Athena boyfriend of a Georgia woman accused of plotting to kill her former Atlanta Falcons player husband says it’s all a misunderstanding.

“Kill him,” a July 2023 message reportedly stated, which police claim Lindsay Shiver directed at her husband, Robert Shiver, People Magazine reports.

Bahamian authorities have indicted Lindsay Shiver, alleging that she sent a text to her oboyfriend, Terrance Bethel, and friend Farron Newbold Jr. that included a photo of her husband with another woman. The message was reportedly part of a murder-for-hire plot targeting Robert, with whom Lindsay shares three children.

While Robert was unharmed, police arrested Lindsay days later in the Bahamas, in July 2023. She, along with Bethel and Newbold, faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and has pleaded not guilty.

Bethel told Good Morning America, that the message had been a misunderstanding and that “kill him” was a figure of speech.

“Whenever she gets into an argument with [Robert] and she tells me about it, of course I’m livid about it,” Bethel said. “But planning to murder him? No.”

“Nobody ever wanted Robert dead. I’m definitely not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, and [Farron] is not guilty of being a hired hitman. It’s time to let the world know that we’re innocent.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, the alleged murder plot was exposed after a break-in at a bar where Bethel worked. While investigating the incident, police seized Bethel’s phone and saw messages to and from Bethel that implicated him, Shiver, and Newbold.

Robert and Lindsay began a contentious divorce before the alleged murder plot, continuing to live together with their sons in Thomasville, Georgia, while also maintaining a vacation home in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas.

The couple met in 2007 at Auburn University, where Robert played football and Lindsay cheered. They married in 2010.

On April 5, 2023, Robert filed for divorce, accusing Lindsay of “adulterous conduct.” Lindsay countered with accusations of cruel treatment and claimed her extramarital relationship started during a separation.

The situation escalated on July 16, 2023, when Robert planned to fly his three sons to their vacation home in the Bahamas on the family’s private jet. Lindsay intended to accompany them to meet Bethel, but Robert told her she could not. After a disagreement in which Lindsay claimed Robert was “aggressive,” she called 911.

“I told her, I’m not supporting that,” Robert told police outside of his Georgia residence.“You’re not getting on the airplane. That can mess with the kids’ heads. It’s just something we’re not going to do.”

Lindsay Shriver”s trial is scheduled for August. Check back for updates.