While the world searched for Kate, Jeanette gradually assumed Kate’s previous “life,” befriending her two closest girlfriends and even dating Jamie.
As you learn — very early on in the show, this is not a spoiler — Kate was kidnapped in 1994 and held captive in a stranger’s basement for an undisclosed amount of time.
And Kate drops a bombshell on live television, claiming that while she was being held captive, Jeanette saw her in the basement, but chose not to tell anyone so she could keep enjoying the perks of living Kate’s life.