We’re prison wives & are constantly trolled – haters say there must be something wrong with us & we have low self esteem
A PAIR of prison wives have opened up on the judgement they regularly face as a result of being married to men behind bars.
Paige Nicole and Gigi Taylor both tied the knot to men who will die behind bars, with Paige’s husband Joseph serving a life sentence, and Gigi’s husband Michael on death row.
Both women met their husbands through pen pal websites when they were already in prison, and say that their relationships are worth it, despite not being able to be with their partners physically.
The duo share a podcast called Love Within Walls, and in a recent episode, the pair talked about all things judgement and stereotypes.
The prison wives explained that they face judgement from all angles – including from friends, family and people in the street.
Gigi claimed: “God lord do we experience [judgement] or what.”
To this, Paige agreed: “All the time, no matter what, no matter where.”
Gigi then explained: “I experience judgment. People found out in my family and I got judged in every which way.
“The judgment comes from every angle. Not only do we get judgment from family, friends, co-workers, people you meet on the street, we also get judgement from our own, sadly, the prison wife community. We get judged for being MWI (met while incarcerated).
“People can’t understand why you would go looking for love in a prison or why you would seek it out – because maybe you have low self esteem, you can’t find a guy on the street, that’s the stigma and stereotype that goes with being a prison wife.”
To this, Paige chimed in: “There must be something wrong with you is what most people insinuate. That’s what they think.”
Paige, who is from Pennsylvania and met her husband Joseph in 2021 after deciding to peruse the Write A Prisoner website, whilst bored during lockdown, revealed: “For some reason, people feel more welcome to be open about their negative judgment towards us than other people.”
The healthcare worker, who has a five-year-old son from a previous relationship, handwrote Joseph a letter and immediately fell in love with him after reading his reply.
Joseph has been in prison for 14 years, since he was 21, and has a whole life sentence. He is likely to die in prison, but Paige is still hopeful that he will one day be let out.
Despite beginning their relationship in February 2021, the couple weren’t actually allowed to meet until December due to Covid restrictions.
When Paige was finally able to visit the prison, it was for just two hours and they were only allowed one hug.
But since getting married to Joseph, Paige has faced constant criticism, as she continued: “I don’t know how many people can just post a simple picture with their significant other posing and you’ll automatically get hate. I don’t know everyone else that that happens to.
“There are people that are mean, evil and not kind.
“I get a lot of backhanded things like that thrown my way.”
There must be something wrong with you is what most people insinuate. That’s what they think
Paige Nicole
Similarly, Gigi met her husband Michael eight years ago after watching a documentary about death row inmates.
She decided to write to a death row prisoner in Louisiana, where she is from and was immediately attracted to Michael.
Michael has been in prison for 25 years, since he was 20 years old.
Gigi was married to her high school sweetheart at the time, and wasn’t looking for love with Michael.
However, when Michael replied to her letter, she was “blown away” by how articulate he was.
Soon after the duo met, Gigi’s husband left her, so she began a relationship with Michael.
Michael told her he loved before the pair had even met and the next day, Gigi said it back.
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
But things haven’t been easy for Gigi, as she confessed: “When you tell someone that your spouse is incarcerated, people feel the need to ask you all of these questions, and they’re not questions of understanding, it’s ‘what did he do?’, ‘why are you with him?’.
“I would never ask somebody that if I just met them, I would never have the audacity to ask somebody ‘why are you with your person?’, but because we’re prison wives, people feel it’s ok to ask that question.
“I think they think they can say whatever they want, as soon as you drop ‘he’s incarcerated’. If you didn’t say that, those questions would never come up.
“People have this new audacity to question you about your relationship if you are with someone who is incarcerated.
“It’s crazy to me. There is a respect aspect in the prison wife world, yet there isn’t one between a prison wife and someone who is not in a relationship with someone who is incarcerated.
The judgment comes from every angle. Not only do we get judgment from family, friends, co-workers, people you meet on the street
Gigi Taylor
“It’s amazing the judgement that you get, even within the prison wife community. If you’re a lifer wife and have a loved one on death row, people can’t wrap their head around it.”
When Gigi’s family found out she was dating a prisoner, there was a very mixed response.
Gigi recognised: “My dad was pretty rational about it, my mum was not, she didn’t talk to me for about a week and a half after that. I had zero support.
“My mum and I are best friends, we are close, so to have this was [a] killer. It definitely put a wedge in our relationship.
“It took seven years and she and I finally had a conversation. She encouraged me not to say anything to anybody about my relationship.
“My mum is starting to come around, she’s come leaps and bounds. We cried in the car together.”