DELAFIELD, Wis. — A former cast member of MTV's "The Real World" canceled plans to visit her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and the decision saved her life.
Julie Stoffer had planned to take United Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles on Tuesday but changed her mind early that morning — just hours before the plane was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.
A couple of hours passed before Stoffer's parents found out their daughter was safe.
"I was just so, so glad to hear she was fine," Stoffer's mother, Jan Stoffer, said Wednesday. "How do you describe that kind of an emotion?"
Julie Stoffer, 21, had an argument with her boyfriend Monday night and considered canceling her trip, Jan Stoffer said. But she woke up at 6 the next morning and called a friend to take her to the airport.
The friend persuaded her not to go, saying the boyfriend wasn't treating her well, Jan Stoffer said. Julie went back to sleep, awakening later to discover the flight's fate.
Jan Stoffer found out about the attacks at about 9 a.m., but didn't know whether her daughter had taken the flight until her husband got a call from Julie two hours later.
Julie Stoffer was a particularly well-known "Real World" cast member, in part because she was a practicing Mormon, a faith that is arguably at odds with the racy program. She was on the show when it was in New Orleans.