and things.”
Q. What attracted you to her?
VT: “She seemed like she was normal. I don’t know if I can stress ‘seemed.’ She seemed like a great person. I felt comfortable around her. I felt like I could really just be myself and not have to pretend.”
Q. Was she easy to talk to?
VT: “Yeah. Easy to talk to and easy to hangout with. It was just easy. Next time I know: If it’s too easy, then I will know something’s wrong.” (Laughs)
Q. Whose decision was it to do a sex tape?
VT: “It was basically both of our decisions. We both equally said, ‘Let’s do this.’ She came up with the idea and at the time, I thought it was great.”
Q. So she came to you, and you didn’t think anything of it?
VT: “I never thought it would get out to anybody besides us. In my wildest dreams, I never would have thought that she would’ve done anything like this.”
Q. “Did she give you the tape? How much trust did you put in her with this tape?
VT: “I put all the trust in her. She had the tape. Actually, she had the tape in her camera, which was on top of the closet where I couldn’t even touch it. I don’t have a copy. I just thought it was for us.”
Q. She admits to leaking some of the tape. How do you feel?
VT: “I feel vindicated that people know that it is her, but it doesn’t help how I feel as far as somebody that was in my life, doing that to me.
Q. How did you hear the footage was out there?
VT: “We had just broken up. I was in New York doing a press junket for Love Guru at the time. She called up, hysterical, and said the paparazzi approached her outside our front door and just showed little pictures of us from the videotape, and I believed her. Then as the stories kept going, it just got to be too ridiculous, and I knew that if she didn’t do it, she had something to do with it.”
Q. “Do you feel like she used this as a way to get famous?
VT: “It’s really funny because when I was with her, she wanted to be an actress, but she said that she didn’t want to be famous. I want to ask her now, ‘So are you now a ’serious actress’ with a sex tape?”
Q. So was the breakup mutual?
VT: “No, I broke up with her.”
Q. Can you talk about why?
VT: “Yeah, she couldn’t trust me and wouldn’t trust me.”
Q. She thought you were cheating on her.
VT: “Yeah, which I never did. It just got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to be able to be me, and she wouldn’t believe anything I said so, there was no way I could’ve stayed in that relationship.”
Q. How did she react?
VT: “She was very upset, and I never thought in my wildest dreams that she’d be so upset as far as taking the tape and giving it to the public. But she was upset — I guess like anybody would be after a breakup. For me, it wasn’t that hard because I knew it couldn’t work.
Q. Did you love her?
VT: “When I broke up with her, no.”
Q. Did you love her at any point in the relationship?
VT: “I did at some point in time. I thought I could spend my life with her, but that was in the very early part of the relationship.”
Q. How do you feel about her now?
VT: “Hate is actually a good word. I just very much dislike her right now and the really sad part is, I have a house and she’s still renting out one of the rooms in the house, so I still see her, which makes it even harder.”
Q. How do you deal with that?
VT: “I don’t acknowledge her. Truthfully, I don’t really see her that often. I have my own room, and I have everything that I need in my room. I just don’t see her, which is good.”
Q. Can you get her evicted?
VT: “I’m in the process of seeing what I can do. She won’t leave.”
Q. As a famous person, is there always that concern that anybody you date is going to try use to further their career?
VT: “Of course, it crosses my mind. You know, I know right now I don’t want to date another girl for the rest of my life. I know that will change later, but at this point in time, I can’t trust anybody to have a relationship with, even a new friendship at this point.”
Q. If you date again, it will probably be somebody outside the industry?
VT: “I hope so.”
