Most newlyweds plan to grow old together. But Andreea Vlad and her husband Cage Chaparro will be nearly 70 before they even share a bed. For Cage, 27, is serving a 50 year sentence in a tough Texan jail for an aggravated burglary when he was 16.
Yet Andreea, 27, a logistics manager living in London, married him after meeting him on a pen pal's website for prisoners , knowing his first chance of parole is in 2037. Of her wedding this year, which was cancelled twice because of prison lockdowns, she says: “It was beautiful. I forgot I was in prison.
I wore a beautiful white dress, and we had a wedding celebrant. The people who worked in the prison were so nice to us. We got to spend some time together afterwards - not intimate of course - but holding his hands.
It was more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.” What drives an attractive young woman with a good job into the arms of a US felon with years left to serve? Psychologist Emma Kenny says: “Engaging in a relationship with a prisoner can give a woman a sense of importance and value, knowing they are a lifeline to someone in a dire situation. It provides them with a role as a confidante, supporter, and sometimes even a saviour.
” Emma says women can also see prisoners “not as they are, but as they could be with the right support and love.” She adds: “This idealisation process can be very compelling. It allows the woman to envision a future where their love has transformed a troubled individual into a bette.