Lauren Brown was engaged to Jay McGwire in 1996, the same time he was consistently supplying the former home run king with steroids. She's relieved the truth about Mark's steroid use is finally out.
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Lauren Brown contacted us exclusively to share some of the incidents she'd witnessed first hand while she was dating Mark's younger brother. She called off her engagement to Jay in 1996 due to his steroid use — specifically "roid rage" incidents. But, even though she has bad memories of their engagement and the person Jay was at that time, she claims he is absolutely telling the truth.
"I know the truth. It needs to be told. And why shouldn't Jay tell the story instead of some random media person? He knows the truth," she told me on the phone. "Why shouldn't he be the one telling this story? What's being said about him, that he's a bad person, is awful. People don't want to believe that a superstar is fallen. That Mark lied. Mark made his own choices. So did Jay, but he's owned up to them. I tip my hat off to him for that."
Brown says that she accompanied Jay to the 1996 Contra Costa Body Building Championship and, on the way there, they had to stop at Mark's house. "I remember asking why we didn't fly there — and why we had to drive." Now she assumes it was so Jay could transport the steroids. She says that while she was at Mark's house, she claims she saw steroids in Mark's refrigerator or actually "Several tubes of an injectible substance."
She says that she knew well enough that Jay was Mark's supplier at the time and that he also tried to get her to take steroids as well as part of her own training regiment. She did not. Brown also says that the fact Mark so carelessly left his steroids in plain view makes her believe that "he didn't think what they [Mark and Jay] were doing was wrong."
Brown also speculates that the steroids — and Jay's personal training of his big brother — were what forged a bond between them that wasn't there most of their lives. A bond that Jay longed for with his big brother, but could never seem to have for whatever reason.
But she also said that their relationship was combustible. That the arguments between the two of them over the phone were extremely violent and were, she claims, total roid rage arguments. "I could hear Mark yelling at Jay over the phone from about 20 yards away."
But why is Jay doing this now? Brown said, yes, there is a financial reason for him to do it, but that Jay's born again Christianity has changed him in so many ways that she doesn't think his intentions are malicious.
"Jay should be the one to tell the truth about what transpired. He was a first hand witness. Jay's faith catapulted him to stop steroids and live an honest life. Mark could learn a lot from his baby brother. After all, he was a better athlete with an unfortunate handicap that prevented him from going pro, " Brown said.
" I really think he has a burning desire to do what's right — it's not about trying to throw Mark under the bus. At least he was trying to do the right thing. I respect him for that. Mark, not so much."
Brown said she has no ill-will toward the McGwire's at all — no motivation to speak up on this issue besides the fact that she's also "been questioned about all this stuff for years" by many people who knew how close she was to the McGwire family.
"I'm just happy that Jay has gotten his life together and the truth about Mark will finally get out there. It's been too long."