Convicted Killer Scott Peterson's Appeal Terrifies Ex-Mistress Amber Frey

Amber, now 37 and married with two children from previous relationships, had fallen in love with the cheating husband after he posed as a widower, telling her he’d “lost” his wife -- two weeks before Laci’s actual disappearance from the couple’s Modesto, California, home on Christmas Eve 2002.

As Scott pretended to be baffled over their whereabouts, Frey came forward to help and allowed cops to tape phone conversations that she had with him, which were later heard by the jury as the prosecution argued that his desire for her was a key motive in the crime.

“Amber was hurt and devastated by Scott’s betrayal, and she’s never recovered,” her dad said. “Now she’s going to be back in the spotlight again, and what makes it worse is that her two children are now old enough to understand. She had the toughest task a mother can imagine just last year when she finally felt able to explain to (11-year-old daughter) Ayiana how she was duped by a murderer.”

With the case back in the news, it’s going to be even more difficult, say friends, when her 8-year-old son Justin faces questions from pals at school

Amber does talk about her relationship with Scott on the Investigation Discovery channel’s Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? -- set to air in August -- but that’s a lot less traumatic than a new trial would be, according to her father.

“There's a hell of a difference between appearing on a TV show about bad dates, in which she is in control, and possibly having to face Scott in court again and undergo grilling by his lawyers,” Frey explained, adding that there is only one bright spot in the prospect of Scott getting a retrial. "Maybe we will finally learn the truth about how and when Laci died.”