A woman has shared her unconventional love story with a criminal online, leaving many waiting for their initial meeting in prison.
What began as a pen pal relationship with an inmate blossomed into a long-distance romance that has sparked a series of TikTok videos focused on their relationship.
TikTok user Katie, also known as @galwiththetats on the platform, chronicled her relationship journey with a Seattle, Washington-based inmate Jaime via TikTok and has since accrued a mass following of online viewers invested in the inner workings of their story, The Sunreported.
The UK-native wasn’t expecting to receive so much attention concerning her relationship, but months later, she is expected to travel to the United States and visit him in prison for the first time.
According to this TikTok video, their relationship began when the TikTok user went on the site “Write a Prisoner” just for conversation.
She told herself to not get attached, but, obviously, that didn’t happen.
The online writing was going so well until it increased in frequency and emotional intensity with one particular prisoner, who Katie now calls “her person.’
The duo matched and messaged back and forth for weeks, sending each other hundreds of messages over several days, which included photos.
They even co-ordinated their email communication for times when he was free to accommodate his inmate schedule.
Eventually, the emails turned to calls, and now the TikTok user is expected to make her way to the United States for a visit by the end of 2022.
Their relationship journey hasn’t been easy with the woman also sharing videos about the difficulties associated with not only being long-distance but also dating an inmate in a correctional facility.
She mentions that some of the new things she’s adjusting to include being judged on her decision-making by people that don’t her, the time constraints of their time together, date nights that consist of picking a movie on his tablet, the hits to her bank account, and more.
The woman also shared in another video that the emotional damage level is 10,000, but it will be worth it when they see each other for the first time soon.
Once her criminal background check arrived at the prison in early October 2022, Katie was approved to visit, so now it’s only a few more months until the couple meets.
The couple’s love story has reached a plethora of viewers on TikTok with many voicing their support of the pair and understanding.
“Girl the date nights are the best tho,” one viewer commented.
“Ahhh so happy and excited for you! keep us updated,” another wrote on a video.
“Me: Highkey jealous that you can in person visit him and know when he’s getting out,” another added.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and reproduced with permission