He was known as the most hated boy in America after going on the run following his deadly DUI crash that left four people dead.
But, 10 years later, the Daily Mail can reveal that the infamous ‘affluenza teen’ – who was spoiled by his family’s wealth – is now a sober and married man.
Ethan Couch, now 28, of Fort Worth, Texas, shot to infamy in 2015 after he and his mother Tonya went on the lam following his conviction over a 2013 drunk driving crash.
Busted after placing a pizza order, Couch was hauled back in handcuffs from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in January 2016 along with his mother – and had his original sentence of 10 years on probation upgraded to two years behind bars.
Now out of prison, Couch has turned his life around, according to family and friends, and is working for his rich father Fred’s sheet metal business. He even shares his $1million home in a tony Fort Worth suburb.
But it is in matters of the heart where he has had most success – with him marrying Hannah ‘Haleigh’ Shields in a stunning Maui, Hawaii, ceremony in early September.
Exclusive photos from the Daily Mail show the moment he set the seal on his marriage with a smooch on the beach for his yoga teacher bride.
Other pictures show the pair enjoying themselves in the run up to the ceremony by the ocean in Kapalua on September 4.
Haleigh was seen in a backless cream silk dress, accessorized with a headband of tropical pink and white flowers and a hot pink bougainvillea bouquet.
Although dad Fred bankrolled the ceremony, sources said he failed to attend due to his fear of flying over water. Former jailbird Tonya, 58, did show up.
An insider said: ‘It was a gorgeous beach wedding, and they had the best of everything – Fred was never going to let his son down on that score.’
Despite his father’s largesse, wedding registries listed in the couple’s name showed they were soliciting honeymoon cash via crowdfunding site Honeyfund – and giving the 59-year-old Texan businessman’s wallet a break.
The pair also ran a wish list on wedding gift registry The Knot which offered a largely modestly priced bounty of options for guests to choose from.
At the pricier end of the spectrum was a $499 KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 mixer while cheaper options included a $105.99 Samiah Luxe sage green chunky knit blanket.
Among the budget choices were a set of Deco 79 wooden beaded pillar candle holders for $34.99 and a set of neutral ceramic vases for $35.14.
The couple have been together for over a decade and met when Couch was just 16 via mutual pals, according to a family friend.
That coincided with the 2013 car crash that saw Couch caught on camera swiping two crates of beer from a branch of Walmart in Burleson, Texas, before hopping in his dad’s 2012 scarlet Ford F-350 pick-up and speeding off with seven passengers inside.
An hour later, the teen tearaway was scorching along the two-lane Burleson-Retta Road at 70mph when he collided with Breanna Mitchell’s stalled Mercury Mountaineer SUV which was forced into the road and into the path of an oncoming VW Beetle.
Mitchell, 24, was killed instantly in the crash as were Hollie Boyles, 52, her daughter Shelby, 21, and youth minister Brian Jennings – all of whom had stopped to help.
One of Couch’s pals, Sergio Molina, was left so badly wounded, he can now no longer speak or move – the result of a catastrophic brain injury.
Also hurt were the elderly occupants of the VW Beetle, both of whom had to be rushed to hospital.
In the aftermath of the crash, Couch’s alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit and he also had marijuana and diazepam in his system.
Charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two of intoxication assault, Couch pleaded guilty – with Tarrant County prosecutors asking for a top sentence of 20 years.
But it wasn’t until sentencing that the case became notorious thanks to Couch’s attorney’s argument that he should face a more lenient sentence due to him suffering from ‘affluenza’.
Expert witness and psychologist G. Dick Miller said this meant his millionaire parents had never taught him right from wrong.
Astonishingly, juvenile justice specialist Judge Jean Boyd agreed and gave Couch no jail time — just 10 years’ probation on the condition he went to rehab and stayed away from alcohol.
But even that proved too restrictive for the spoiled teenager. Within two years a picture of him at a beer pong party was posted on Twitter.
Fearing he would be locked up, his devoted mom fled with Couch to the Mexican town of Puerto Vallarta where the pair checked into the Los Tules resort – and Couch infamously blew $2,000 of his mom’s cash on a night out in a strip club called Harem where he snorted cocaine.
The fugitive duo were eventually collared after two weeks on the lam when Tonya used her personal cellphone to order a pizza.
The pair were then dragged back to Texas in January 2016, with Tonya deported to LAX first before Couch was brought back by marshals.
At that point, Couch’s case was transferred to adult court, and he was sentenced to 180 days in prison for each of the four victims, with his total jail time tallying up to just shy of two years.
Tonya, meanwhile, was slapped with one count each of money laundering and aiding a fugitive and hit with a 180-day jail sentence.
Freed from prison in 2018, Couch completed his probation term at the end of 2023 and has not been in trouble with the law since.
But even as Couch lingered in the Tarrant County Jail, he always had his new wife Haleigh’s devoted support.
A family friend said: ‘That marriage is one that will last. She already waited for him throughout the trial and his jail time.
‘She isn’t going anywhere.’
