Up next in 10
Joseph Perulli on Nicole Brown Simpson: The Untold Story Behind "The Forgotten Briefcase"
Aug 2, 2026
What did Nicole Brown Simpson's closest friends know that the world never heard?
Joseph Perulli joins Kelvin on The Write Stuff to share the deeply personal story behind his memoir, "The Forgotten Briefcase" — a collection of private letters, rare photos, and journals kept hidden for more than 30 years.
In this powerful conversation, you'll hear:
✔ How Joseph's personal relationship with Nicole began
✔ The private letters, photos, and journals he kept secret for decades
✔ What it was like to write "The Forgotten Briefcase" — and why now
✔ The misconceptions about Nicole and who she really was beyond the headlines
✔ Missed warning signs and the lessons her story still holds today
This is the side of Nicole Brown Simpson the world never got to see.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Well, more than three decades after the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, a former ex is speaking
0:11
out about their romance, OJ's presence and the warning signs that he says he saw before her
0:17
death. Joseph Perulli says that Nicole told him about the abuse that she suffered during her
0:21
marriage to OJ and he kept personal letters, photos and journals from Nicole over the years
0:26
And now he's sharing those memories in his new memoir, The Forgotten Briefcase
0:30
And he is here to share more about it. Joseph, appreciate you being here
0:34
Thank you. Welcome to the show. Wonderful to be here. Absolutely. Let's talk about this
0:38
Obviously, I know we were talking just a little bit before we go here. You said it's obviously something that matters to you
0:42
It's personal. It's emotional. Tell me more about the letters and the photos and the things that you kept in this case there
0:49
and your relationship with Nicole that you kept away hidden for more than 30 years. Yeah, well, you know, going back to when I first met her, of course, was 1989
1:00
She was 29 years old. Kris Jenner, back then, Kris Kardashian introduced me to her
1:05
So, you know, we didn't start off as a romantic relationship, obviously
1:11
Then when I reconnected with her in 1992 after she had separated from O.J., that's when, you know, the romance started
1:19
Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, getting so as as the relationship developed, I took a lot of the mementos
1:29
You know, I saved everything, of course, being a romantic young man as I was. Right. And I had I had saved all these mementos, cards, letters
1:38
And when we broke up, I put them all in this briefcase and hit them away
1:43
I basically buried them away, buried them away along with my emotions
1:47
THE PEOPLE WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT THEIR OWNERS, THEIR OWNERS, THEIR OWNERS, THEIR OWNERS. RIGHT
1:52
YOU SAID THAT YOU WANTED TO TELL NICOLE STORY THROUGH YOUR BOOK THROUGH THIS MEMORIAL HERE THAT I HAVE IN MY HANDS IT WASN JUST ANOTHER STORY ABOUT O WHICH WE KNOW BACK through this memoir here that I have in my hands and it wasn just another story about O which we know back in the mid 90s early 2000s there were stories coming from everywhere as you know What makes this one so unique And you wanted to highlight more about her
2:07
Exactly. I think there's so many misconceptions about her. She was so unfairly portrayed by the
2:16
media and by the defense team, of course. And what I found, and again, you have to remember
2:21
this briefcase, in some ways, I feel like it found me. It was time to finally open this. And I knew I
2:29
had it, but I never really dealt with it. It was like, I look at it like a box of a loved one's
2:33
ashes, if you will. So, you know, when I came upon this and finally gave myself the time to sift
2:42
through these things, it felt like it was preordained, like I was supposed to be there at that moment to do that
2:48
And I was finally ready to really dig in and rediscover this woman and rediscover myself as well
2:55
the younger man I was who fell in love with her. And what I found with her was that she was a soulful, beautiful mother, smarter than people knew, magnanimous beyond belief
3:09
I mean, she had such a giving heart. And as I found these things about her that I had buried away, I felt it was incumbent upon me to do something with it
3:21
So you've got to remember, I didn't think, hey, I found these mementos, I want to write a book
3:26
This was more cathartic for me. I started to piece this all back together
3:30
And I had written these vignettes about her, these beautiful little love stories, if you will, about her
3:36
And as I pieced them all back together, I saw her coming back to life
3:41
And my original intention was really just catharsis. But as it came together, I knew it was bigger than me
3:48
The story was much bigger than me. And my intention was always to bring these mementos which you know there a photo album filled with a lot of photographs that Nicole herself had taken a goodbye note in the photo album when she had dropped it off to me when we split up
4:03
Yeah. And some letters, some handwritten letters of hers. And my intention was always to give that to her family
4:09
And it still is. Right. So Tonya Brown, her younger sister, is endorsing my book
4:15
She basically said, I learned a side of Nicole I never even knew about
4:20
Oh, wow. So through Joseph's words. And like I said, Kelvin, I learned something about her as well
4:25
I had forgotten what a beautiful woman she was. You know, Joseph, it sounds like you even maybe learned a lot about yourself
4:33
It seems, as you mentioned, therapeutic doing this as well. Yes. Just going through this process
4:38
And let me continue with this. You know, in the book, you reveal that obviously Nicole came to you and about the relationship with her and OJ and that he had beaten her
4:46
And she said, you know, really badly. and that at that time you weren't prepared. You didn't know how to handle that, what to do with
4:54
that. Tell me more about that. Well, yes. I mean, there were rumors, let's say that around Hollywood
4:59
and, you know, I was living in, you know, Brentwood. I had a producer friend who had warned me as well
5:04
And Caitlyn Jenner herself said, OJ will always be her problem early on. Yeah. So I knew these
5:10
things, but to hear them from her firsthand like that was quite a different thing. And when she
5:16
broke down. We were at a beautiful little romantic restaurant, Laguna Beach, and she broke down
5:21
crying and told me. So to answer your question, yes, I was woefully unprepared. I think we all
5:27
were back then. Domestic violence, this sounds horrible, but it was a private affair almost
5:33
especially when it involved celebrity. So you would hear these things, but you never
5:39
it didn't go much further. But when I heard it from her, I was shaken
5:44
And I remember that night I woke up and what she had described to me woke me up I think that you mentioned something there that I think a lot of us have learned from is you know not necessarily ducking or hiding
5:59
from the signs, right? Exactly. Friends and family and hearing these things and taking note. And
6:03
sometimes things have to happen. Big stories have to happen for us to kind of have an awakening
6:08
And I do think that was one of those things. You know, Joseph, I'll let you go on this one. You
6:12
know, if Nicole, if she was sitting across from me today, maybe sitting across from us from here
6:16
What would you want to say to her? First and foremost, I would like to apologize to her for her last Christmas Eve
6:23
I was at the Jenner's party, and OJ was there. And I had heard they had reconciled and they were back together, but I couldn't believe it
6:33
especially after what she had told me at that restaurant in Laguna Beach. So the night was a fiasco, of course, when I walked in
6:40
I thought, OK, we're all adults. You know, we could all get along. But when he saw me, he stormed out of the house
6:46
And she had to run, you know, after him with the children. And I just always thought I'd see her again and I'd be able to apologize
6:54
But that day never came. Six months later, she was killed. So first I'd apologize, Kelvin
6:59
And Sam's very sorry. And I would just tell her, you know, I really, truly loved you
7:03
And I hope my story shows you in the light you deserve
7:07
Yeah. You know, I had so many offers back then from tabloids
7:13
And I remember telling them, quite frankly, the way you're portraying her, I can't be a part of that
7:18
So I walked away from all that. And I kept out of the limelight, if you will, as much as I could
7:24
So that's why I felt this was such a calling for me. Well, it sounds like it is
7:28
And it sounds like it's going to be a lot to this book. Again, Joseph Perulli, thank you so much for joining us
7:33
I appreciate it. Pleasure. Your time and sharing this story. Again, the author of Memoir, The Forgotten Briefcase
7:38
Check this out. I'm assuming it's everywhere. Folks can get it everywhere. wherever books are sold, Amazon
7:43
Okay. Yeah. So go ahead and grab that book. Thank you so much for your time, folks. Thanks, Calvin. We've got a lot more on the other side
7:47
Stick with us
#Arts & Entertainment
