JADE CHIPPS, 31, has never met her husband outside of prison - but she has got a life-size cutout of him to keep her company at home. Jade first got the idea to write to an inmate after watching an interview with a woman who met her husband through a prison pen-pal website. With nothing to lose, Jade went to a prison pen-pal website for inmates based close by to her home, where she came across her now husband, Chris. The couple now speak as much as three times a day on the phone and before the pandemic, Jade would see Chris once a month. However, Jade would advise others from pursuing an inmate relationship, as she admits it can be stressful. Once Chris is released, the couple plan to live in the house Chris bought Jade and start a family together.
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00:00 This is Jade. She fell in love with Chris.
00:04 Jade This is the cardboard cutout that I have of Chris.
00:07 I had my friend edit him and put him in a Hawaiian shirt because I don't have any selfies of Chris that are like full body length.
00:15 Chris has been incarcerated for the entirety of their relationship and so the couple have never spent any time together outside of prison walls.
00:23 Despite this, the pair decided to tie the knot.
00:27 We got married at the prison that he was at at the time.
00:30 But many people have criticized Jade's unconventional choice of husband.
00:34 The bullying and the hate on my TikTok got so bad that I actually deleted my account.
00:40 I miss you.
00:41 I miss you too baby.
00:42 I met Chris from a prison pen pal page.
00:51 I was a flight attendant and I saw a show where this lady was talking about how she met her husband from a pen pal page so I decided to check it out.
01:00 When I went on the page I saw Chris's picture and I decided to write him.
01:05 We went back and forth with writing and then we started talking on the phone.
01:10 And then I flew and met him in person and the rest is history.
01:15 The crime that Chris committed was burglary and identity theft.
01:20 He was sentenced to 31 years in prison and he has to serve 10.
01:25 So this is my photo album that I have of me and Chris.
01:30 I have a bunch of pictures and letters that he has sent me.
01:34 This is actually the first card he ever sent me.
01:38 I told my sisters, the people that I thought that wouldn't judge me right away.
01:43 And then I told my parents and they were not the happiest.
01:48 My mom told me that she didn't want that for me and that I shouldn't put my life on hold for someone that I don't really know.
01:55 That's him and my dad together. It's actually the first time my dad met him.
02:00 This is from our wedding when we got married in 2018.
02:04 Our wedding day was October 10th, 2018.
02:09 We got married at the prison that he was at at the time.
02:12 It was just me. I wore just like a long white dress.
02:16 I was pretty much covered because you can't have anything revealing.
02:20 So I mean it was a pretty ugly dress but there weren't many options for white dresses that would be allowable at the prison.
02:27 I actually have a few funny things that I've made of Chris.
02:31 Like this pillow. It's just like one of his selfies from prison.
02:36 But I have something even funnier.
02:38 This is the cardboard cutout that I have of Chris.
02:41 I had my friend edit him and put him in a Hawaiian shirt because I don't have any selfies of Chris that are full body length without his inmate outfit.
02:51 So I put him in a Hawaiian shirt just to be funny.
02:54 And then I put it in one of my TikTok videos and it actually went viral.
02:59 I post on TikTok because I've gotten a lot of support from other prison wives.
03:05 The bullying and the hate on my TikTok got so bad that I actually deleted my account.
03:12 Chris should be calling any minute.
03:15 Sometimes I'll tell him to call me and he doesn't call out for hours just because they went on lockdown or the phones aren't working half the time.
03:27 Come on Chris.
03:31 This is a prepaid debit call from Chris Chips, an inmate at the Rapid City Minimum Unit.
03:40 To accept this call press zero.
03:43 Hi Zaddy.
03:45 Hey gorgeous. What's up there?
03:48 Not much. Waiting for your call.
03:51 Just got back from working out.
03:53 Only three more years and then you'll be sitting next to me and then I could burn the cardboard cutout.
03:58 I know we can burn it together.
04:00 Yep, that'll be our first.
04:01 That might be bad luck though.
04:04 That'll be our first TikTok together. Us burning your cardboard cutout.
04:09 What's the first thing that you want to do when you get out?
04:12 I mean are we keeping it PG-13 here?
04:15 No, I'm talking about like what do you want to do like besides that when you get out?
04:20 I definitely want to chill on the beach with you.
04:23 With some chairs and a cooler.
04:25 My virgin fruity drink.
04:30 The biggest challenges of being in a relationship with someone in prison is that like they're not here.
04:36 Like I don't have him next to me. I sleep alone.
04:40 You can't have kids. You can't be affectionate.
04:43 I've never had sex with my husband.
04:47 How was your guys' day? Did you guys do anything?
04:49 No, not really.
04:51 You talked to Chris today?
04:52 Yeah, I did earlier. It was good.
04:54 Yeah, he's doing good. We have a video visit later.
04:57 He sound okay?
04:58 Yeah, he's happy at his new prison.
05:00 So what were your guys' initial reaction when you first found out about Chris?
05:05 I feel like we all were super shocked.
05:07 I was honestly really nervous for you because I've never even heard of that before.
05:11 So when you first said that I was just like, is that even a thing?
05:15 I kind of just wanted to know more what he did.
05:17 I mean if it was worse than what I thought it could have been because it could have been anything.
05:23 Have you considered that Chris might be different at a prison?
05:27 Yeah, just because he's been in prison so long, I worry that maybe he's institutionalized.
05:32 But he knows what he wants to do when he gets out.
05:35 He wants to impregnate me right away.
05:38 He wants to work when he gets out.
05:42 We're going to have a baby, hopefully.
05:44 I just think that it was worth it. I think you're at a good place right now.
05:47 She's at a great place.
05:49 It's definitely worth it.
05:50 I'm really happy that my friends and family have accepted Chris.
05:54 Without their support, I don't think me and Chris would have made it for as long as we have.
05:58 My message for people that have judged me is that people deserve second chances.
06:03 And you shouldn't be so judgmental.
06:06 People make mistakes. I've made mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes.
06:10 And when Chris gets out, he's definitely going to be a different person.
06:15 [Music]
06:24 [Silence]