Joseph Perrulli, who dated Brown Simpson in 1992, shares their love story in a new book, “The Forgotten Briefcase.”

Nicole Brown Simpson’s ex speaks out, recalls ending relationship because O.J. Simpson was ‘lurking everywhere’

Joseph Perrulli, who dated Brown Simpson in 1992, shares their love story in a new book, "The Forgotten Briefcase."

By Kathleen Perricone

June 16, 2026 5:17 p.m. ET

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Nicole Brown Simpson; Joseph Perrulli. Credit:

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Bryan Steffy/Getty

- Nicole Brown Simpson's ex is speaking out and says he ended the relationship because of her estranged husband, O.J. Simpson.

- The NFL star seemed to be "lurking everywhere," recalled Joseph Perrulli, who dated Nicole in 1992.

- Perrulli reflects on his romance with Nicole in the new memoir, *The Forgotten Briefcase*.

Three decades after the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, her ex-boyfriend is just now finding the courage to speak out on their relationship — and the troubling encounter with O.J. Simpson that ultimately made him break it off.

Joseph Perrulli first met Nicole in 1989, four years into her marriage to the retired NFL star, through mutual friend Kris Jenner. Perrulli, then a shoe salesman at Neiman Marcus, helped Nicole find an outfit for a black-tie event, but he left quite an impression.

When she and O.J. separated three years later, she asked Kris to set up a double date with her then-husband Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner. "I was shocked," Perrulli recalled to PEOPLE. Before their dinner, he went on a bike ride with Caitlyn, who gushed about Nicole, saying, "She's a wonderful girl, great mother. She's not caught up in all the Beverly Hills stuff. Her only problem is O.J."

O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993.

Robin Platzer/Getty

The double date was a success and Nicole and Perrulli paired off from the Jenners, heading back to the mother of two's rental home in Brentwood, where they sat on the sofa and talked.

“I learned about her musical tastes ('everything but country') and her favorite restaurants — she was a foodie and had destination dishes all around Los Angeles,” Perrulli remembered. "And then we kissed."

As he left Nicole's home, he got a whiff of her distinct perfume, Paco Rabanne, "like she had just been standing there," Perrulli said. "I got this eerie feeling. I walked to my car and kept feeling the need to look over my shoulder."

He later found out that Nicole's neighbor had spotted O.J. in the bushes that night — and the fragrance he detected outside her home was actually her ex, who also wore Paco Rabanne.

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Nicole confronted O.J., who admitted he "wanted to make sure everything was okay," according to Perrulli. "I was a man divided in two. One side of me was falling in love, and the other side was wondering if love was even possible with someone in a situation like hers."

As he and Nicole grew closer, O.J. remained a looming figure in their romance.

During one dinner date, she confessed to Perrulli that her estranged husband had beaten her so badly "she blacked out" and feared for her life. "Through tears, she said, 'I'd rather die than go back to that man.'"

Soon after, the two were in Laguna Beach, 60 miles from Brentwood, for the weekend when they learned O.J. was "in town" and "on his way" to the same barbecue they were attending.

"I didn't think I could live my life like this, feeling like this man's lurking everywhere I go," Perrulli admitted to PEOPLE. "As hard as it was, I left the next day and decided to end the relationship."

That night, he had a nightmare that he and Nicole drove off a cliff and died. Perrulli was so freaked out, "I collected all the things we'd shared — the books, my journals, the letters — and I put it in my briefcase, and I hid it."

The two remained friends, although they only met up once for lunch after Nicole finalized her divorce in October 1992. A year later, Perrulli heard rumors that she had reconciled with O.J., but refused to believe it "because she said she'd never go back to him."

O.J. Simpson during his trial for the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1995.

VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty

At a Christmas Eve party hosted by the Jenners in 1993, Perrulli was shocked to see the rumors were true.

When he went to the bar for a glass of champagne, O.J. was suddenly behind him. "I said, 'You're looking well,'" Perrulli recalled. "That couldn't have been further from the truth. He was unhinged. He's sweating. He placed his champagne flute down and stared at me, and said, 'It's only an illusion.' He turned around and stormed out."

Less than six months later on June 13, 1994, when a friend called to tell him Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman had been murdered, "I thought, 'Oh, he did it. He killed her,'" Perrulli recounted to PEOPLE. "I certainly felt Ron Goldman could have been me."

Even eerier, the briefcase in which he had stored Nicole's love letters was gone.

'The Forgotten Briefcase' by Joseph Perrulli.

4 Pillars Publishing

Four years later, the subsequent owner of his home found it and returned the treasure trove to Perrulli — who couldn't look at it for another two decades.

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When he did finally open the briefcase, reading the exchanges with Nicole felt "like I had traveled back in time," Perrulli said. He began to transcribe the letters as well as the journal he kept during their romance, ultimately turning it all into a book, *The Forgotten Briefcase*, which he released on June 11.

"The story was always about O.J. Simpson, but I wanted to share the story of Nicole," Perrulli explained to PEOPLE. "As I pieced it back together, I saw her coming back to life."

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