A Netflix reality star has married a stranger in prison after he popped the question in just six weeks – unfazed by the trolls who insist he’s just using her.
Real-estate agent Laura Gehrke met her future husband Joshua Stewart on the social networking website WriteAPrisoner.com after feeling lonely in December last year.
Laura Gehrke, 27, and Joshua Stewart, 21, met through WriteAPrisoner.comCredit: Kennedy News
The couple got married in a 90-minute wedding ceremonyCredit: Kennedy News
They have not been able to spend the night together since the weddingCredit: Kennedy News
The 27-year-old, who starred in the Netflix show Too Hot To Handle Germany, had been unable to travel home for Christmas due to an issue with her visa so was forced to spend the festive period alone in Dubai.
After scrolling through TikTok, Laura stumbled upon a video about writing to a prisoner online and decided to wish an inmate Merry Christmas.
One particular profile caught Laura’s eye, and she began exchanging messages with 21-year-old Joshua Stewart.
The pair were soon speaking on the phone up to 11 hours a day and it wasn’t long before Joshua popped the question after six weeks of knowing one another.
Laura flew to Washington to wed her criminal beau in June during a 90-minute prison ceremony.
Despite having a conviction of controlled substance homicide, Laura said she never judged her hubby over the reason for his incarceration.
Laura said: “I was sitting here home alone feeling very sad because I couldn’t be with my family [due to the visa issue] and then I scrolled through TikTok and saw a video about WriteAPrisoner.com.
“I thought I could just send one of them a message saying ‘Merry Christmas.’
“I went on the website and saw my husband’s account. He was the second person I clicked on and I saw on his profile he said he liked poetry and I was interested in that.”
After exchanging messages about his poetry, Laura and Joshua began speaking on the phone for as long as 11 hours a day.
Laura said: “We really clicked. He was just open about everything from the beginning. He was telling me so many stories about his life. I thought he was really emotionally intelligent.
“I wasn’t immediately asking about the crime because I didn’t want to judge him just based on that. I was hearing a lot of stories about him growing up before I knew all the details about what he was incarcerated for. It made me see it all a bit differently.
“Because I knew the backstory, it didn’t change my opinion of him.”
In February, Joshua popped the question to Laura during one phone call and the couple wed four months later in a prison ceremony.
Despite being unable to spend their wedding night together, the pair are hoping to be approved for conjugal visits later this year.
Laura said: “I flew over and we saw each other 12 times and the 13th time I saw him was our marriage. I wanted to see him first before we got married.
“It was a prison marriage – one of the other inmates was his best man. We were all in white and had our own color theme.
“It felt super right. Our families are super supportive. Obviously my mum had questions but she was very supportive.”
But the unconventional relationship has received some backlash online, with trolls insisting Joshua is ‘just using’ his wife.
One TikTok user said: “Bro just secured his financial future after he’s out.”
Another added: “You most definitely got all your priorities messed up.”
A third said: “He will disappear after release.”
Laura said: “People just look into things with a made-up mind – they can’t believe we married out of love. They just think I’m using him or he’s using me.
“They can’t believe it’s real love. We have a lot of support but we also have a lot of haters.”
Laura is hoping to live with her hubby in the US when he is scheduled to be released under house arrest in December 2025.
The couple got engaged after only 6 weeksCredit: Kennedy News
Laura has traveled forwadr and back to the US to visit her news husbandCredit: Kennedy News
