Lynette Hooker was concerned about husband Brian in messages to friend: “I can’t be out there with him”

Messages that Lynette Hooker sent to a friend in 2024 following her temporary split with husband Brian Hooker indicate she had concerns about him and their life at sea.

The couple was sailing in the Bahamas earlier this month when she disappeared during a nighttime boat ride. Brian Hooker was detained and questioned by police but later released.

The messages from January to February of 2024 provide some insight into the relationship between the couple.

“I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I’m not going back,” Lynette Hooker wrote in messages obtained exclusively by CBS News.

She told Marnee Stevenson, a fellow boater and friend, “We were married 21 years. Our marriage lasted 6 weeks cruising.” In messages to her friend Marnee Stevenson in 2024, Lynette Hooker wrote that she and her husband Brian “decided to call it quits. I’m not going back.”

Marnee and Blaine Stevenson met the Hookers in 2023 while sailing through Florida.

“We were boating with them for a while,” Blaine Stevenson said.

Lynette Hooker, who previously lived in Michigan, told Marnee she had “quit my awesome career, sold my house and gave away everything I own to cruise.”

At the time, she left Brian to stay with her mother in Florida, according to the messages.

When asked about whether the two could reconcile, Hooker told her friend, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.”
Lynette Hooker said in a message to her friend Marnee Stevenson in 2024, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.” 
A month later, in late February 2024, the messages indicate Lynette and Brian had reconciled.

Marnee Stevenson messaged her on social media: “Looks like things are on the up and up.”

Lynette replied with heart emojis and a thumbs up.
A month after Lynette Hooker told her friend Marnee Stevenson that she and husband Brian Hooker had split up, they were back together.
Brian Hooker reported his wife missing on Sunday, April 5, saying she had been swept away from a dingy which lost power the night before, hampering his ability to seek help.

Attorney Terrel Butler, who represents Brian Hooker in a criminal investigation by the Bahamian Royal Police Force, has consistently said he denies any wrongdoing, is heartbroken by the incident and wanted to be released from custody so he can search for his wife.

At the time, she left Brian to stay with her mother in Florida, according to the messages.

When asked about whether the two could reconcile, Hooker told her friend, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.”
Lynette Hooker said in a message to her friend Marnee Stevenson in 2024, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.” 
A month later, in late February 2024, the messages indicate Lynette and Brian had reconciled.

Marnee Stevenson messaged her on social media: “Looks like things are on the up and up.”

Lynette replied with heart emojis and a thumbs up.
A month after Lynette Hooker told her friend Marnee Stevenson that she and husband Brian Hooker had split up, they were back together.
Brian Hooker reported his wife missing on Sunday, April 5, saying she had been swept away from a dingy which lost power the night before, hampering his ability to seek help.

Attorney Terrel Butler, who represents Brian Hooker in a criminal investigation by the Bahamian Royal Police Force, has consistently said he denies any wrongdoing, is heartbroken by the incident and wanted to be released from custody so he can search for his wife.

At the time, she left Brian to stay with her mother in Florida, according to the messages.

When asked about whether the two could reconcile, Hooker told her friend, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.”
Lynette Hooker said in a message to her friend Marnee Stevenson in 2024, “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him.” 
A month later, in late February 2024, the messages indicate Lynette and Brian had reconciled.

Marnee Stevenson messaged her on social media: “Looks like things are on the up and up.”

Lynette replied with heart emojis and a thumbs up.
A month after Lynette Hooker told her friend Marnee Stevenson that she and husband Brian Hooker had split up, they were back together.
Brian Hooker reported his wife missing on Sunday, April 5, saying she had been swept away from a dingy which lost power the night before, hampering his ability to seek help.

Attorney Terrel Butler, who represents Brian Hooker in a criminal investigation by the Bahamian Royal Police Force, has consistently said he denies any wrongdoing, is heartbroken by the incident and wanted to be released from custody so he can search for his wife.