‘Bad Romance’: What happened to the Bliefnick kids, and where is Tim Bliefnick now?

The following article mentions murder and domestic violence. Please read with caution.

In 2024, the 20/20 limited series Bad Romance covered Tim and Rebecca “Becky” Bliefnick. The previous year, Rebecca was shot and killed, and just a few weeks later, Tim was arrested for her murder — here’s an update on where he is now and whether or not the Bliefnicks had children.

The public’s first introduction to the Bliefnick’s came — of all places — on the TV game show Family Feud, hosted by Steve Harvey. In 2020, Tim and Becky appeared on the show. When Harvey asked Tim what his biggest mistake was at their wedding, Tim said on air, “Honey, I love you, but, ‘Said I do,'” before he added, “Not my mistake, not my mistake, I love my wife. I’m gonna get in trouble for that, aren’t I?” CBS News reported.

Joking or not, in the years between that 2020 Family Feud appearance and Becky’s 2023 death, Becky tried to get a restraining order against her husband for alleged abuse and harassment. When she died, the couple were separated and pursuing a divorce. According to the prosecution, Tim killed his wife because he was jealous and had seen his estranged wife with another man. Tim’s defense team maintained there was reasonable doubt that Tim was responsible, and that Becky could have been killed by an intruder instead.

Where is Tim Bliefnick now?

In Aug. 2023, Tim Bliefnick was convicted of killing his wife and received three life sentences for the crime with no chance for parole. Tim was then sent to the Graham Correctional Center, a Level 4 medium-security adult male prison in Illinois, KQHA reported.

At Bliefnick’s sentencing hearing, Judge Robert Adrian said:

“You researched this murder. You planned this murder. You practiced this murder. You broke into her house and you shot her … 14 times. … Some of those shots were fired while she was lying on the ground and you did all of that while your children were upstairs at your house, lying snug in their beds.”

via People

In a 48 Hours episode about Becky’s murder, Tim said, “The idea of murdering someone, let alone the mother of my kids … is not any part of who I am” (via CBS News). Tim and his legal team said they would appeal the jury’s decision.

What happened to the Bliefnick kids?

As Judge Adrian mentioned at Tim Bliefnick’s sentencing hearing, Tim and Becky Bliefnick had three sons between the ages of 5 and 12 years old who were at Tim’s house the night Becky died. Becky’s sister, Sarah Reilly, said in the aftermath of their mother’s murder, the children were doing the best they could under the circumstances. According to KQHA, Reilly said:

“It’s still heart-wrenching on a day-to-day basis. We continue to move forward the best we can with the support of each other and the support from our friends, and family, and community, and we are just doing our best … We lost Becky, but they lost their mother and their father.”

via KHQA

Reilly’s comments suggest the three boys may be in her custody, but as of this report, there was no publicly available information to confirm the children’s whereabouts.