TRANSCRIPT: Rebecca Reyes on Whether Her Husband Should Be Jailed for Taking Their Child to Church

Feb. 26, 2010— -- Rebecca Reyes, the Chicago mother who obtained a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband for taking their daughter to a Catholic church, finally tells her side of the story.

Joseph Reyes had their 3-year-old daughter Ela baptized at a church without her knowledge. In what some are calling an extraordinary move, a family court judge issued a 30-day restraining order forbidding Joseph Reyes from "exposing his daughter to any other religion other than the Jewish religion during his visitation."

With local media crews in tow, Joseph Reyes allegedly violated the order and took his daughter Ela to a church again. Rebecca Reyes asked for him to be held in contempt of court, stating that his actions posed "harm" to their child. A trial date has not been set on those charges.

For the first time, Rebecca Reyes is speaking out about these events in an exclusive interview with "20/20" anchor and chief law and justice correspondent Chris Cuomo. Part of that interview aired Feb. 26 on "Good Morning America."

Joseph Reyes also sat down with Cuomo for a compelling interview that aired Feb. 16. Click here to read that report.

The full transcript of Chris Cuomo and Rebecca Reyes' interview can be found here:

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

On Dating, Marriage and What Went Wrong

CUOMO: All right, Rebecca, Chris. Let's just begin at the beginning, nice and easy. How did you meet this Joseph?

REBECCA: I'd moved back to Chicago, I'd been living in Anchorage doing-- some-- a clerkship, after law school. And I joined a gym-- where I was working. And-- I started boxing, and he had trained with the trainer there, and he came back-- to sort of reunite with his trainer, and we met.

CUOMO: So, you were a boxer?

REBECCA: At-- the very loose term, yes, I was a boxer. I really enjoyed doing it as a training technique. It's just an exercise thing.

CUOMO: So, you are working out, you're boxing, you meet this Joseph Reyes, what did you think of Joseph?

REBECCA: I thought he was captivating.

CUOMO: What does that mean?

REBECCA: I loved how easily he talked to me. I loved the thoughts that he had. I loved how he challenged me intellectually. I liked that we had this sport in common, because I think it's an amazing sport. I liked that we had fitness in common. If you agree on how to spend time, like, spending time at the gym, I think that's pretty important to a relationship. I thought he was great.

CUOMO: Quick spark? Did it take time? Friends first? How did it develop?

REBECCA: Quick spark, for sure. He was-- I think at the time that we met, he was already called up for active duty, so it was a bit of a challenge, logistically. But I thought he was fantastic from the moment that I met him. And-- by the time he was more available and around, we were together all the time.

CUOMO: So, it became a romance?

REBECCA: Yes.

CUOMO: How long did you date?

REBECCA: Before we got married? Maybe two years. Because he was on active duty, too, so there was that impediment.

CUOMO: Did you always know that he was the one, when you were dating?

REBECCA: Yes, I did. I loved him very much.

CUOMO: And did he know that you were one-- the one? Did you guys talk about marriage a lot before?

REBECCA: Yes, I think s-- we did talk about it, I don't know what he thought, but I can tell you what he said. (LAUGH) And, yeah, we did talk about it.

CUOMO: Now, obviously, his character, his personality has changed, in your eyes, over time. But the original Joseph, how would you have described him to people?

REBECCA: I don't think that Joseph has changed that much over time, actually. I-- I-- I-- obviously, his religion has changed. But his basic personality I don't think has changed. I think that he's still articulate and interesting. I think that he is a thinker. He's a very deliberate person, and always, as long as I have known him, has been a very deliberate person. I don't think that-- I wasn't the-- the brunt of whatever anger he's feeling, so I can't say how he's different in that way, because I didn't really see that. But in terms of how engaging he is and tthe-- the fact that he thinks a lot, and is passionate about a lot of things, that hasn't changed.

CUOMO: And you loved him?

REBECCA: I really loved him.

CUOMO: How did you get engaged?

REBECCA : It was so planned out. It was the least romantic thing you can ever imagine. It was because he was-- he was gonna be deployed-- so we picked a date, and I got a dress. And we went to-- Spiaja Restaurant (PH), and it was-- it-- for-- to me, it was perfect. And there was a ring, and we sat on this little booth, next to each other, and-- and our families were waiting-- for us, for a celebration afterwards. And our friends were waiting and as far as I was concerned, the whole world was possible. I still think that.

CUOMO: So, he was not worried about getting a "No"?

REBECCA: (LAUGH) No, he wasn't-- (LAUGH) worried about me saying, "No."

CUOMO: There's always that little bit--

REBECCA: No. (LAUGH)

CUOMO: --you never know. It's all speculation till the words actually come out of the mouth.

REBECCA: No. He had no reason to worry.

CUOMO: You picked the ring together?

REBECCA: No, he picked it himself.

CUOMO: Did you like it?

REBECCA: Of course, it was from Joseph.

CUOMO: Aww.

REBECCA:I would've liked plastic.

CUOMO: And when did you get married, after he came back?

REBECCA: Yes.

CUOMO: That must've been scary, waiting for him, when you knew where he was, right?

REBECCA: Oh, my goodness, it was really scary. He was in Afghanistan, and-- he was gone for a while, maybe five months, six months.

CUOMO: Did you know what his job was over there?

REBECCA: I knew that he was a counterintelligence agent. I don't-- I don't-- I didn't know very much more than that.

CUOMO: Scary though, 'cause you would just see in the news what was going on.

REBECCA: Obviously. And so I-- we-- when we-- before he left, we spent every Sunday, half of the day, with his family, half the day with my family. And I continued to do that for the entire time that he was gone, so that I could be around his family. I mean, it was-- it was beneficial for both of us. It was important to them that I be there, for support. And it was important to me to be with them. He used to call me pretty regularly. And so, if I was his parents' house when he called, then his mom got a chance to talk to him. And that was really important.

CUOMO: How long was he gone?

REBECCA: I think he was gone six months.

CUOMO: And how long after he came back did you get married?

REBECCA: I think he came back-- in April, March or April, and we got married in October.

CUOMO: Did you plan the whole wedding? Was it what you wanted?

REBECCA: It was a dream. It was perfect. Yes, exactly what I wanted.

CUOMO: And do you remember how Joseph was?

REBECCA: What do you mean?

CUOMO: At the wedding, at the marriage. Like, how much did this mean to him, how happy was this for him?

REBECCA: Well, there were two segments, actually, of the wedding-- because we had a Jewish wedding, so a couple days before the actual ceremony, we signed the Jewish marriage contract. Which, in the eyes of the Jewish religion, meant that we were married then. So, the-- I remember the rabbi saying to him, "There's nothing to worry about now, you're already married, it's already done." So, that was a beautiful thing to say, and we had-- my parents were there, and we had witnesses to the marriage contract, so it was a really beautiful side ceremony. And then we had this beautiful wedding, Jewish wedding, with the chuppa (PH) and-- and in-- in the round, so that the-- everybody was a participant.And the breaking of the glass, and it was-- it was magical, I had that death defying moment, where I thought they were gonna catapult me from the chair afterwards, because all my cousins had been drinking. And I thought, "This is going to be tragic." And he was delightful. I think there was one point in th-- that he didn't feel well-- but how could you not? You know, this is a surge of emotions, but it was a perfect day.

CUOMO: What was the dream? What was supposed to be your life together?

REBECCA: We were just supposed to be happy. I had no preconceived notions of what it would look like, day-to-day. I was with him, and that's really all that mattered. But if you're asking-- what details we did think about-- we wanted children, for sure. We lived a Jewish life. That doesn't mean that we went to synagogue every Friday s-- night and Saturday morning, but we went almost all from nights.We observed the High Holy Days together. We picked our synagogue when we moved, before we had Ela, based on where he wanted to convert. We were active members of the synagogue, and-- and that doesn't mean that that was absolutely-- our whole lives. But it was-- it was meaningful, and-- and we had pledged, in the marriage contract, to raise Jewish children, and so we had a Jewish home.

CUOMO: So, let's back up a half step, you two were dating.

REBECCA: Yes.

CUOMO: Reyes is a good Latino name--

REBECCA: Yeah.

CUOMO: --he's a Catholic boy, you knew him as that. What did religion mean to you two when you were dating?

REBECCA: Well, I didn't know him as a Catholic boy. He was certainly born Catholic, and his parents were Catholic. But he never went to church, and actually talked with me and my family about how he had problems with the religion.

CUOMO: He did not go to church regularly?

REBECCA: No, never, I was with him every Sunday morning.

CUOMO: And it wasn't at church?

REBECCA: No. (LAUGH)

CUOMO: And--

REBECCA: We went to hi-- we went to his family's house in the morning, and we would w-- wait for his mom and grandmother to come back from church. And we'd hang out with his brothers while they were gone, and-- but no, that was never a part of who he was.

CUOMO: And when you were going to get married, was there a discussion, "Do we do it in a church? Or do we do it a traditional Jewish wedding?"

REBECCA: No.

CUOMO: Any discussion?

REBECCA: No. It was just a Jew-- it-- we were-- it was always gonna be a Jewish wedding. We went, and we interviewed rabbis. There was no discussion that there would even be a partial Catholic component. It was always just going to be Jewish, and-- and to be candid, Joseph is absolutely entitled to be Catholic. But if he had wanted to be Catholic in the marriage, I just wouldn't have gotten married.Not because he's not allowed to be Catholic, but that's just not the life that I wanted. That's just one of the criteria that I had for a life partner, was, it's important to me to be Jewish. So, I would've said, "I love you, and this is wonderful, but this-- this isn't going to work. You're absolutely entitled to be Catholic, but I really want to be Jewish, 'cause I'm Jewish."

CUOMO: And did you want him to convert?

REBECCA: No, I didn't care.

CUOMO: As long as the lifestyle and the way that the big events went in your life were Jewish, according to that culture and faith, you were okay with it?

REBECCA: As far as I was concerned, he decided whether to be Jewish or not.

CUOMO: He did? This was his decision?

REBECCA: Oh, yes, but I mean-- I mean in terms of what you believe in yourself. I didn't need a ceremony to-- to decide that he was Jewish. If he wad deciding for himself to be Jewish, and we were having-- and-- and-- and-- and this is the Jewish home that we were building, it was immaterial to me whether we had a piece of paper that said he was Jewish or not.

CUOMO: So, it was important to you that he become Jewish, at least in his head and his heart?

REBECCA: That he dec-- that-- that-- that was a choice that he made, absolutely. And if it wasn't a choice that he was willing to make, that's fine. It's just-- he just couldn't-- we just couldn't be together.

CUOMO: Did your parents like him?

REBECCA: My parents had problems with Joseph, from the very beginning.

CUOMO: Why?

REBECCA: Because they didn't see him treat me very well. It had nothing to do with whether he was Jewish or not, he could've been Orthodox Jews-- an Orthodox Jew, it wouldn't have made any difference. All that they wanted was for him to be good to me. And they didn't see him be good to me.

CUOMO: Were they right?

REBECCA: I didn't think so.

CUOMO: Were you wrong?

REBECCA: I don't know. We-- it-- it turned into a toxic relationship. By the end, it was a-- a-- a-- a poisonous home. And that's why I left. But, at the time, I made the right decision for me. And it didn't make them happy, and--

CUOMO: Did they have facts? Did they point to things? Or was it just a feeling, "I don't like the way he looks at you. I don't like the way he talks to you." What was it?

REBECCA: That's not-- that's not really the conversation that we had. I'd made a decision. When I made that decision, they respected that decision. But they-- they didn't like him. If they didn't like him, it was because they didn't see him treat me well. It had nothing to do with Judaism. It had nothing to do with how we practiced Judaism. They would've loved anybody who treated me well, and then Ela.

CUOMO: The idea that Joseph converted to Judaism to please your parents, so they would accept him, fair?

REBECCA: Completely unfair. First of all, it just doesn't make any sense. He converted after Ela was born. There-- there was no pressure to be brought to bear at that point. If that had ever been an issue, which it wasn't, in-- to me, it would've made sense to have done that before we got married, if p-- if they wanted him to Jewish, if that would have impacted the way that they saw him, then do it before we get married. Or do it before Ela was born. But he didn't convert either of those times, and that's because it was completely immaterial to them.

CUOMO: How long were you married until the relationship started to turn?

REBECCA: Until I realized that the relationship wasn't good? We weren't married very long before I realized that things were difficult. But--

CUOMO: But?

REBECCA: That wasn't enough. And by the time I left, my-- concerns about the-- the poisonousness of the relationship had only to do with Ela. I loved him when I left. I didn't leave because I didn't love him anymore. I left because the relationship was gonna hurt and was, I believed, was hurting Ela.

CUOMO: What was going wrong?

REBECCA: We just didn't see the world the same, I guess. We had different expectations for what two people in love should act like. And-- that came down to very minute things, as well. And, you know, the details of that aren't necessarily important, it was the result. So that there was just a lot of tension. And the way that we both deal with anger-- concerned me a lot, because Ela was feeling a lot of tension. She did not gain any weight for the three months before I left.