>> haley reinhart. haley reinhart, the mildred snitzer festival. great arrangement. beautiful. thank you, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, the desperate manhunt for an escaped murderer serving a life sentence for shooting a 1-year-old girl.

the shocking details of his brazen getaway in north carolina. plus, onlyfans teachers. making headlines for their extracurricular activities. >> in the last year, i made about $2 million. >> juju: called on the carpet for their side hustle. >> we're going to go after you as a tenured faculty member, wow. >> i'm there to teach reading and writing. i'm not there to instill their morals. >> juju: should teachers who make porn on their own time lose their jobs? bachelorette blowout. >> whoo! >> juju: bachelorette parties going big. >> i wanted my party to be like "hangover" style. >> juju: and breaking the bank. >> i didn't know it was going to be this expensive. >> juju: one woman's own version of "27 dresses." >> you have a closetful, why? >> i have a lot of friends, and i like to keep them. >> i felt like i couldn't say no to the events. >> juju: what's fueling the new

praise? plus a first look at the suitors of "the golden bachelorette." but do they really? do they see that crick in your neck? that ache in your heart? will they see that funny little thing that wasn't there last year? a new bounce in your step? the way your retinal scan connects to your blood sugar? at kaiser permanente all of us work together

to care for all that is you. ♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, a region on edge as a brutal murderer remains at large after running away from armed guards near durham, north carolina. here's abc's faith abubey.

>> reporter: tonight, a statewide emergency alert issued in north carolina after a convicted murderer escaped from armed guards in a hospital parking lot. >> an inmate has just ran from the hospital. >> reporter: 30-year-old ramon alston, described as dangerous, with a violent criminal past. federal and local agencies including the u.s. marshal fugitive task force seen urgently searching the hillsborough area. >> he's either within a five-mile radius or he's in the rest of the world, and we're searching both. >> reporter: authorities say two prison guards were could go him to a medical appointment in the hospital when he broke free in the parking lot, pushing down at least one guard, then running into a densely wooded area. still handcuffed with a waist chain. but without the leg restraints he was put in before the ride. >> they are -- they're much like a handcuff. puts pressure against your achilles, which slows you a good bit. it's uncomfortable. how he got them off, i don't

know. >> reporter: the convicted felon was serving a life sentence for fatally shooting a 1-year-old, malia williams, on christmas day in 2015. the child struck while in her mother's arms outside. >> juju: our thanks to faith. we turn now to teachers finding a new way to pay bills. some discovering a lucrative side hustle as adult content creators on the subscription site onlyfans. but running into trouble when they're exposed. here's "nightline" correspondent ashan singh. ♪ >> you know what i need right now? someone to take me to dinner and then bring me home and have me for dessert. >> reporter: porn was not included in this high school teacher's extracurricular activities. >> hey, girls, want to go take the tops off? this is for all the blue-collar men out there. i'm going as a sexy teacher. >> reporter: before briana kopich's unexpected career change has turned out pretty

successful. >> i made several hundred thousand dollars in the first month or so. >> reporter: several hundred thousand that respect? >> yeah. >> reporter: so multiples of what you were making before? >> oh, yes. in the last year, i made about $2 million. >> reporter: $2 million? you're not going back. >> no. >> reporter: so this is the studio? >> yeah. this is where i work during the day. >> reporter: where the magic literally happens. >> right? >> reporter: onlyfans. the exclusive subscription-based platform has become a full-time job for briana. this four wheeler, this is onlyfans money? >> it is. >> reporter: not bad. last fall, briana was a high school english teacher in suburban st. louis. >> my favorite part was teaching shakespeare. the kids loved it. we did "romeo and juliet." we did "macbeth." >> reporter: as rewarding as teaching can be, it's so secret salaries for teachers aren't as high as they should be. >> i made $42,000 a year.

missouri is one of the lowest-paying states for teacher pay. >> reporter: were you able to make ends meet? >> no. my husband was also laid off at the time. student loan debt, car loans, credit card debt, you name it. >> reporter: when briana saw her friend's onlyfans page, she got an idea. >> at first, it was me and my husband, boy-girl stuff, girl stuff, just me. didn't show my face at all. >> reporter: she said her income grew by $5,000 a month. >> we could pay our rent. i didn't know how much of a risk there was going to be, so -- at the time, it was me thinking, well, can they actually fire me for this? >> reporter: uh-huh. did you feel like, as a teacher, you were crossing a line? >> well, i wasn't doing anything illegal. i'm there to teach reading and writing. i'm not there to instill their morals. >> reporter: someone from her school suspected a woman hiding her face in a video was briana. >> my husband and i started hearing rumors around our town. and i was like, i guess i need

to tell the school. i just started, like, kind of panicking. then someone called and reported it to the school. >> reporter: onlyfans has more than 3 million creators pulling in over $1 billion a year. some earning the kind of income that makes traditional jobs look wildly underpaid. >> and i put on these legg leggings -- >> reporter: while briana seems like the typical creator -- young, female, attractive -- a wide variety of desires can be fulfilled on the site. consider 63-year-old joe gao, winding down a 16-year as chancellor of university of wisconsin lacrosse. >> we felt a little more liberated, if you will, and just thought, let's experiment and just see, would anybody be interested in these videos? >> reporter: for ten years, joe and his wife, carmen wilson, have been making pornographic videos. >> joe is like, "how do you feel about porn?" "i'm okay with porn." >> reporter: how many videos do

you think you've recorded? >> it's right around 20. >> reporter: this was not for public consumption? >> no. >> reporter: however, late last year, the couple started uploading their content to an onlyfans account titled "sexy happy couple." not many people subscribed. so they tried a free site. >> i didn't expect it to get out in kind of explosive way that it did. and there's so many, millions of videos to watch on the free sites. how would we even get noticed? well -- we did. quickly. >> reporter: part of that new audience, people who could control joe's future. >> i get this email from the legal people, and then they started, "we've heard that you have these videos, is that true?" and i wasn't going to lie to them. i said, "yes, it is." >> reporter: joe was terminated as chancellor. university system stating, "in recent days we learned of specific conduct by dr. gao that has subjected the university to significant rep lational harm. his actions were abhorrent."

>> the uw board of regents fired joe gow for producing online pornography with his wife. >> joe gow believes he's being punished for pornographic videos he and his wife made together and published on the internet. >> the media reaction was just stunning. we've been in several british papers. we were in "the economic times," which is the largest paper in india. >> reporter: despite being fired from his job as chancellor, joe expected his tenured teaching position in media studies would be safe. >> wasn't surprising that they said, you can't be chancellor. but, we're going to go after you as a tenured faculty member? wow, that's new. >> reporter: a hearing was held to decide joe's fate as teacher. >> yes, my wife carmen and i created a series of section equally explicit videos and books on our own time using our own money. >> reporter: interim chancellor betsy morgan, who took over

after joe testified -- >> i had people email me and say, i am embarrassed to have uwl as a former place of employment. >> how has it damaged the university's reputation? >> we don't want to be known as "porn u," we want to be known for the quality of our academic programs. >> that is not the place for him to talk about what he does with his hobby. >> do you want dr. gow teaching in your department? >> i do not want dr. gow to teach in our department. >> reporter: after the hearing, the university releasing a unanimous decision to dismiss him for unethical conduct. joe vehemently disagrees with the evidence and the arguments of the university. >> what is indisputable is uw lacrosse has not experienced substantive negative effects. as we've heard, enrollment is stable. the budget remains balanced. donations continue to flow in. >> reporter: hanging in the balance, a health insurance benefit. >> you try to stick around and we fire you, you lose that

benefit. they estimate that benefit's worth $313,000. >> reporter: he says if he walked away willingly, he could keep the benefit. but choosing to fight, he risks losing it. his appeal could be heard later this month. why die on this hill? >> well, what else am i going to do? >> reporter: that's the closet? >> yeah. >> reporter: do you have any favorite pieces you want to pull out? >> this one's pretty cute. most of it's pink, as you can tell. >> reporter: briane in's story was a media sensation. >> a missouri high school teacher is on leave after leaders discovered her profile on the adult fan called onlyfans. >> you know, seeing my name and my face in every news article around the world was like a huge shock to me. >> reporter: she realized most believed teachers should not be making pornography, even outside of the classroom. so briana quit shortly after she was outed. from a moral perspective, where do you sit on all of this? >> i personally, me, would not have a problem with it as long as they were not, like, bringing

to it school, talking to my kids about it. >> reporter: you think you should be able to teach still? >> i do, yeah. >> reporter: even though this is a life far from the classroom, briana has come to embrace it. any regrets? >> no. i don't have any regrets. >> juju: our thanks to ashan. when we return, the skyrocketing scale of bachelorette parties with price tacks to match. why some are sinking into debt to pay for it.

to help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. with apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. you must be hiv negative, to receive apretude and get tested before each injection. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. apretude does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections. practice safer sex to reduce your risk. don't take apretude if you're allergic to it or taking certain medicines, as they may interact. tell your doctor if you've had liver or kidney problems or mental health concerns. if you have a rash or other allergic reactions, stop apretude and get medical help right away. serious side effects include allergic reactions, liver problems, and depression. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions and headache. you must receive apretude as scheduled. ask your doctor about long-acting apretude. and prep without pills.

save at apretude.com. want a next level clean? swish with the whoa of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa! can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey!! (thinking: eddie, no frasier, frank... frank?) fred! how are you?! fred... fuel up to 7 brain health indicators, including your memory. join the neuriva brain health challenge.

when we're young, we're told anything is possible... ...but only a few of us go out and prove it. witness the greatness of anna hall on a connection worthy of gold: xfinity mobile. only xfinity gives you the most powerful mobile wifi network, with speeds up to a gig in millions of locations. and right now, xfinity internet customers can buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity.

♪

>> juju: welcome back. the traditional bachelorette party now often going big ticket and big budget. and what happens when you're asked to attend more than one? abc's zohreen shah takes another look at these bachelorette blowouts. ♪ >> should i get my headband? >> yeah! >> me and summer have been close since birth. our moms are sisters. so we grew up together. >> reporter: what was the moment where she said, "jade, i want you to be my maid of honor"? >> oh my gosh, since very young. >> reporter: how old were you guys? >> 10. i swear. >> reporter: jade holden has been preparing for this role all of her wife. >> slay! the boots! >> reporter: as maid of honor for her best friend and cousin, summer. how excited are you right now? bachelor party into wedding? >> so excited.

so, so excited. >> come on, let's take a shot! >> reporter: summer's friends have flown to las vegas for her bachelorette party. >> cheers! >> reporter: committing to the three-day-long event, some dipping into savings or borrowing money to foot the bill. >> i told my friends about this a year ago, because they're in the same position as me. just graduating grad school. still in college or starting their careers. >> this is how she really wanted it. super big, super party-like. >> reporter: you keep saying big. when i think big, i also think expensive. >> oh, yes. >> reporter: between travel, accommodations, and decor, the tab of some bachelorette parties can be steep. according to the wedding website the knot, the cost of bachelorette parties has skyrocketed the past few years, partygoers spending an average of $1,300, almost doubling in cost since 2019.

>> in terms of a financial standpoint, the parties are, oh my gosh, they're so much more extravagant. >> reporter: alison owner cashed in on the high-end party trend, creating a luxury party-planning company called batch to basics in 2016. >> i used to take clients looking to plan a weekend for $300, $500 a weekend. now we recommend at minimum spending $600 per person. but it's often between $800 to well over $3,000 per person for the weekend. >> reporter: on top of inflation and the post-pandemic wedding boom, for many, the social pressure to attend bachelorettes at the cost of their wallet wins out. >> social media obviously plays a role. whether it's conscious or subconscious. i also think people are getting married older, and so they have the means to be able to spend on these weekends to make them as extravagant as they are.

>> reporter: owner's team planned summer's vegas bachelorette. why does the bachelor party hold so much weight? >> hopefully this is your first and last time getting married, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for your friend who's getting married. and being invited to be a bridesmaid or as part of a wedding is really special. >> cheers! >> reporter: many girls attending the bachelor parties have bridesmaids dutyies. >> are those -- >> no. >> are they bridesmaid dresses? >> none of your business. >> reporter: for some, the plot of "27 dresses" may seem far-fetched. >> i have a lot of friends, and i like to keep them. >> reporter: for jael cooper, it's pretty close to her reality. >> so, total, it's 15 bridesmaids dresses i've purchased. >> reporter: at 27 years old, she's attended around 35

weddings total and been a bridesmaid in 15 of those. >> i felt like i couldn't say no to the events. but it was -- it was so much back to back. >> reporter: over the course of one year, jael racked up $4,000 of credit card debt from all of her commitments. >> it's a bachelorette party, bridal shower, the gifts for the bridal shower, the hair, the makeup, the nails for the day of, and the dress. and even just getting time off work. >> reporter: a 2017 wedding wire report found being a bridesmaid can cost an average of $1,200 to $1,800. and with her own wedding falling just after her friend's, jael had to get savvy to pay off her debt posting this tiktok to get the word out that she was selling her dresses. the video racked up almost 300,000 views, and she said she paid off her credit cards over two years. when planning her epic vegas trip, summer says she made an

intentional choice to try to be up front about estimated costs with her guests before they committed. >> i wanted everyone to just know what they were paying for, because it's a lot of money for people just getting out of college or just starting their career. >> reporter: why vegas? >> i wanted my party to be like "hangover" style. >> a night we'll never forget. >> hear, hear! >> vegas is the perfect destination for any party, because everything is open all the time. you can walk down the street at 5:00 in the afternoon and get a margarita or 2:00 in the morning or 10:00 a.m. >> [ bleep ] whoo! >> reporter: the girls let us tag along as they rack up experiences and expenses. from coordinated outfits -- >> got my boots on, my cowgirl hat, i'm ready. >> reporter: to dinner at the trendy sugar factory. >> whoo!

>> oh, my god. >> reporter: and dancing the night away. on top of that, party planning fees, the hotel, flights, and spa treatments. the final price tag for the full weekend came out to about $1,700 a person. and $21,000 total. >> i didn't know it was going to be this expensive. >> reporter: what would you have guessed? >> around maybe $1,000. so it's doubled. >> reporter: double your expectation. >> yeah. and it's all worth it. >> reporter: why do it? >> those are the girls that you chose that have impacted your life so far. and you want to be able to celebrate with them. >> whoo! >> juju: our thanks to zohreen. when we come back, it's a silver fox parade. the mature men vying for the hand of the first golden bachelorette. ar has wavy edges that tear so much better.

i'm starting to get tearied away. designed with smooth tear edges, charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. plus it has more cushiony softness than ordinary squares. try charmin ultra soft smooth tear. voted #1 product of the year. >> at university of maryland global campus, getting a bachelor's degree doesn't have to mean starting from scratch. here you can earn up to 90 undergraduate credits for relevant experience. what will your next success be? are you tired of your hair breaking after waiting years for it to grow? new pantene with more pro-vitamins, plus biotin & collagen. repairs as well as the leading luxury bonding brand. stronger, healthier hair, without the $60 price tag. if you know, you know it's pantene. i won't let my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis symptoms define me. emerge as you.

with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 4 months and the majority stayed clearer, at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge as you. emerge tremfyant®. ask you doctor about tremfya®. ( ♪ )

z's baking the house special. arisa's styling a new look. and steve's filling his biggest order ever. with the first ever comcast business five-year price lock guarantee, these business owners get five years of value on gig speed internet and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years. that's a lot of bread. you got this. the comcast business five-year price lock guarantee. switch today for a limited time. ♪ ♪ have you always had trouble losing weight and keeping it off? same. discover the power of wegovy®. ♪ ♪ with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. ♪ ♪ and i'm keeping the weight off. wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off. i'm reducing my risk.

wegovy® is the only fda-approved weight-management medicine that's proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight. wegovy® shouldn't be used with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines. don't take wegovy® if you or your family had medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop wegovy® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. wegovy® may cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes, especially if you take medicines to treat diabetes. tell your provider about vision problems or changes, or if you feel your heart racing while at rest. depression or thoughts of suicide may occur. call your provider right away if you have any mental changes. common side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. with wegovy®, i'm losing weight, i'm keeping it off. and i'm lowering my cv risk. that's the power of we. ♪ ♪

check your cost and coverage before talking to your health care professional about wegovy®. ♪ >> juju: finally tonight, get ready, joan. these men are going to try to win your hand and your heart. ♪ they are distinguished, dapper, and old. >> there's nothing that we can't do that another age group can't do. they might have a new hip in there. >> juju: from an e.r. doctor to a new york city fireman, all two dozen suitors of the first golden bachelorette say they're ready for their next chapter. >> there's a need to love and be loved. that never escapes us.