I got engaged the day I met my fiance – my friends say I'm nuts for dating a man with a 13-year jail sentence
Verona, from Norway, says she met her lover, Justin, after joining a prison pen pal site after her previous relationship broke down.
3
3
She revealed she found solace speaking to strangers about her emotions when she found Justin on the site and they instantly hit it off.
Verona said that at first, she wasn't romantically interested but her feelings grew when she realised he had hopes for a new life.
Verona has travelled to Arizona, where Justin is locked up, twice, and on their first meeting, they decided to get engaged.
Speaking to Love Don't Judge, she said: "I got engaged to him the first time I met him.
"He was warning me that he would get on his knees like in front of everyone, cuz you're not alone in the visitation room.
"He made his old speech and asked me to be his wife."
Verona, 29, and Justin, 37, now plan to get married behind bars while he serves the remaining two and a half years of his 13-year prison sentence.
Inside, Justin earns money to be able to call Verona by teaching yoga and baking.
Now, she had the hard task of telling her friends about her relationship and exactly who Justin is.
Verona sat her friends down to let them know she was going to get married to a prison inmate, who was charged with armed robbery.
3
Corruption & bribery behind bars exposed as ex-con reveals lags pay £500 for KFC & how inmates have sex with guards
Her friends first assumed it was a prank, but Verona assured them it wasn't, something they both needed time to 'process.'
Verona told them, "I wasn't supposed to fall in love though. That was not the plan. That just happened."
Speaking on those who doubt their relationship, Verona said she and Justin had two years to plan and build their new life together.
"You should give someone the opportunity to let them show who they are before you judge them just because of something that happened in the past," she continued.
"Why would you not let someone grow and get better and give them a chance?"
UK Prison Brides
Tracey Bottomley married double murderer Ernest Otto Smith in the US after meeting through a prison pen pal initiative. Tracey, from West Yorks, knew he had been given a life sentence with no possibility of parole
Rebecca Short, from Oxfordshire, told her family she was on holiday in the US in 2022. Little did they know she was marrying double murderer Manuel Ovate Jr, who was on death row
Paula Williamson, an actress who appeared on Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, married the infamous Charles Bronson in 2017 after they became penpals
Karen Charves married Kenny Richey while he was on death row in 2014. He had been convicted for starting a fire in 1986 that killed his ex-girlfriend's daughter, aged two. Karen and Kenny's union did not last and she claimed he was abusive.
Naomi Wise, from Essex, married Victor Oquendo, nicknamed Animal, while he was serving a 24-year prison term in a US jail. They split up in 2022 but have now rekindled their romance
Public Reaction
Despite her plea to see the best in others, people were quick to judge in the comments section of the video.
One person wrote: "The bar is set so low it is now in the gutter."
Another commented: "Girl, why?"
"I'm judging," penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "I wish her the best. I hope she's not being played…"
"Silly, silly, silly,' claimed a fifth
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘Let them destroy each other': Democrats planning Epstein-focused town halls in GOP districts
Democrats are once again planning a blitz of town hall meetings in Republican-led communities, though this time they are armed with a new and polarizing topic: Jeffrey Epstein. The issue of the so-called 'Epstein files' — including the details of high-profile people associated with the disgraced financier and sex offender — continues to divide the GOP, with some calling for further transparency and others, including the president himself, urging people to move on. 'Let them destroy each other. If we have to throw a log on the fire, we'll do it,' one House Democratic aide told The Hill. Further fuel for such fires followed a report from The Wall Street Journal that revealed the alleged existence of a 'bawdy' 50th birthday card from Trump to Epstein. The president has denied the validity of the letter and has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, WSJ 's parent company Dow Jones and the two journalists whose bylines appear on the story. During the town halls, Democrats will reportedly attempt to marry the Epstein fallout with their previous attack lines, including broken promises by Trump and the GOP to lower costs for working families. Tax cuts and an apparent refusal to share information of those allegedly associated with Epstein demonstrate the GOP's protections for the super wealthy, Democratic officials argue. 'Everything that House Republicans have done, everything this administration has done since Donald Trump took office, is in defense of the elites,' Democratic whip Katherine Clark told The Hill. The outlet points to scheduled visits to Republican towns by Democrats in coming weeks. On July 31, Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan is scheduled to speak in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin — the hometown of his GOP counterpart Derrick Van Orden. Florida Democrat Maxwell Frost has also planned a series of meetings, including a July 26 town hall in Dayton, Ohio, with Senator Chris Murphy, and another event with Senator Elizabeth Warren in Nebraska at the end of August. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who launched a series of 'fighting oligarchy' rallies with Senator Bernie Sanders earlier this year, is also reportedly eyeing additional travel to Republican hotbeds while Congress is on its summer recess. The plans appear to already be rattling some Republicans. 'Democrats are still pretty determined to hijack our town halls and try to prevent us from having this conversation with our constituents, so I would encourage them to use other means,' National Republican Congressional Committee chair Richard Hudson told The Hill. Meanwhile, the Epstein saga shows no signs of slowing down after the financier's ex-girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche twice last week. During the in-depth interviews Maxwell answered questions about '100 different people,' her lawyer said. According to The New York Times, Maxwell has made it clear that in exchange for information she wants a reduction of her 20-year sentence or a pardon. When asked by reporters about a potential pardon for her, Trump replied: 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about.'
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Dance teacher hit with criminal charges after investigation into 'inappropriate' choreography
A South Carolina dance teacher is accused of plying students with alcohol, touching them inappropriately and showing them explicit images of herself. Andrea Mizell, 45, was hit with criminal charges after an investigation was launched following complaints by parents that she had choreographed an inappropriate routine. Mizell was arrested and charged with four counts of second-degree assault and battery, four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and three counts of disseminating harmful material to minors. The alleged abuse at her studio in Hanahan came to light in March after parents complained about a dance 'that conflicted with their morals', a police report obtained by Fox Digital states. The confrontation escalated and police were called. Mizell fled in her car, telling police she left out of fear, per the documents. Parents later told officers that when they initially objected to the choreography, Mizell threatened to pull their children from competitions they had already paid to participate in and refused to offer a refund. Students told the authorities they were touched inappropriately by Mizell and were uncomfortable in her classes, the outlet reports. They alleged that Mizell would 'go out of her way' to touch them and would grab them by the waist and butt. Another alleged incident was described in the report where Mizell invited the students to her home and gave them margaritas. She allegedly confided in the children about her sex life and showed them explicit images of herself. The students claimed Mizell often engaged in 'vulgar conversations' with them and allegedly changed her clothes in front of them. Mizell allegedly scheduled a meeting with a parent to discuss their concerns around the 'inappropriate' dance, but when other parents arrived, she left in a panic, according to a police report reviewed by local CBS affiliate, KSLA. When officers arrived, she had disappeared, but her fiancé, sister, and several parents were at the studio. Authorities believe the alleged abuse occurred inside and outside the studio from May 2023 to May 2025. Daily Mail reached out to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office and the Hanahan Police Department for documents related to Mizell's case. Mizell was arrested on June 13 and later posted a bond of $3,000. She is not currently in custody. According to county court records, she has appeared in court multiple times for preliminary hearings. Mizell has not yet entered a plea for the charges against her. Daily Mail reached out to her representation for comment. The Hanahan dance studio Mizell was employed with has since closed, and their website was taken down.
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gwyneth Paltrow marks her territory with X-rating parking sign at Goop headquarters
Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly has a sign over her parking spot at Goop headquarters that reads: 'Reserved for G-Spot,' her biographer claims. Amy Odell, who previously wrote a book about the life of Anna Wintour, is the author of the hotly anticipated new volume Gwyneth: The Biography. Tidbits from the book have already gone viral, from the moment she decided to leave her 'dorky' first husband Chris Martin, to the collapse of her relationships with her fellow movie stars Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. Now, in an interview promoting the project, Amy has observed that Gwyneth is 'someone who has monetized her sexuality and her sex life.' She pointed out that the Oscar winner 'sold a candle called "This Smells Like My Vagina," and she's talked really frankly about getting [oral sex] lessons,' to Page Six. 'She can be really bawdy, very funny and cutting,' said Amy. 'Particularly early in her public life, people said she could just be really different when the cameras were off.' Since its launch in 2008, Goop has become known for advice ranging from the idiosyncratic to the bizarre, exhorting women to steam clean their vaginas and theorizing about a 'Link Between Underwire Bras And Breast Cancer.' However the brand has been constantly expanding ever since, and five years ago it even sprouted its own Netflix series The Goop Lab. Gwyneth hit headlines around the world at the dawn of 2020 for releasing a $75 candle on Goop called This Smells Like My Vagina. The product, which rapidly sold out, was marketed as smelling of 'geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed.' Her vagina candle was such a runaway success that Gwyneth followed it up with another $75 candle, this one supposedly with the aroma of her orgasm. Goop lists 'tart grapefruit, neroli, and ripe cassis berries blended with gunpowder tea and Turkish rose absolute' as the components of the scent. To mark the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January 2022, Gwyneth released yet another Goop candle called Hands Off My Vagina. The limited edition candle cost $75, with $25 of each sale going to the Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU Foundation, according to Goop. Months later, the Supreme Court handed the authority to set abortion law back to the states by overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide for nearly half a century. Gwyneth also teamed up with Kourtney Kardashian on a candle called This Smells Like My Pooshy, a play on Kourtney's own lifestyle brand Poosh. A couple of years ago, Gwyneth revealed on Rob Lowe's podcast that when she was 18 years old, his wife Sheryl Berkoff taught her 'how to give a b***job.' Rob has since remarked that Sheryl, a makeup artist, had became 'like a big sister' to Gwyneth after working for the latter's mother Blythe Danner. When the subject of the oral sex lessons came up on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Rob joked: 'Chris Martin and Brad Falchuk, you're welcome!'
