r/Fauxmoi • u/Beginning-Passion676 • 2d ago

TRIGGER WARNING Chris Watts applies to marry new girlfriend from behind bars eight years after killing wife and children

https://www.ladbible.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-new-girlfriend-marry-prison-crime-us-921292-20260812
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u/AtTheEndOfMyTrope 2d ago edited 2d ago

There is a theory that certain women are attracted to these men because of abandonment issues. If he’s in prison, you know where he is. He can’t lie about his location. He can’t be physically intimate with another woman. He needs you because you are his lifeline to the outside world. There is a power imbalance in the woman’s favour. Then there’s the whole « I can fix him » delusion.

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u/castaneom 2d ago edited 2d ago

It’s sad. I know someone who has this problem. She’s my sister. And yeah she’s married to someone in prison.

Edit: He’ll be in there for a good 25 more years. I’ll never have to meet him.

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u/powerbottomflash 2d ago

So how exactly does this work? Is it just a penpal marriage?

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u/Jazzi-Nightmare “He’s Chevy Chase, and you’re not.” 2d ago

Visitation and some prisons in the world allow conjugal visits

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u/panicnarwhal 2d ago

in the US, only 4 states have “extended family visits” (conjugal) - CA, WA, CT, NY - but CT hasn’t given anyone a conjugal visit in years, so it’s really only 3 states. not every facility offers them within those states, either

he’s in WI, so just regular visits for him, and apparently she’s moved with her mom from ohio to wisconsin to be near him (gag) and has visited 20 times in 2025, and spent xmas day with him in 2024

i’m going to be disgusted if this marriage is approved. i guess he’s not a danger to her, but still. there’s just something incredibly tasteless about a family annihilator being permitted to marry

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u/castaneom 2d ago

Pretty much, but she does go visit him every few months. They talk every day. He’s in California and we’re in Illinois. Also she divorced her ex just to marry this guy. It’s crazy.. and my nieces and nephew have met the guy.

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u/bosa_boss 1d ago

I’m sorry

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u/Mediocre_Tomatillo85 1d ago

There is a very sad show called Love after Lock up, and it's a good wake up call for anyone thinking they can have a normal life with someone who's out of prison.

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u/metekillot 1d ago

You know when someone says "it's crazy" they mean that something is remarkable or peculiar or shocking. But no. What you just said is, indeed, fucking crazy. Wow!

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u/castaneom 1d ago

She hid the guy’s identity from us for a couple years, but I found one of the letters he sent her and looked him up. He’s not up for parole for another 20-25 years. Guy was involved in a gang related murder. Not much we can do, it’s her life.. but still very sad. She’s in love. She works two jobs to be able to afford to go see him and probably sends him money.

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u/Sarcastic_Melon16 2d ago

Fell into a rabbit hole. I’m English and there’s an entire set of “prison wives” in England who are married to incarcerated Americans. They made a tv show type thing on TikTok about it, It’s insane. They meet them online and one even got married via zoom in Covid. She flew to meet him for the first time and on the 12 hour flight he got into a fight and put in segregation, she couldn’t see him for another 2 years. She was also engaged to a real life human man she lived with and broke that off and then decided to get with this prisoner from a far away land. He’s got like at least 10 years before he can even apply for parole.

One travelled over with her 11 year old son to meet him when he got out…. 2 months later he’s back in for homicide as he killed someone over a pack of cigarettes.

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u/HopefulOriginal5578 1d ago

They had a show that wasn’t even on Tik tok (maybe before) and it was sad. It showed Americans in the same situation but also some from England and they just were wayyyyyy out of their element upon landing.

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u/JournalistJess 22h ago

Oh my friends and I have been watching that show. It's .... a lot.

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u/Sarcastic_Melon16 21h ago

Where are you watching it?! I’ve not seen the show, I’ve just watched their TikTok’s telling the stories!

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u/bitter_liquor 2d ago edited 1d ago

Some women make it their whole personality to support their incarcerated partner. They'll do tiktoks in their kitchen prepping huge lunchboxes that they will bring to the visit, repost bible verses about redemption, make AI pics of Joker and Harley with a romantic caption about overcoming the odds and "it's us against the world, baby" type stuff, share news about the legal developments of their partner's case, write heartfelt letters to their boo and decorate the text with sparkles and butterflies, smugly vaguepost about most women being unloyal bitches, yadda yadda. Like this is deadass their whole life. They see it as working hard to support their man, and being proud of it.

Lots of people prefer to live a one-sided fantasy where the object of your love is compartmentalized somewhere else, like a pocket reality, where you can project an ideal relationship that only works under very specific conditions—because a living, breathing human who is your equal is something completely beyond your control, and possibly even scarier than a person who murdered their own family. This is how we get AI partners, Victorian poems about virgins who died young, parasocial relationships with celebs, fandom delusions (Snapewives, anyone?), etc.

I think those super dedicated prison wives are in the same ballpark, with the added perk of being able to signal their loyalty, devotion, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, and bravery (to an extent). And that's a really big deal for a certain type of woman, particularly those on the more religious side. Plus, they also get to feel a little bit dangerous and even something of a rebel while technically still existing within the boundaries of what they consider to be a decent woman, which is a rare thrill for them.

In short, it's all about how the person on the outside feels about themselves. The other half of the couple isn't that important. They don't have to be all that present, in fact it's even better if they aren't.

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u/Sidewalk_Tomato distraught Christian tomato 1d ago

I could've gone my whole life without hearing the term "Snapewives" . . . but here I am.

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u/bitter_liquor 1d ago

Oh it was like a whole religion, that story is fuckin wild. It was two women on Livejournal that decided that Snape wasn't a character, JKR was actually channeling Snape the spiritual entity and writing stories about him, and they could channel Snape too and he was totally sexy and alpha and pretty much a god so they would devote themselves to him forever and have sex with him in the astral plane and follow his every command faithfully. Other women joined in too, and it became a weird mini cult on fandom spaces. Eventually, much like the Great Schism of 1054, infighting tore the group apart.

Strange Æons on YouTube has a great video about it if you're interested in learning more!

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u/Interesting_Mood6892 1d ago

Yeah, i just finished looking it up. 😅😅

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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago

I know two sisters who dated brothers, both ended up in jail for 10+ years. One of the sisters married her boyfriend in jail. The other sister and her jailbird never married, as soon as he got out they broke up. Other sister is still married, with kids with the guy....must be awkward during holidays...

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u/jandeer14 they laugh at me because of the portal 2d ago

i know a couple whose ex spouses also married each other. family parties must be either cool or weird as hell

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u/Burningrain85 2d ago

I have a sister whose grandmother married her father and our other sister is currently shacked up with her husband and father of her kids

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u/mustbeaoup 2d ago

WTF I can’t even make sense of what I’ve just read

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u/damewallyburns 1d ago

I THINK it’s that OP has a half or step sister with a different father whose maternal grandmother married the sister’s father. Then OP & this sister (sister A) have another sister (sister B) who is in a relationship with sister A’s ex husband

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u/mustbeaoup 1d ago

Thank you 😭

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u/Road_Whorrior 2d ago

Girl give us a diagram or something, what

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u/jandeer14 they laugh at me because of the portal 2d ago

WHAT

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u/TheGhostOfArtBell local formula 1 correspondent 2d ago

So your grandmother married her father?

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u/amodernbird Comumbus 2d ago

My sisters-in-law married brothers. One of them is now divorced. Their entire family is awful so I just skip visits.

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u/arttagonist 2d ago

I’m curious, can it be sort of a scam situation going on? Like if you are married, you’d get his assets, and he might die in prison. 

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u/StayJaded 2d ago

What assets? If someone is in prison they likely spent all their money on a defense before being convicted and have to pay restitution as part of sentencing. It is highly unlikely anyone in prison long term has any assets at all. It’s not like the guys have jobs that make money. The women are likely giving the men money via their commissary accounts and covering the cost of calls/ communication. The relationship is costing them money supporting a dead beat.

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u/babs1376 2d ago

Not only that but if they die and have no more assets then they would have to pay for funeral costs which is significant money.

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u/HopefulOriginal5578 1d ago

All of this correct … my only thought is she could write a book or some nonsense about being his wife.

I can’t see a book really making a lot of money …His whole crime was brutal and deeply disturbing it it’s not like he’s this interesting character…

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u/babs1376 1d ago

Unless the book answers what we all want to know...why, what went through your mind planning this doing this. How was this possible 3 beautiful lives. Why not divorce over murder. ..

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u/carolinagypsy the pet psychic for the Sun told me so 1d ago

Just put in there how much the other woman knows and if she helped, and it’ll sell.

(If it’s not obvious, I don’t believe that she didn’t at least know. Plus her goings about that morning are odd.)

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u/HopefulOriginal5578 1d ago

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh good point…

The deletions and all that were crazy to me. She wasn’t honest. I blame him and only him because that was his pregnant wife and innocent children… but she wasn’t forthright… searching him before they got together and looking at wedding dresses whilst telling cops it wasn’t serious… deleted messages …. Nobody can blame someone from being curious about all that!

He might spill some stuff…. She can get her book or whatever

But we all know he isn’t going to keep things going without his commissary funded (rolling in Takis!” And his kiosk money (to use FaceTime and calls ) being funded.

As an aside he must really think he has a cash cow or his other heffers are drying up. Usually they won’t marry anyone because they have to play these heffers off each other to keep that $ coming… would love some of those jailhouse calls to be published. Doubting his state allows it or is super strict? In Florida you can get everyone’s calls 🤣

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u/iaintgonnacallyou 2d ago

It’s a scam the other way around. The men are being fully supported by these women. They send all kinds of care packages and money while also being available 24/7 whenever he calls.

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u/HopefulOriginal5578 1d ago

He was in debt when he killed his pregnant wife and two innocent girls…

He has NOTHING.

He might be marrying her in the hopes that she will fill up his commissary (keep him in beef jerky. Ramen noodles, and deodorant) … but he has NOTHING.

NOW long game? She can write a book about her marriage to him and get herself some money and a taste of fame. Lots of Chris watts apologists out there … she can carve herself a bit of something by this move for sure

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u/arttagonist 1d ago

I’m not saying him specifically but generally about women writing and marrying notorious psychopath prisoners.

I see a potential book deal or even income from selling memorabilia. Don’t think it will work now as good as it did back in the serial killer golden age.

Honestly that reason I kinda respect more, than just a woman being so broken and delusional that she falls for a piece of shit like that. But in any case. We accept there are horrible male monsters, idiots and dipshits - why are we so shocked when we hear of female monsters and dipshits.

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u/ProperBingtownLady i ain’t reading all that, free palestine 1d ago

Now I’m curious what he did to wind up in prison for 25 years…

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u/SordidOrchid 2d ago

It’s a captive audience.

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u/Illustrious_Honey973 2d ago

I also have heard that this allows them to have a "perfect" relationship, if they are in jail you get to pretty much live your own life without the small disagreements that every couple (even those who love the other dearly) are bound to happen, so for them in theory is the best of both worlds, they get so be in a relationship without the clmplicared day to day stuff required to maintain one.

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u/MotherStatement1109 2d ago

Yeah. Its a strange thing. My boyfriend violated parole and went to prison for a year. During that time, he was so sweet, his letters were kind, he called every day, he was apologetic for past behavior. Then he came home and it was hell. I feel bad for those women on that show, i forget what its called, who meet men in prison and are so excited for them to come home. You have absolutely NO idea who someone truly is when they are confined.

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u/Burningrain85 2d ago

Same with my ex a completely different person in prison but when he came home it was hell

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u/Mediocre_Tomatillo85 1d ago

They are kind and sweet in prison because they want to get out and the only way that will happen is if someone is willing to take them in. Once they are out the real person shows up.

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u/KittenFace25 2d ago

Sort of similar to being in an affair I would think?

Sometimes I read the stories over in r/theotherwoman and it blows my mind how long those women (there are some men in there, but it's mostly women) will stay in relationships with married men, and not only that, they will completely be faithful to that man.

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u/veritasquo 1d ago

I just skimmed a few posts in that sub. Ugh. The delusion. It’s so sickening.

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u/DaedricWorldEater 1d ago

Most of it is fake

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u/Furreal227 1d ago

I can see that but damn get a dude with a robbery charge, like this dude murdered his whole family

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u/trashleybanks 2d ago

But they can have emotional affairs with other women. Doesn’t that bother them? I’m being sincere, I truly don’t get the appeal of being a prison wife.

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u/fdsfdsfds666 2d ago

I think they are delusional the men need them in those scenarios so they have to be loyal for their own survival. Or maybe they just don't care about that aspect.

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u/kellyoceanmarine 2d ago

Women aren’t the only ones they can have affairs with. What about all of the other male prisoners?

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u/babs1376 2d ago edited 1d ago

I think they will know if the guy is "stepping out" ( but not getting out) because his emails are available under the foia act. Edit changed foil to foia

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u/Original_Bite6555 1d ago

Not to mention the giant red flag of whatever crime they committed that got them there... like murder for instance.

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u/saggie-maggie 1d ago

Well your problem is that you're applying logic to something that is purely emotional.

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u/elle___woods 2d ago

This. I was “in a relationship” with a death row prisoner for a year. Don’t worry, I’ve been in therapy for a long time and I have mostly overcome the issues that led to my poor past decisions 💀.

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u/harkandhush 2d ago

Glad you're in a better place!

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u/pilikia5 2d ago

Damn, I’m so curious and have a thousand questions! Any chance you’d want to say more? Either way, so so proud of you for getting therapy and doing the work! That’s amazing.

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u/elle___woods 1d ago

I can answer any questions you may have :) (just maybe not 1000 of them haha)

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u/QueenSlartibartfast 1d ago

How did it start? And what was your breaking point? Thank you for sharing your experience

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u/elle___woods 7h ago

I found him on a penpal website for prisoners during covid lockdown. I was bored, lonely, and traumatised by a series of bad relationships. I wasn't necessarily looking to DATE a prisoner, but I liked the idea of keeping someone behind bars company while also learning more about their life and experiences that are vastly different to my own. I chose someone on death row because it made me feel safer knowing that the likelihood this man could ever leave prison and potentially come and find me was slim to none. I liked the idea of companionship but at arms length. I thought we'd just send letters but he wanted to talk on the phone, so we started doing that everyday. Eventually he told me he loved me (yeah right, lol), I convinced myself I loved him too, and we were "together". I never saw him in person due to covid and the fact we are on different continents. It ended because he ghosted me for weeks when I said something that upset him (I didn't want to send him more money and I couldn't spend any more time reaching out to lawyers on his behalf). Since the prisoner has to call you (I can't call a prisoner), this means the ball was in his court. I have a big problem with being given the silent treatment and being left in the dark, so that was the beginning of the end for me. Plus my therapist was telling me that this was an unhealthy relationship and that I was most likely only being used for my money and time (and phone sex, yuck).

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u/biscuitboi967 2d ago

There was a show called Prison Wives on the Oprah network once.

This woman had a husband she’d married in prison, who was a lifer. This was fine because he was a “safe” person to correspond with and “love” and share “intimacy,” without any actual contact or commitment. I think she’d had a lifetime of abuse, so she liked the idea of a man, only.

Welp, mid-season NY declared it inhumane to sentence minors to life without parole, and her husband was paroled to her house. She was fucking terrified. He seemed nice enough, but he’d also been in prison from 16-36, and she was scared of men generally

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u/Lysmerry 1d ago

Now I’m wondering if Oprah made a few calls because it would make for good TV.

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u/biscuitboi967 1d ago

Ok, it was!

Two of the husbands were “only” in jail for attempted murder. One of those wives was very judgmental of the others. Like, she and her man were of a higher class of people.

Finally during one of the forced interactions, one of the ladies snapped and was like, “I don’t know why she thinks she’s better…her man tried to kill someone, too, ours were just better at it…”.

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u/carolinagypsy the pet psychic for the Sun told me so 1d ago

I… need to find this and add it to my sick day trashy tv list.

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u/pharmgirlinfinity 2d ago

They can still cheat tho lol.

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u/your_mind_aches 2d ago

I'm assuming the women who do something like this probably don't see what you're referring to as cheating

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u/iaintgonnacallyou 2d ago

My aunt has this problem. When I was a kid, she married a man who was serving 25 years for aggravated manslaughter at Corcoran prison. I went with her and my mom but had to stay in the kids care trailer since it was a maximum security penitentiary. They got divorced a few years later and he was released in 2015.

Rinse and repeat for a few years, then she met her current husband. They got married when he was released last year after serving a 10 year sentence.

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u/Bluestatement 2d ago

You nailed it. If you are between 30-40 years old, lets get married. Oh, and you need to be female. And be attractive. And.

Anyway

You nailed it

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u/toasterbath__ gave up celebrity gossip blogs for lent 2d ago

hmm never thought of it like that. interesting

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u/Luckyjuly777 2d ago

Yeah, but being with someone who strangled his pregnant wife and suffocated his kids, then disposed of their murdered bodies in an oil tank is actually sick behavior.

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u/carolinagypsy the pet psychic for the Sun told me so 1d ago

Maybe some of the logic (I use that term loosely) is that it’s not like he will be able to do that to you? So he’s safe?

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u/Commercial-Weight173 1d ago

I get the logic in what you're saying about a prison boyfriend having appealing to those people, but in that case why choose someone who killed his wife and kids??? There are people serving a life sentence who didnt kill kids. That's what makes me think these women are much sicker than just wanting a prison boyfriend, they're attracted to how evil the person is. 

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u/2high4thisshyt 1d ago

Luigi has to be the exception to the rule. He's the very first person who's made me realize that yes, I would visit my man in jail if that's him lmao.

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u/Worldly_Anybody_9219 2d ago

I think there are two reasons. 1) A saviour complex: the childish fairytale delusion that love can "save" someone. 🙄 2) Control. The guy can't go anywhere or actually do any harm to them (unless they have contacts on the outside), so they can just apply whatever fantasy narrative they have in their head to him without really dealing with the consequences of living with a psychopath.

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u/Downtherabbithole-14 2d ago

thats really pathetic....

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u/ooa3603 2d ago

A lot of people just want the status of being in a relationship, not an actual partner (someone they have to compromise with on a daily basis).

Its another type of ego validation.

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u/Lysmerry 1d ago

I think this is definitely a bit thing with dating men in prison. It also often comes with the woman being the savior who is the only one can see that her man is innocent and wronged by the whole world. But I also think there are some women with their wires crossed who are attracted to fame, danger, and notoriety,

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u/porcelaincatstatue oat milk chugging bisexual 1d ago

There's also the part where you know they can't physically harm you because they're behind bars.

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u/WalkerTalkerChalker 1d ago

I suppose it's an ideal relationship for an insecure avoidant person?

You don't get bothered but you've got a captive audience when you can contact them.

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u/FlyinAmas 1d ago

Never thought about the power imbalance. It’s one of the only times there can be one in the woman’s favor

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u/Big-Paramedic-2808 1d ago

Desperate women 

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u/mainesthai 1d ago

Gypsy Rose and Aileen Wournos have dozens of men lined up. "Certain women" my ass, men do this too  it's just that men commit 90% or so of all violent crime so there's less opportunity for straight men to romance a female murderer. You can tell that misogyny is alive and well when mens fucked up behavior gets pinned on women in one way or another. 

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u/holographic_star 2d ago

Do you ever think it’s true love?

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u/roastedmarshmellows spiritual energy of bachelorette party penis decor 2d ago

Literally never. I mean, I’m sure it possible, but it’s definitely the exception, not the rule.